Combined authorities and combined county authorities
| Combined Authorities Combined County Authorities | |
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| Location | England |
| Number | 19 |
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| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
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A combined authority (CA) and a county combined authority (CCA) are two types of strategic authority introduced in England outside Greater London.[1]
As of 5 June 2026[update], there are 13 CAs and six CCAs, predominantly in areas where they are considered likely to improve transport, economic development, and regeneration. Together with the Greater London Authority, these are known as strategic authorities since 2026. 11 CAs and two CCAs are led by a directly-elected mayor. Strategic authority mayors sit on the Mayoral Council for England.
The first CA to be established was the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2011, and since 2022 the UK government has increased its support for the creation of CAs and CCAs. The most recently created, as of 4 June 2026[update], is the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority.
History
[edit]Following the abolition of metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council in 1986, England had no local or regional government bodies with strategic authority over the major urban areas of the country. In 1999, following a successful referendum, the Labour government created a strategic regional authority for Greater London, but no bodies were established to replace the abolished metropolitan county councils. The Blair government instead pursued the idea of elected regional assemblies for the other eight Government Office Regions. Following an unsuccessful referendum in 2004 in the North East region, the idea of establishing elected regional assemblies outside of Greater London had few proponents.
In 2010, the Government accepted a proposal from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities to establish a Greater Manchester Combined Authority, using the powers of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as an indirectly elected top-tier strategic authority for Greater Manchester.[2]
In October 2010 the Coalition Government introduced measures to replace regional development agencies, which were described as inefficient and costly.[3] They were superseded by local enterprise partnerships, voluntary groups whose membership was drawn from the private sector with local authority input.
Following the unsuccessful English mayoral referendums in 2012, CAs and (since 2023) CCAs have been used as an alternative means to grant additional powers and funding as part of City Deals.[4]
In 2014, two indirectly elected CAs were established covering the metropolitan county areas of South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, and a further two which each covered a metropolitan county and adjacent non-metropolitan districts: the Liverpool City Region CA and the North East CA (2014–2024). The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority covers Merseyside and the Borough of Halton unitary authority. The North East Combined Authority (2014–2024) initially covered all of Tyne and Wear and the unitary authorities of County Durham and Northumberland, but was reconstituted in 2018 to cover only the authorities south of the River Tyne (County Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland). The North of Tyne Combined Authority was formed (with a mayor) in 2018 to cover the authorities north of the River Tyne (Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland).
In 2016, a CA was formed for the West Midlands; as a consequence, all metropolitan counties are now covered by a CA. In 2016, the first CA to only cover non-metropolitan areas was formed. This was Tees Valley Combined Authority, which covers the area of the former county of Cleveland (now four unitary authorities in the ceremonial counties of Durham and North Yorkshire), together with the unitary authority of Darlington. Two further CAs in non-metropolitan areas were formed in 2017: West of England (comprising Bristol and two of the three adjacent unitary authorities in Gloucestershire and Somerset, all of which had been within the former county of Avon) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (comprising the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire).
In 2019 a single Yorkshire CA, dubbed "One Yorkshire", was proposed. The proposal had support from 18 of the 20 Yorkshire councils. Sheffield and Rotherham both preferred the South Yorkshire alternative while the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, also supported a One Yorkshire proposal.[5][6][7]
In 2020, it was reported that CAs for more non-metropolitan parts of the country – such as Cumbria, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, and Somerset – were under consideration, but the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on governance meant decisions were delayed until late 2021.