A directly-elected executive mayor for the whole of York and North Yorkshire has come a step closer with the release today of the government’s so-called ‘Levelling Up’ white paper.

One of the 12 ‘missions’ set out in the white paper – which aims to give a better deal to ‘forgotten and deprived’ communities, many of them in the North of England – is to give a devolution deal to ‘every part of England that wants one’.

That could include a directly-elected executive mayor with wide-ranging powers and a ‘simplified, long-term funding settlement’.

A joint statement released today by City of York Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden and Cllr Carl Les, the Chair of the Implementation Board for the new, unified North Yorkshire Council, welcomed the white paper’s emphasis on devolution.

“Today’s announcement of a levelling up white paper brings York and North Yorkshire a step closer to a devolution deal,” the statement says.

“Devolution can unlock significant, long-term, investment for this region, driving growth and contributing to a stronger Northern economy. It has the potential to bring improvements to areas such as public transport, infrastructure, support for businesses, education and skills, benefitting the people who live and work here.

“A devolution deal could also help deliver an ambition for this region to become England’s first carbon negative economy. We therefore welcome the commitment shown for levelling up and devolution in this announcement.

“We now look forward to entering into negotiations with Government to secure the best possible deal for our region. We hope to see York and North Yorkshire taken forward as the first city-region rural powerhouse to make devolution a reality.”

In a separate statement , Cllr Aspden confirmed today negotiations are set to formally begin on devolution.

But with the proposals in then Levelling Up white paper still lacking in detail, Cllr Aspden said it was vital that the government’s levelling up agenda should be more than just ‘empty political slogans’.

“For many years now, we have been making the case to Government that York needs a significant funding boost following years of underinvestment from Whitehall,” he said.

“This would enable us to truly level up by raising living standards, improving public services, and unlocking our city’s and region’s economic potential.

“Today, we hope this announcement amounts to more than empty political slogans, and signals a beginning of a strategy for the North which genuinely recognises York and North Yorkshire’s importance in levelling up our region. Funding and delivery must now match the political slogans and ambitions.”

Elections are due to take place in North Yorkshire on May 5 which will see the county’s eight district authorities swept away to be replaced by a single, unified North Yorkshire Council.

It is this council that City of York Council will have to work with on devolution. A directly-elected mayor would represent both areas.

Welcoming the prospect of devolution, Cllr Aspden said it would potentially unlock access to significant funding.

But it would have to be the right deal, he said – signalling that there is a long way to go yet and that the idea of an executive mayor is far from a done deal.

“Devolution undoubtedly presents opportunities for our city which could unlock significant investment in York and the wider region over the next 30 years, but any deal has to be right for York,” he said.

“York and North Yorkshire will continue to play a key role in achieving levelling up for our region and the right devolution deal has the opportunity to deliver the changes and investment that is most needed in for our city.”

Levelling Up - the 12 'missions'

The 12 'missions' announced in today's levelling up white paper are to rebalance Britain's economy, bringing more wealth and opportunities to deprived and forgotten areas.

The first 'mission' is to improve pay, employment, and productivity across the board while narrowing the disparities between the best and worst performing areas.

A research and development mission promises to increase public R&D investment outside the Greater South East by at least 40 per cent by 2030.

Others include bringing the rest of the country's local public transport systems much closer to London standards and ensuring the large majority of the country has access to 5G broadband.

There is a mission to effectively eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy among primary school leavers - with the Government's educational efforts focussed on the most disadvantaged parts of the country.

There are also commitments to ensure hundreds of thousands more people get high quality skills training every year while gross disparities in healthy life expectancy is narrowed.

The paper promises to halve the number of poor quality rented homes, rejuvenate the most run down town centres and deliver a significant decrease in serious crime in the most blighted areas.

Every part of England will get a London-style devolution deal if they want one.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was the 'most comprehensive, ambitious plan' of its kind that the country had ever seen.

But Labour has dismissed the plan as 'more slogans' with 'few new ideas'.