The Combined Authority was established on 1 April 2016, after Local Government Minister James Wharton MP signed the necessary Order.[3] It was announced in October 2015 that voters in the region covered by the Authority would directly elect a Mayor in 2017.[4][5]
History
The abolition of the non-metropolitan county of Cleveland in 1996 left the Tees Valley without a single authority covering the whole area, although some council functions continued to be provided jointly through Cleveland Police and the Cleveland Fire Brigade.
A combined authority was proposed in 2014 and sixty-five per cent of more than 1,900 responses received during a seven-week long public consultation were in favour of a combined authority.[6]
A shadow combined authority was formed and chaired by Sue Jeffrey, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.[7]
Membership
The authority consists of the five local authorities of Tees Valley as constituent members, the directly elected Mayor of Tees Valley as the chair, and the Chairman of the Tees Valley local enterprise partnership as an associate member.[8] The mayor is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions.
As of June 2024, the composition of the combined authority was:[9]
