Millions spent in first year of West Yorkshire devolution deal

The leaders of West Yorkshire councils Susan Hinchcliffe, Tim Swift, Shabir Pandor, James Lewis, and Denise Jeffery have put out a joint statement.

They said that in the last 12 months the West Yorkshire Combined has unlocked funding secured through the deal to invest £13.5 million.

The combined authority has also agreed to unlock devolution funding worth £5 million to support local councils’ Covid-19 recovery plans.

That money is being used to help over 10,000 people who have been made redundant or are at risk of redundancy as the result of the pandemic.

WYCA will also make available at least £6 million to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders to start up.

The leaders said the deal was pivotal to securing £67 million to help deliver thousands of homes on brownfield land, bringing forward urgently need housing.

The leaders said: “Our work will take another step forward in May with the election of the first West Yorkshire Mayor and we look forward to working with them to improve the lives of everyone in West Yorkshire.”