ALL councils across the Liverpool city region have now approved the Liverpool City Region devolution agreement, announced on Tuesday by the Government.

Special council meetings took place in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral last night.

Councillor Phil Davies, chairman of the Liverpool city region combined authority, said, “This is a momentous day for the combined authority and the Liverpool city region as a whole.

“Through this deal, we have secured almost £1 billion of extra funding over the next 30 years as well as putting ourselves in a better position to support and grow our local economy.”

He said a ‘fundamental aspect’ of the deal is the recognition by Government that decisions about the Liverpool city region are better taken in the north west by local leaders rather than in London or Whitehall.

He said: “We are much better placed to take decisions about how to target investment, provide support and resources, and celebrate and promote our area.

“There is no doubt that this Government will continue with its austerity agenda which is going to see further funding cuts across our city region.

“Even though many of us disagree completely with the Government’s overall economic policy, securing this deal puts us in the strongest possible position to cope with the challenges we will face over the coming months and years.”

Cllr Davies said the deal is the start of a long journey as discussions with the Government will continue.

Councillors, he said, hope to to secure further devolved powers for a range of priority issues, including delivering public sector reform and improving the health and wellbeing of people who live and work in the region.

A full copy of the Devolution Agreement can be found here.