Our View on the Devolution Deal: A step towards Happy and Healthy Young Lives

Our Chief Executive Leigh Elliott shares the charity’s view on the Devolution Deal for the North East and the impact it will have on the lives of babies, children and young people across the region. 

Children North East works with babies, children, young people and families across the North East. We know that people’s lives do not neatly fit into the boundaries created by Local Authorities, as they move around for education, access to healthcare, specialist services and opportunities. For this reason, the current arrangement of two Combined Authorities North and South of Tyne doesn’t work for many people and has had less opportunity to improve infrastructure and systems which work region-wide and impact on the daily lives of families in the region. We therefore wholly welcome the new proposals for a devolved Mayoral Authority covering the seven Local Authorities of Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.   

Young people gaining independence, frequent, affordable, reliable public transport and safe routes to walk and cycle are critical.

We are particularly pleased about the transport settlement of funding included with the Devolution Deal, and the powers it will provide the new Mayoral Authority with to design, invest and manage transport services around the needs of local people.  

Experience of, access to and availability of transport, especially public transport is a recurring theme in our consultation work with young people and families across the region. For families without access to a car, and young people gaining independence, frequent, affordable, reliable public transport and safe routes to walk and cycle are critical in enabling them to access services they need, make the most of opportunities available to them, and ultimately to grow up happy and healthy.  

We know that the costs of public transport journeys involving two or more providers are particularly prohibitive for many families, especially the nearly 40% of children in the North East who are growing up in poverty. Integrated ticketing has the potential to be a game-changer for many people and we are thrilled to see this is a core part of the Devolution Deal agreement. We hope there will be further opportunity to collaborate in the review and refresh of the Regional Transport Plan over the next 12 months, to ensure that the voices of young people, and the needs of families living in poverty, can be fully considered and prioritised.   

Reducing pollution from vehicles in the communities where children live and study will make a huge impact on their wellbeing. 

We are pleased that decarbonisation of travel is also a priority within the deal, as air pollution and air quality is one of the biggest causes of poor respiratory health in children and young people in our region. Reducing pollution from vehicles in the communities where children live and study will make a huge impact on their wellbeing.   

Access to affordable, high-quality housing is a huge priority for families with children in our region. The North East has the second highest ‘After-Housing Costs’ poverty rate in the country (with only London faring worse). Whilst the deal does not commit a huge amount of funding initially to support investment in housing, particularly social housing, which is so desperately needed, increased powers at a regional level, is an opportunity to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling the housing issues facing our region and children growing up here.   

Finally, we are thrilled that the Devolution Deal becomes the first in the country to contain a specific commitment to addressing Child Poverty, building on the work already being undertaken in the North of Tyne Combined Authority area. We have been privileged to support this work and would welcome the opportunity to be a strategic partner, bringing the wealth of expertise and evidence collated through our Poverty Proofing© work in schools, healthcare, cultural organisations and community settings, to enable the NECMA to lead the way in tackling and preventing child poverty so all babies, children and young people are able to grow up happy and healthy.