West Midlands Combined Authority

The authority consists of seven indirectly elected constituent members, each a directly elected councillor from one of the seven West Midlands county local authorities, as well as the Mayor of the West Midlands who is directly elected by the county's residents.[6]

There are currently thirteen non-constituent members, made up of three Local Enterprise Partnerships as well as ten local authorities from outside of the West Midlands county. There are also four 'observer organisations' (organisations awaiting non-constituent membership and non-voting observers).[7]

The abolition of the West Midlands County Council in 1986 left the county without a single authority covering the whole area, although some council functions continued to be provided jointly, through the West Midlands Joint Committee, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority, West Midlands Police (initially under the oversight of the West Midlands Police Authority and currently overseen by the directly elected West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner) and West Midlands Fire Service.

The authority has previously (incorrectly) been referred to as the Greater Birmingham Combined Authority, or simply Greater Birmingham,[8][9][10] as the final model and membership was worked out and negotiated. Greater Birmingham is a term present in the current Local Enterprise Partnership which serves Birmingham, Solihull and some additional local council areas within the West Midlands.[11]

The authority's initial priorities will involve co-ordinating the city-region to act as one place on certain issues, such as international promotion and investment; reforming public services such as mental health services; and improving internal and external transport links.[12]

In 2017, the West Midlands, like several other city regions, elected a 'metro mayor' with similar powers to the Mayor of London. The date of the first mayoral election was 4 May 2017.[19] The election was won by Andy Street of the Conservative Party, with 50.4% of the votes in the second round.[20]

A directly-elected mayor for the combined authority area was described as 'inevitable',[21] as such a role has been stated as a conditional requirement for a more powerful devolution deal. The WMCA shadow board submitted proposals for a combined authority with and without a mayor leader, and decided which plan of action to take based on the devolution proposals from the government for each.[22] Powers sought for a regional metro mayor and the WMCA were first revealed in a leaked bid document first reported by Simon Gilbert, of the Coventry Telegraph.[23] Those powers included the ability of the mayor to levy extra business rates from companies in the region. Negotiations also included the desire to take away the ability of local councils to retain future business rates growth and to hand that cash to the WMCA, who would decide how it was spent across the region instead of by individual local authorities.

As of March 2020, the membership of the combined authority is as follows:[24]

Colour key (for political parties):   Conservative   Labour   Non-political

• Combined authority
• Transport for West Midlands
• West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner
• Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership
• West Midlands County Council
• Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries since 1844

• Official website