Regional Mayors playing a role in helping businesses thrive - Yorkshire Post Letters

It was positive to read recent news that a renowned industry Business Prosperity Index has shown that “Business confidence in Yorkshire and the Humber has hit a three-month high" that the confidence of many businesses to thrive in our region has improved, and with the additional positive sign that the demand for goods and services made in, and exported from Yorkshire, is also at a four month high.

This is excellent for the wider UK, as success in one region of our country galvanises support and consumer confidence in neighbouring regions, for wealth, knowledge and generosity spreads from one neighbour to another.

In my opinion, this improvement is not just down to our innovative start ups, clever businesspeople, the productive workers of God's Own Country, or the thriving and spirited efforts of British enterprise.

A large part of this improvement in business success, which creates jobs for citizens and wealth for the public sector, is attributable to the positive and often unsung work of the current three devolved regional Mayors of Yorkshire and the Mayor of Teesside, who are investing in economic regeneration, jobs, re-industrialisation and environmental projects to help steward the UK economy to greener pastures.

Combined Authorities are a relatively new form of government, and are established in West, South, North Yorkshire, and other areas of the UK.

They assist in linking many small, medium and large businesses together, their staff help with strategic long term planning and as corporate bodies are also able to directly invest in local projects.

Such as Mayor Brabin investing in more bus facilities and a West Yorkshire tram system; the residential house insulation/renovation programmes run by Mayor Coppard to prevent homes leaking heat and the creation of other forms of infrastructure such as natural forms of flood defences and rural business partnerships in North Yorkshire to support farming communities, which is being prioritised by Mayor Skaith - assistance being given to the White Rose Forest, rewilding, and peatland restoration in the Yorkshire Dales.

These aren't just abstract projects, they explicitly act to bring communities, individuals, families and local businesses together, unity is much needed in the UK today and devolved regional mayors are at the forefront of this.

Collectively, this good work helps build and bring more of the desperately needed social and private projects we need to fruition, on a shared mission for growth and prosperity.

This list is not exclusive and the Mayors work together on many overlapping areas to share knowledge and expertise to create greater value for the spending of taxpayer money.

Mayors and Combined Authorities are also better able to lobby our central government to bring new money up North, through various projects like: flood/coastal erosion defences, new energy generation systems across Yorkshire, increases in funding to legal aid and the justice system, and better health care facilities, alongside many other beneficial cultural, touristic and economic areas across regions.

This all helps get work done and we are lucky to have Mayors in our part of the world who help improve our villages, towns and cities. No doubt their work has catalysed desperately needed economic growth and business confidence.

While nothing is perfect, more devolution as announced in the Chancellor's budget is incredibly welcome and will help us protect families from the cost of living crisis and allow us to look forward to bringing more wealth to areas which we often feel are ‘left behind’ or ‘forgotten’.