Scottish Affairs Committee to hold session on City Region Deals

Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee are to hold a one-off session into City Region Deals in July.

City Region Deals are agreements between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and local authorities intended to deliver long-term strategies to improve regional economies. There are currently five in place in Scotland covering:

• Aberdeen
• Edinburgh and South East Scotland
• Glasgow
• Inverness and Highlands
• Stirling and Clackmannanshire

Each deal is specific to its region, and can include measures relating to issues such as housing, transport, infrastructure and culture. They are supported by funding commitments from the UK and Scottish Governments worth hundreds of millions, totalling £3.3 billion for all five combined.

The programme has been criticised for lacking overall direction due to competing intentions of the UK Government, ‘aiming for bottom line growth’ and Scottish Government, preferring inclusive growth. The accuracy of targets for economic and job growth have also been questioned.

Announcing the session, Committee Chair Pete Wishart said: “While it is fantastic to see investment in Scottish regions, supporting strategies targeting the specific issues they are facing, it must provide meaningful improvements to their communities.

“We are holding this one off session to understand how City Region Deals are developed, funded and managed to ensure the best possible outcomes and value for money. How do different layers of government combine to ensure that differing policy objectives co-ordinate to deliver economic development?”

The session will investigate the following issues:

• How does the city region deal process work in practice, from the proposal phase through to agreement and implementation?
• What role does the devolution settlement play in relation to how city region deals are agreed, funded and managed?
• How effectively do the different stakeholders (councillors, local authorities, and the Scottish and UK Governments) co-operate on city region deals? How might co-operation between these parties throughout the process be improved?
• What is the overall governance structure for city region deals and what accountability mechanisms are in place?