Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of metro-mayors since May 2015.

The Government considers that, where areas choose to introduce a directly-elected, region-wide Mayor as part of a devolution deal, this will provide a mechanism to strengthen local accountability and strategic leadership and drive local economic growth. No region-wide elected Mayors are yet in place under the provisions of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act; the first elections for the new Mayors are being planned for May 2017, subject to Parliamentary approval.