After months of being behind the curve on the growing trend towards setting up combined authorities (CA), Birmingham and its fellow councils in the Black Country earlier this month jumped aboard the train, following the North West, the North East, and South and West Yorkshire.

Indeed the Midlands councils claim ambitiously that the new organisation will be up and running by 1 January 2016, a record time considering legislation needs to be placed before Parliament and there is the small matter of a general election in between.

Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore argues that the council has long been moving towards a CA through its ‘triple devolution’ agenda with a structure of sub-region, city council and neighbourhoods.

But he admits the local negotiations for a CA have taken longer than hoped and that the recent deal between the Treasury and Greater Manchester CA has acted as a spur. In an interview with The MJ he says: ‘It has been difficult to get momentum. We haven’t got the collective working that Greater Manchester has and at times the longer term agenda hasn’t been recognised by some. The trigger was the recent announcement of powers, responsibilities and the elected mayor for the GMCA. They are so seismic it was clear we had to break the logjam.’