County mayor and two councils idea put forward

Staffordshire could have an elected mayor like the West Midlands and Greater Manchester after county politicians backed the idea.

The plans, agreed by a majority of the county's 10 council leaders, also included combining the existing local authorities into two "super" councils.

The government had given the county's politicians until Friday to submit a devolution proposal, as part of a drive to reform local government.

A final decision will be made by ministers with final reorganisation plans not expected until November.

The proposals, agreed by the Staffordshire Leaders Board, the group of council leaders, would see the elected mayor overseeing the county with powers over issues like planning and transport.

Then, to deliver everything from social care to bin collections, would be the two unitary councils - in place of the 10 local authorities currently running day to day services.

How these are split up remains in dispute among leaders.

One option is for a geographical break-up with a North Staffordshire Council and a South Staffordshire Council.

The other option is for a Staffordshire-wide unitary council covering the whole county except for Stoke-on-Trent, which would have its own council.

The current county council leader, Alan White, told the BBC he would happily put his name forward for the role of Staffordshire mayor if it was created.

"There's growing consensus that a Mayoral Strategic Authority will bring extra investment and freedoms to boost our economy further. This is the real prize we're working towards," he added.

He was less enthusiastic about the process of reorganising the councils and said more work needed to be done.

"Councils are hugely complex organisations delivering hundreds of different services," Mr White said.

"There are significant costs and risks involved in reorganising these – especially for vital services like social care - so we must get this right"

The earliest that changes are expected to come in is 2028.

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