The Combined Authority Budget 2022/2023

Question 1.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s annual labour market report contains a section on the effects of automation on West Yorkshire’s labour market, and notes the requirement for retraining to support workers.  

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership have a number of programmes which identify skills needs for the region’s workforce and organisations, and offer retraining or upskilling opportunities for individuals, including the Adult Education Budget and Skills Connect.

Digital skills remain one of the most in demand skills by employers. There are many barriers to the development of digital skills for individuals, including rurality, income, depravation and also the demand for skills in particular sectors. The Local Digital Skills Partnership brings together leaders from across West Yorkshire to create a collaborative partnership that can influence the digital skills landscape in our region. Alongside this, the Combined Authority are developing digital skills programmes for to reach those furthest from the labour market and ensure greater community coverage to ensure no one is left behind. This will provide skills fit for current and future jobs, ensure sustainability and improve retention.

The Mayor of West Yorkshire has set up the Manufacturing Task Force for the region. The Task Force (which is a business led voice) will be developing proposals aimed at helping manufacturing businesses respond to sectoral challenges such as increasing productivity levels, increasing the number of manufacturing businesses engaged in innovation and meeting the net-zero carbon target of 2038. Industry 4.0 skills (those associated linked with automation and artificial intelligence) will be considered as part of the work of the Task Force. In addition to this, the Combined Authority is also involved in an EU regional policy brokerage programme (see here), sharing best practice and learning on programmes and initiatives designed to help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) adopt industry 4.0 practices. The Combined Authority will need to develop an action plan to implement some of the learning as part of the programme requirements

Question 2.

Too many people in West Yorkshire have low/no qualifications, making it difficult for them to access good work. Supporting people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds to gain the skills they need for employment is a key priority for the Mayor. There is also an economic argument, with businesses across sectors experiencing recruitment challenges, and a need to get more people into the labour pool. Through our Employment Hubs, delivered in partnership with the 5 West Yorkshire local authorities, we have supported over 5,000 people into work and training but there is still much more to do. Through the devolved Adult Education Budget, we will support 50,000 people a year to gain the skills they need to access employment.

There is a growing and evolving market for green skills and jobs in West Yorkshire, with jobs changing, new jobs being created, and some jobs eventually no longer playing a role in our economy.

In August 2021, the Mayor of West Yorkshire announced the creation of a West Yorkshire Green Jobs Taskforce, bringing together experts from business, education and training, and the third and public sectors.

The West Yorkshire Green Jobs Taskforce held its first meeting on Monday 24 January. The Taskforce will begin its work by undertaking a review of the current and future landscape for green skills and jobs in West Yorkshire, before collectively setting out a strategic approach underpinned by deliverable actions that will contribute to the greening of the economy through skills and jobs.

This will play a key part in supporting the region’s achievement of becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2038, and in enabling West Yorkshire’s residents, organisations, and workforce to capitalize on the opportunities that the greening of the economy will bring both now and in the future.

See here for more information: 1000 Green Jobs in West Yorkshire 

Digital Skills will also be critical in future roles, including those required in our move to a greener economy. The Local Digital Skills Partnership has the aspiration to inspire the growth of digital skills across West Yorkshire and to inspire and influence the workforce of the future by collaborating with educators and employers to ensure the future generation have the skills to meet the needs of the economy. More information here: Digital Skills Partnership

Question 3.

There is a growing and evolving market for green skills and jobs in West Yorkshire, with jobs changing, new jobs being created, and some jobs eventually no longer playing a role in our economy.

In August 2021, the Mayor of West Yorkshire announced the creation of a West Yorkshire Green Jobs Taskforce, bringing together experts from business, education and training, and the third and public sectors.

The West Yorkshire Green Jobs Taskforce held its first meeting on Monday 24 January. Over a period of twelve months, the West Yorkshire Green Jobs Taskforce will collectively set out a strategic approach underpinned by deliverable actions that will contribute to the greening of the economy through skills and jobs. The Taskforce will also support the development of the Mayor’s pledge to ‘create 1,000 well paid, skilled, green jobs for young people’, including through advising on the establishment of a Mayoral Green Jobs Gateway.  

