Commentary on provisions of Act
The Act includes generic provisions (to be applied to individual areas agreeing deals by secondary legislation) which will:
a. remove the current statutory limitation on functions that can be conferred on a combined authority (currently economic development, regeneration, and transport);
b. enable local governance to be streamlined as agreed by councils;
c. provide for fast track structural and boundary changes to non-unitary local authority areas
d. enable public authority functions to be conferred on a combined authority or local authority;
e. enable an elected mayor for the combined authority's area who will exercise specified functions individually and chair the authority;
f. enable the mayor to undertake the functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner for the area (in place of the Police and Crime Commissioner); and
g. where a mayor is to have functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner, cancel Police and Crime Commissioner elections that would otherwise have taken place and allow the current Police and Crime Commissioner's term of office to be extended until the mayor's first term begins