Merseyside to have an elected mayor as powers transferred from Westminster as the devolution deal is

Boris Johnson-style mayor to have oversight of £900m investment fund.

A deal to devolve major powers from Westminster to Liverpool was today agreed by council leaders.

Communities minister Greg Clark and Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill met with leaders of the Liverpool city region at Mann Island in Liverpool.

The deal will see a series of powers transferred north from ministers in Whitehall - under the oversight of a directly elected Boris Johnson-style metro mayor.

Chair of the Liverpool city region combined authority – and leader of Wirral council – Cllr Phil Davies hailed the agreement as “excellent for the city region”.

Key points in the deal include:

* A £900m investment fund – but at £30m per year over 30 years.

* Greater powers over local transport, buses and trains

* Backing for the city’s International Festival for Business (IFB) to establish it “as a vital feature of the international business calendar in 2018 and 2020”

* New powers over skills and training

* Better control over strategic planning

* Plans to establish a sustainable business model for National Museums Liverpool

Liverpool City Region Devolution agreement signing at the Merseytravel Head office, Liverpool.

Greg Clark said the deal would also see the region able to press ahead with ordering new rolling stock to replace the ageing trains on Merseyrail.

He said Liverpool had been the first city to sign a devolution deal and accept a mayor in 2012 when Joe Anderson was installed - but that this latest agreement for the wider region was “even more ambitious”.

Today’s announcement follows recent deals signed with local leaders in Greater Manchester, Sheffield, the North East and Tees Valley, while an agreement is also being signed today with the West Midlands.

St Helens leader Barrie Grunewald said after the signing: “Our concerns around an elected mayor are well known, but I, along with my colleagues at St Helens Council, believe that the prize is worth the price – and we must all work together in a positive, constructive manner to get the best possible deal for the people of the Liverpool City Region.”

The deal is subject to all six councils - Sefton , Knowsley , St Helens, Liverpool , Haltonand Wirral - accepting the final agreement.

Each local authority is due to meet this Thursday, November 19, to discuss the deal with the Government.

And it will only go ahead if the Government’s Cities and Local Government Bill is successfully passed through Parliament in the next few months.

Treasury minister Lord Jim O’Neill added: “This is the beginning of as journey, it’s about having more local control.”

He said the agreement is about “what it is unleashing, and what imaginative policies are being brought forward by Cllr Davies and his colleagues, and the mayor when they come.”

Lord O’Neill also said the government was open to further discussions about devolving more powers around healthcare, as well as other “asks” on Liverpool city region’s wish list.