Sheffield City Region devolution deal - Sheffield Chamber comment

2nd October 2015

Richard Wright, Executive Director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: -We welcome this announcement - the Chancellor is clearly committed to the Northern Powerhouse and has, with this deal, shown his commitment.

We should congratulate everybody involved in what is a historic and leading development. "It is, however, only the start. The Chancellor will, quite rightly, expect a return on this investment and now is the time when the public/private sector partnership will need to show its true colours. -It is not acceptable to invest this money in the way we have in the past. It must be totally commercially focused so that we deliver the profitable growth needed to become truly internationally competitive. Only then will we deliver the long term sustainable employment this region needs. "There will be an emphasis on all of us to be prepared to change. Studies have already started to see whether we can deliver post-16 education and skills on a regional basis using an Area Based Review which is designed to deliver a better service at lower cost. -Many more areas will have to do the same and our hope is that the Regional Mayor can drive those changes regionally, even though they may challenge some of the traditional political boundaries. -We are committed to supporting that process because this is an amazing opportunity and we must not throw it away."