Devolution: Sheffield City Region mayor has 'no intention' of introducing mayoral tax

Documents which set out powers and how a devolution deal could work for the Sheffield City Region included the option of a ‘mayoral tax’.

But mayor Dan Jarvis dismissed adding an extra council tax precept on thousands of South Yorkshire bills and said: “I’ve got absolutely no intention of doing that.”

Mr Jarvis, who is also MP for Barnsley Central, said the region was now in a position to kick on and start to draw down investment from central government.

Mayor Jarvis said: “I’m not going to be introducing a mayoral precept - that wasn’t in my manifesto, I’ve never referred to it and I’ve got absolutely no intention of doing that.

“What we are able to do now is unlock a significant amount of additional resource both in terms of the gain share which is £30 million along with control of the adult education budget of £35 million but lots of other potential sources of funding.

“In terms of resources coming into the Sheffield City Region, this is a massive moment for South Yorkshire and we’re now in a much stronger position than we were a few years ago and there’s a real opportunity to deliver a strategic economic plan to improve our public transport system and draw down the investment in our economy to create a significant number of good jobs.”