Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority Proposal

Theme 1 - Enhance Connectivity

Strong connectivity is vital to the health of our economy and the economic prosperity of our -

• city
• towns
• rural and coastal communities

Achieving strong connectivity hinges on the performance of both our transport and digital networks to provide our residents and businesses the necessary access to employment and trade opportunities, within Hull and East Yorkshire, across the UK and internationally.

To realise a step change in connectivity, improve mobility and achieve our overarching objectives for inclusive, sustainable growth we need a transport network that is reliable and efficient, and one that works in tandem with high quality and wide-spread digital connections. This is especially important given the rural nature of parts of our geography and relatively dispersed population, which can make physical access between settlements or to major centres slow and difficult.

Against this background, the deal will help us to achieve our ambitions -

• Build an integrated, low carbon transport system that improves mobility, links city, coast and country, improving journey time reliability, reducing the cost of accessing work, services and trade for our residents, businesses and visitors
• Develop a trail blazing walking and cycling network helping to decarbonise our transport system as well as improve health and wellbeing
• Enable multi-modal freight handling that reduces costs for businesses and consumers, with improved connectivity to the Humber ports and international markets
• Strengthen interregional and international links beyond our boundary through strategic road and rail connections, including rail electrification and direct access to an international air hub
• Extend our leading-edge digital connections to hard-to-reach areas, supporting the growth of all our businesses and the prosperity of all our communities

How our proposal helps us to deliver

• The Mayoral Combined Authority will become the Local Transport Authority for the area and develop a single Strategic Transport Plan. As the single entity with responsibility for transport, the Mayoral Combined Authority will be able to take a strategic approach to deliver an integrated transport system. The Mayoral Combined Authority deliver a provisional Local Transport Plan (LTP), which will be supported by DfT investment. In the run up to the Spending Review in 2024, Hull and East Yorkshire will work with Government to ensure the LTP meets the necessary benchmarks for funding
• We will be responsible for our own multi-year consolidated local transport budget, bringing maintenance funding and integrated transport block together
• A Key Route Network will be identified which will ensure the most important local roads are managed in a strategic way, reducing congestion and improving traffic flows
• Electrification will improve rail links to major towns and cities across the North, with further enhancements to frequency, capacity, and journey times, including the electrification of the North Trans-Pennine Rail Corridor. Government has committed to electrification between Sheffield and Hull and Leeds, as part of the commitment to bring Hull into Northern Powerhouse Rail, realising a long-term ambition for the area
• Enhanced partnership working with Transport for the North through its Regional Centre of Excellence, support to develop an electric charging infrastructure strategy
• Delivery of the appropriate infrastructure into the Ports of Hull and Goole and their respective tax sites
• Facilitating improved digital networks with the ambition to be the UK’s first Smart Mayoral Combined Authority

Theme 2 - Increase Productivity

Hull and East Yorkshire’s growth sectors punch above their weight across many performance metrics, including their productivity, and levels of innovation. Hull and East Yorkshire is home to a number of world class Research and Development (R&D) facilities, including Reckitt’s global R&D HQ. Siemens Mobility and Siemens Gamesa, Smith and Nephew, INEOS, Croda, Crown Paints, Ideal Boilers and many other household names have all invested in their manufacturing and R&D capabilities locally. The Humber Freeport also supports medi-health technology projects, catalysing on proposed investment plans within this sector

The area is a national leader in specialist caravan and mobile home manufacturing, and home to some of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, supported by the agri-food sector, which provides an asset base and raw materials that underpin several key clusters that strengthen the area’s economic performance, including food and drink, and ports and logistics. Stimulating greater levels of innovation and farm diversification is key in maximising growth in this sector, especially for the benefit of our rural communities

Supporting the expansion and competitiveness of our growth sectors is key to realising and achieving the transition to a high-value, low carbon economy. The Humber Freeport is key to this by providing the opportunity to address some of our productivity challenges alongside delivering skills for the future. Complementary investments will fully secure its long-term success

Against this background, our long-term priorities for the Devolution Deal are -

• Raising productivity and resilience of our high employment and high competitive advantage sectors
• Strengthening our competitive advantage in sectors of high productivity
• Nurturing and growing employment and innovation
• Creating a dynamic climate for the creation and development of microbusinesses
• Supporting everyone into employment or self-employment

How our proposal helps us to deliver

• Working with UK Research and Innovation and other partners, we will leverage areas of business specialisation and fostering innovation through enhancing quality of place and providing fit-for-purpose, energy-efficient business premises; increasing R&D, commercialisation and innovation activity in our area; and providing consistent and effective business support services, utilising UKSPF strategic investment plans
• With local control over our Adult Education Budget (AEB) and building on the legacy of the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP) by establishing a strategic skills hub, we will have more power to equip and upskill our people for the future economy through comprehensive post-16 provision that is tailored to the needs of our area and enhancing study programmes, traineeships, bootcamps, Multiply and apprenticeship-based training and careers advice
• Develop our advanced manufacturing capabilities with a focus on medi-tech, building on local specialisms, such as the University of Hull’s research facilities and the Hull York Medical School, alongside digital technologies and opportunities.
• Support for the expansion of Offshore Wind manufacturing in the area to secure the industry’s long-term future in the area
• Ensure the Humber Freeport provides employment opportunities and pathways to employment for the local community through an expansion of the Employment Hub
• Further develop the digital sector, exploiting the unique, world leading digital assets and opportunities the area offers
• Formal collaboration with Government on culture and tourism

