More than 75 per cent back devolution deal in South Yorkshire

The study, which will now be passed to Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick for further approval, shows an approval average of 80 per cent.

When asked if people agreed with the principle of ‘devolution of powers from Westminster’, 88 per cent agreed with the idea with just nine per cent disagreeing. Others neither agreed or disagreed.

The lowest approval from residents came on the constitutional and governance question. The results showed 65 per cent were in favour and 20 per cent were against. The rest neither agreed or disagreed.

The study showed a strong feeling of a ‘London/South East dominance' and devolution would go some way in addressing the imbalance.

Some areas of concern included a ‘mayoral tax’ and the amount of funds that are being made available to the combined authority.

Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis has ruled out bringing in a mayoral tax in the present time.

Controls include the ability to appoint a deputy mayor and political advisor, extra powers on public transport, housing, adult education and the ability to keep 100 per cent of business rates.

The council leaders from Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley would form the mayor’s cabinet.

They will perform a ‘supporting and advisory function’ to the mayor and combined authority and where powers reside with the mayor, the SCR Cabinet may ask the mayor to reconsider his strategies and funding plans if two-thirds of the members agree to do so.

Mr Jarvis said: “Securing greater powers and resources to take more decisions locally is a vital tool to support communities and businesses across South Yorkshire.

“The need for this additional investment is now even greater to help the region respond to and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Dave Smith, SCR chief executive, said: “We received 675 responses and the outcome was positive in all the areas of the consultation with good support across the board for the intentions in the scheme.

“We can now expect the Secretary of State to consider the outcomes of the consultation.”