Bolton Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris says Devo-Manc must not be a vehicle for more cuts

Cllr Cliff Morris was one of 10 borough council leaders to sign the deal last year — but says he has real concerns that the government will not provide the right cash settlement to allow real devolution to take place in Greater Manchester.

Cllr Morris, who is heading up children’s services for Greater Manchester, said: “My thoughts are that whatever the government does they must not use this process for cuts, because that is not devolution.

“There are concerns that this could just be a way of getting us to carry out the cuts ourselves and I am not in that ball game — it has got to be equitable.”

The Halliwell councillor believes, like many, that if the correct funding settlement is provided, that Devo-Manc will benefit local people, because decisions will be made by those directly elected by them.

He said: “Devolution, if it is done right, will be a good thing because we can all learn from other authorities in Greater Manchester and look at what is happening across the region.

“We know what is needed in our own boroughs — we are making decisions for our own people, who elected us to make those decisions.”

Cllr Morris said that while the devolving of the region’s £6 billion health and social care budget is crucial, he believes the most important area is new powers around jobs creation and regeneration.

He added: “This will benefit the people of Bolton. Regeneration is a big thing for our town and for Greater Manchester — not everyone works in Bolton and they travel around the conurbations for work, but we hope this will also bring jobs into Bolton.

“We will be around the table during the whole process, making sure we get the best deal for Bolton.”

Cllr Morris was happy to back today’s unified message from newspapers across Greater Manchester.

He said: “I would certainly back this campaign to call on the government to give the right settlement — there is no point in giving us powers without the money.”