'˜Less politics, more economy' on devolution

But few say they have been consulted during the debate on devolution, leading to a call for negotiators to focus less on politics and more on the economy.

The findings from the Federation of Small Businesses come four weeks after a proposed £900m devolution deal for the Sheffield City Region was put on hold while council leaders in Doncaster and Barnsley “explored other options”.

These were said to include deals for the whole of Yorkshire, for South and West Yorkshire only, and for the county’s urban centres.

The Northern Powerhouse minister, Jake Berry, has previously ruled out a “full Yorkshire” devolution deal.

The federation said only one in seven of its members reported having been consulted on the process, and nearly a third believed there were insufficient means to hold locally elected leaders to account.

But four in ten believed devolution would be good for their own businesses.

Simon Williams, the federation’s North Yorkshire chairman, said: “What we really need to see is the devolution process focussed less on politics, and more on economic growth.”

He added: “To date, devolution deals across England have primarily targeted urban centres. In the future, it’s critical that the government considers the vital economic contribution made by all small firms, including those within our towns and rural areas, when striking new deals.”

He said many of the manufacturing, technology and life sciences businesses targeted by the government’s green paper on industrial strategy were based outside cities, “in areas blighted by poor connectivity and unreliable transport networks”.

Mike Cherry, the organisation’s national chairman, said the combined authority mayors elected in other regions 100 days ago were “already engaging with small businesses in some areas”.

He added: “With new devolution proposals in the pipeline, future deals must be established on the basis of need.”

The federation also warns that Local Enterprise Partnerships must be made more accountable. It says that only a third of its members believed they were able to communicate directly with their local LEP.

Mr Williams said: “The Government should produce comprehensive business data at a LEP level so Partnerships can tailor local growth strategies.”