April date threatened by tight timetable

摘要

The creation of West Midlands' combined authority could be delayed for months, The MJ can exclusively reveal. Local leaders had hoped that the combined authority would be established by 1 April after ratification by Parliament early next year. But the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has suggested that this timetable was 'very tight'. The submission of the shadow board's final scheme and governance review a month late in October and a desire to co-ordinate the creation of the authority with West Midlands' devolution deal are among the reasons given for the potential delay. A message to the shadow board from DCLG's Alison Lyon was quoted in a paper to a shadow board meeting, seen by The MJ, last month.