06Does having a metro mayor mean that local authority leaders have less power?

The metro mayor will work together with leaders of the local authority to create a strategy for the wider area, but local authorities will still be responsible for most public service delivery (such as waste management, schools, recreational facilities and fire services). The metro mayors will focus on wider issues that span across city regions, such as transport, regeneration and economic growth.

In the case of housing, for example, the devolution deal with Sheffield City Region Combined Authority states that the combined authority is responsible for developing a spatial housing framework in order to manage plans across the area, which must be unanimously agreed upon by all local authority leaders in the combined authority. The local authorities in the Sheffield City Region will each maintain the same powers over housing as before, but the metro mayor will be consulted on planning applications that are of strategic importance to the whole city region.