People with questions about devolution in Greater Manchester can put them to Sir Richard Leese in a special Twitter ‘Question Time’ session.
Sir Richard, leader of Manchester City Council and vice chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, will be available to answer questions on a range of devolution-related topics.
The Twitter Question Time will take place from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday 11 March using the hashtag #DevoMancQT via his Twitter handle @SirRichardLeese
In November last year, Greater Manchester agreed an historic devolution settlement with the Government, labelled ‘Devo Manc’ in some quarters.
The agreement built on the work of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and paved the way for last week’s further announcement that health and social care budgets for the area will be combined – with joint decision-making by a partnership of the region’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS providers and local authorities.
Sir Richard said: “These are exciting times for Manchester and Greater Manchester. For years we, in common with other major cities, have been making the case that local decision-making will enable us to achieve better results than having ‘one size fits all’ national models imposed on the area.
“In recent months there has been a seismic shift, with politicians from all the major political parties accepting this logic and trailblazing agreements being reached between Greater Manchester and the government. The unifying theme is making sure that wherever possible decisions about Greater Manchester are taken in Greater Manchester.
“This means we can build on the area’s strengths, do more to help create economic growth and address priority areas such as improving transport, health and social care and skills.
