January monthly column by David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire – originally published by The Press.

Happy New Year to York Press readers, 2024 was a big year in our region and across the UK. Being elected the first Mayor of York and North Yorkshire in May was the biggest honour and privilege of my life. I’m incredibly grateful to all the residents, businesses and organisations that have given me their time to share their hope and worries about their communities and discuss how we can work together to shift the dial and make things better for all our region.

A Labour government was also elected and within three days had invited all the Mayors to Downing Street to begin the process of working together. That engagement has continued, with the formation of the Mayor’s Council and Council of Regions and Nations – important forums to discuss how we can collectively drive growth, improve living standards, and shift powers and responsibilities from Westminster and closer to the people those decisions impact.

Those principles were shown in the English Devolution White Paper. This will make devolution the default of central government – where something can be devolved, it should be. This will revolutionise the way decisions are made, ensuring that local opinions are far more influential on key decisions around housing, transport, economic development, health, public safety, and environmental policy It’s a shift that we are already seeing the benefits of in York and North Yorkshire, with more powers given to the region in our devolution deal.

The year ahead

As I look to the year ahead, a big opportunity for York and North Yorkshire lays within our rural communities. We are the first predominantly rural combined authority, unlike Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and Liverpool, our region is not centred around large urban areas. Three-quarters of our area is rural, and we also have vibrant coastal communities. We are unique, in our make up and the opportunities available to us.

Devolution allows us to champion what our regions do best, that’s why I’m the only Mayor who has identified food and farming, and engineering biology, as growth priorities for our region. Innovation is pivotal to both areas, and the role of our universities is fundamental. These sectors will be vitally important in supporting growth and economic development, enhancing our local strengths to play our part in delivering growth across the nation.

Food will be vitally important; it is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK and North Yorkshire has the highest concentration of food manufacturers of any region. We’re home to some of the most recognisable food brands in the UK; Bettys and Taylors, Heck, Nestle, McCains, and Tofoo. As well as countless smaller food producers.

I’ve been meeting with them, listening to the challenges they face, the opportunities they have for growth, and getting a better understanding of their vital contribution to our nation’s food security. As we pull together our full growth plan the combined authority team are working hard to build a plan that does just that.

Farming has been hit hard for decades, the changing environment, impact of Brexit, reduction in subsidies, competing with cheap imports, and pressure from supermarkets to keep prices down during the cost-of-living crisis, have all contributed to the difficulties faced by farmers.

That’s why I have launched a review of farming in our region, to better understand the pressures that farmers are experiencing and to help inform how I will work with the farming sector to design what our support will look like and ultimately how we drive growth and boost living standards.

We’ll do this by boosting sustainability of farms and strengthening the skills and knowledge base with greater links to industry and academia. We’re already well underway with this, the Farm Sustainability Programme is currently piloting soil carbon and biodiversity assessments on more than 30 farms.

Supporting rural communities

I’m proud of the work the Combined Authority is already doing to support our rural communities. The Grow Yorkshire partnership includes the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, NFU, the CLA and engages with wider stakeholders, farmers and central government. They have done great work supporting farmers in our region, not only through the Farm Sustainability Programme but through our bio-fibre and precision agriculture special interest groups to connect our farmers to opportunity and the latest in farming technology. The Combined Authority has also supported a unique radio show to improve engagement with our rural communities.

Last week I attended a Fix our Food roundtable at the University of York with the Minister for Food and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner MP, I was pleased to hear that the Government are focussed on food security and that growth should be felt in our rural communities just as much as our towns and cities.

When the Combined Authority was established, it adopted the slogan ‘city region, rural powerhouse’. That mantra drives all that we do, ensuring we do the best for all our cities, towns, and villages across all our region.

Published on Thursday 16 January 2025