This will play a key part in supporting the region’s achievement of becoming a net zero carbon economy by 2038, and enabling West Yorkshire’s residents, organisations, and workforce to capitalize on the opportunities that the greening of the economy will bring.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership have a number of programmes which identify skills needs for the region’s workforce and organisations, and offer retraining or upskilling opportunities for individuals. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Skills Connect programme delivers free training courses for adults looking to gain new skills, including the Adult Education Budget and Skills Connect.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority was also recently awarded funding to deliver a Community Retrofit Hub through the UK Community Renewal Fund. As part of this project, training and online resources will be made available to highlight the jobs available in our region and the skills required to access these jobs. More information here: Help for households to improve energy efficiency and save money

The acceleration towards net zero carbon is already driving inward investment across numerous sectors in our City Region. Investors are attracted by our world leading research capability, market opportunity and strength in depth across several key sectors at the heart of climate tech. For example, Leeds City Region is the largest financial centre outside of London, home to the fastest growing financial and legal sectors and recently chosen as the base for the UK Infrastructure Bank, Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority. We have a growing reputation as a global leader in green finance, an ambition enhanced by the new UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment at the University of Leeds.

We will continue to promote our region’s green investment credentials to attract new investment, particularly in areas where we see a clear market opportunity, such as clean energy, sustainable transport solutions and Controlled Environment Agriculture.

Currently transport emits the most carbon of any key sector in West Yorkshire, with more than 90% of transport emissions coming from cars and vans. Therefore, if we are to adequately respond to the climate emergency and support a green and prosperous future for the region, we must attract people away from private cars and towards more sustainable options for travel such as public transport – which is why such emphasis is place on it in our budget.

We know reducing dependence on private cars will require appropriate transport infrastructure, as well efforts to make the experience of travelling on public transport more attractive. As you suggest, we recognise the region’s existing public transport system does not always meet the standards people expect or even, in some cases, provide a viable option for travel. We actively engage with the travelling public to listen and understand their needs / priorities and use this to inform our work.  As set out in our Connectivity Infrastructure Plan and Bus Service Improvement Plan, ensuring public transport is more affordable, reliable and better suited to people’s changing travel needs is an inherent part of our ambition for West Yorkshire and what we want to invest in.

Increased private car use has resulted in lower ridership on public transport and therefore a need to cut services making the bus less attractive: a vicious circle, meaning that the 40% of West Yorkshire residents without a car are forced to rely on an ever-more a risk service with varying quality standards, However, if ridership starts to grow then costs of provision decrease enabling longer operating times and more routes to be provided, boosting ridership further: a virtuous cycle. When combined with other benefits from reducing private car dominance of our transport network (improved air quality, reduced severance and isolation, enhanced physical and mental health, improved safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, etc.) there is significant merit in investing in a public and active transport network that is fit for purpose and attracts users.

The planting of wildflowers on verges is something we continue to watch with interest at the Combined Authority. We work closely with our West Yorkshire local authorities to explore the viability of these types of schemes. In particular, there are issues around accessibility (ensuring refuge islands remain large enough for all users to use safely) and costs of implementation compared to maintenance and air quality improvements over the lifetime of the scheme. Where local authorities have planted wildflower meadows (away from the road network) extensive work is required to lower the quality of the soil first so as to enable these species to thrive, and we continue to evaluate the impact of these schemes with interest.

Currently transport emits the most carbon of any key sector in West Yorkshire, with more than 90% of transport emissions coming from cars and vans. We know that to respond to the climate emergency and create a greener future for the region we need to take action to change the ‘motorist culture’, as you identify it, and encourage more people out of private cars. The Combined Authority believes one of the most effective ways of doing this will be by providing viable alternative ways to travel more sustainably including better trains and buses, as well as walking and cycling routes – and we are investing heavily in projects which aim to do this, such as the continuing investment in the City Connect cycle network and current delivery of the Transforming Cities Fund programme.