Theme 3 - Promote Inclusivity

The area’s economic strategies highlight key challenges and objectives for our area in delivering greater economic inclusivity and sets out how these interact with key national policy objectives. Our ambitions for inclusive economic growth in Hull and East Yorkshire are to level up our communities and ensure that all our people can benefit from, and contribute to, the growth and prosperity of our area. There will be a particular focus on supporting people back into a learning environment and enabling the development of functional skills to ensure opportunities become accessible for all. This will build on the well-established partnership work with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Community and Voluntary Services (VCS) evidenced through initiatives such as the Employment hub and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) programmes.

Social cohesion is relatively strong across our area, but we also have some of the most extreme variations in economic prosperity in the country and key challenges related to inter-generational worklessness and path dependency. In our area, individuals growing up in areas with a high proportion of workless households are 25% more likely to be unemployed than individuals growing up in working households. Health inequalities and an ageing workforce are also major challenges and underline the need to retain and attract younger workers with the skills and adaptability to respond to economic opportunity.

Against this background, our priorities for the Devolution Deal are -

• Community investment to ensure the provision of quality, energy efficient, safe and affordable housing, directly tackling energy poverty as well as promoting pride of place, which is an essential component to wealth creation and reducing the burdens of anti-social behaviour, crime and poor health
• Whole-place regeneration which prioritises measures to re-purpose our city and town centres, ensuring they provide a coherence and appeal to local people, investors and visitors alike, and provide the appropriate springboard for community-focused neighbourhoods
• Investment in heritage and cultural assets to strengthen community ties and provide new sources of economic opportunity
• Raising people’s aspirations through access to employment and training initiatives for young people and those furthest from the labour market, providing them the skills they need to take-up jobs in our emerging higher-value sectors and ensure that the widest possible breadth of the community can reach their economic potential

How our proposal will help us to deliver

• Local control over the AEB to help provide the skills businesses need, including upskilling and employability programmes. Closer working with DWP will help us to deliver a long-term transformational employment programme for some of our most deprived communities which brings together different funding streams to deliver in a more sustained and holistic way. This will be focused on delivering change over a generational timeframe rather than through a short term 3-5 year project window
• We will use place-based funds and Mayoral Combined Authority powers and functions, including brownfield land funding, to provide new homes for people in places where they want to live and can access employment opportunities
• The Mayoral Combined Authority will have a duty to take action to improve the health of our communities, this means that the health of the population will be a strategic consideration in decision making, reducing inequalities and linking wealth with health
• More support and partnership working for culture, heritage, sport and tourism to help our communities thrive
• Improving connectivity for isolated places, including digital connectivity and inclusion

Theme 4 - Deliver a Sustainable Future

Sustainability underpins the previous three themes as well as offering new opportunities to make more use of our natural capital and develop a low carbon economy. We recognise the importance of not just ensuring new sustainable development, but of decarbonising our existing economy, to reach net zero targets and adapt to climate change. Capitalising on the value of our blue green infrastructure and the area’s strengths in energy and environmental management are critical components of this.

The area is already tackling climate change and working towards net zero. The Humber is one of the highest emitting regions in the country and Hull and East Yorkshire is at the heart of the solution.

The Humber Freeport focusses on green energy with rail innovation at Goole and green energy and decarbonisation in Hull.

We have an excellent track record of local initiatives to identify risks and investment opportunities in climate change adaptation and carbon reduction, particularly focused on flood-resilience through the internationally recognised Living with Water Partnership and decarbonisation of our existing housing stock and buildings. We have taken the lead on local and regional flood risk management issues, tackling complex problems beyond our statutory local authority duties.

The Hull and Humber City Deal 2013 led to the establishment of a ‘Single Conversation’ with all the relevant agencies in order to balance environmental considerations with development opportunities, particularly associated with the Enterprise Zone sites along the Humber estuary.

The work of Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority will therefore focus on locally responsive measures for sustainability. Our priorities for the Devolution Deal are -

• Continuing to build our resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change
• Ensuring the effective stewardship and protection of our natural capital
• Promoting low carbon living and development through an effective planning system and low carbon energy solutions
• Using low carbon investments to create higher-value job opportunities for our communities

How our proposal will help us to deliver

• Working with Government to build capacity and capability for delivering place-based natural environment and climate adaptation interventions, including developing a climate adaptation hub that promotes an integrated whole area approach, building on the work of the Living with Water and Changing Coast initiatives, to support climate vulnerable communities
• Closer working with Government, to develop and deliver innovative net-zero and low carbon interventions, including a Local Area Energy Plan, heat network zones, and retrofit measures
• Prioritising local nature recovery in decision making and implement nature based solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation
• As the highest emitting part of the country, the Humber will see Government commitment to CCUS and representation of the Humber Energy Board
• Greater autonomy to work towards a low carbon local transport system, supported by our digital ambitions for a ‘smart’ Mayoral Combined Authority