As well as investing in sustainable travel infrastructure, we do consider other policies and interventions which could encourage modal shift and reduce dependence on private car travel. This includes reducing and reallocating car parking space, as well as other travel and city planning measures.  For example, we continue to work with a number of district councils on schemes such as active travel neighbourhoods which, through reducing “rat-running” through traffic, enable residential streets to be quieter, safer places for those who live or use them.  We have also funded a range of projects across West Yorkshire which look to enhance local town and community centres through re-allocating roadspace to other uses, such as enhanced marketplaces; the provision of trees, parks and Sustainable Urban Drainage; and to enable children to play more in the street under our “Streets for People” pilot programme. These projects will be going on site in 2022 and we look forward to evaluating their impact on a range of metrics, and this will be used to inform a range of future schemes which look to re-allocate roadspace and provide a more joined up alternative to car use through better integration of bus and rail stations with the communities they serve. 

In doing this, we must recognise that ultimate control for parking and highway related measures rests with West Yorkshire’s local authorities, but we will be continuing to work in partnership with them and other organisations with responsibility for these matters to explore and develop work in this area.

Thank you for your question. Leeds City Council is developing proposals for a redevelopment of the Fearnville site to deliver a new wellbeing and leisure facility to replace the current outdated facilities.  A bid for Levelling Up Funding was submitted to government in 2021 and whilst this was not successful it is anticipated that a further bid will be submitted in 2022. Leeds City Council are hoping to consult with the general public in February.

Thank you for your question. The Combined Authority and its partners have been working with Government to secure funding to insulate some of the least efficient homes in the region and support households experiencing fuel poverty. Last year local councils secured Green Homes Grant Funding to tackle some of the worst performing homes and we have recently applied to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to improve energy efficiency in social housing. However, we are keenly aware that much more needs to be done, and that retrofitting homes in West Yorkshire represents our best option to ensure energy bills are affordable in the longer term, whilst reducing carbon emissions. The Mayors Climate and Environment Plan aims to ensure support is available for householders to upgrade their homes and we will be working to implement the plan during the course of the year. 

West Yorkshire Local Authorities have secured Household Support Funding. This will be available as payments to help with essentials such as welfare and support payments for day-to-day costs rather than upgrading homes.

Thank you for your question. The Combined Authority is involved in a number of different projects across West Yorkshire. We acknowledge that, in some instances, there can be a difficult trade-off between the economic benefit that our investment brings to the region, and ensuring that everyone in the region can enjoy a clean, healthy, and inclusive environment as well as reducing carbon emissions to meet our 2038 net-zero carbon targets. These issues are considered through our assurance processes.

All the schemes that the Combined Authority funds or part funds are also subject to our Assurance Framework. This means that all projects must go through a number of decision stages that must be approved by the Combined Authority through our Capital Spending and Project Approval reports, which includes a section on the environmental impacts under the Tackling the Climate Emergency section. These are all published as scheme summary business cases, and can be found on our website. 

We are currently developing a new Carbon Impact Assessment methodology so that we can further examine the carbon impacts of schemes both in terms of operational carbon, and carbon associated with construction. This is an important step in helping us and our partners to understand more clearly the potential impact of proposals on carbon emissions, both positive and negative, and is expected to be a significant improvement on current methodologies.

In addition, the majority of schemes on our highway network and regeneration schemes are delivered by our District partners who also hold the planning powers for schemes that require statutory approval. As promoters of these schemes, it is the respective local authority who undertake the detailed design work and assessment of their impacts.

Thank you for your question. We understand your frustrations at the retirement age and transport passes.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme determines the criteria for bus passes. This includes passes relating to age and disability criteria. 

We do have some power to introduce extra concessions for passes provided in West Yorkshire. But this is something we would have to reimburse operators for, and central government do not provide any extra funding to cover the costs. 

We do regularly review our concessionary travel scheme and the possible enhancements we could introduce. But at the moment, there are no plans to introduce a 60+ free travel pass.

Thank you for your question. 

Our Investment Strategy was last discussed at West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting on 24th June 2021.

You can find the agenda papers online or through this link - West Yorkshire Combined Authority papers

You will find the Investment Strategy on pages 521 - 527.  

Thank you for your question. The cost for this engagement opportunity has been kept to a minimum as we were able to do the majority of the work in-house through our design team and consultation and engagement team. We had support with the video, which was procured through our strict guidelines, and was deemed value for money as it allowed us to share our budget plans with the people of West Yorkshire. However, everything else was done by staff members at the Combined Authority to save costs.