The authority consists of seven indirectly elected constituent members, each a directly elected councillor from one of the seven West Midlands county local authorities, as well as the Mayor of the West Midlands who is directly elected by the county's residents. There are currently thirteen non-constituent members, made up of three Local Enterprise Partnerships as well as ten local authorities from outside of the West Midlands county. There are also four 'observer organisations'.
History
The abolition of the West Midlands County Council in 1986 left the county without a single authority covering the whole area, although some council functions continued to be provided jointly, through the West Midlands Joint Committee, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority, West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service. The authority has previously been referred to as the Greater Birmingham Combined Authority, or simply Greater Birmingham, as the final model and membership was worked out and negotiated. Greater Birmingham is a term present in the current Local Enterprise Partnership which serves Birmingham, Solihull and some additional local council areas within the West Midlands.
Organisation
The authority's initial priorities will involve co-ordinating the city-region to act as one place on certain issues, such as international promotion and investment; reforming public services such as mental health services; and improving internal and external transport links.
Transport for West Midlands is an executive body of the WMCA that oversees transportation within the metropolitan county. The organisation carries over the previous responsibilities of Centro. TfWM has a similar level of responsibility to Transport for London - although its responsibility with highways is limited to a defined set of major routes. TfWM's policies and strategy are set by the WMCA's transport delivery committee. Transport for West Midlands operates the West Midlands Metrotram system, and is currently expanding the system from Birmingham City centre to Birmingham Airport, and to the west to Brierley Hill via the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Metro extensions are planned and constructed through the Midland Metro Alliance, of which TfWM is a member. TfWM is also looking at improvements to the M5 and M6 motorways, and new cycles routes as part of a metropolitan cycle network. There are also plans to work with central government over the future of the underused M6 Toll.
Housing and planning
While local planning will remain in the hands of the seven boroughs, the WMCA will be able to analyse county-wide brownfield sites and decide where new homes should be built.
Health
A mental health commission was formed in order to create a reformed mental healthcare system in the county. The WMCA will not, however, have control over a devolved NHS budget as is the case in Greater Manchester.
Youth Engagement
The WMCA co-runs the West Midlands Young Combined Authority with Birmingham based organisation The Beatfreeks Collective. The YCA holds membership of around 30 16-25 year olds from all seven constituent members and was established in September 2019. The YCA has a co-opted membership of the Combined Authority Board, with members issuing updates of Young Combined Authority work, at each WMCA Board meeting since January 2020.
Mayor of West Midlands
In 2017, the West Midlands, like several other city regions, elected a 'metro mayor' with similar powers to the Mayor of London. The date of the first mayoral election was 4 May 2017. The election was won by Andy Street of the Conservative Party, with 50.4% of the votes in the second round. A directly-elected mayor for the combined authority area was described as 'inevitable', as such a role has been stated as a conditional requirement for a more powerful devolution deal. The WMCA shadow board submitted proposals for a combined authority with and without a mayor leader, and decided which plan of action to take based on the devolution proposals from the government for each. Powers sought for a regional metro mayor and the WMCA were first revealed in a leaked bid document first reported by Simon Gilbert, of the Coventry Telegraph. Those powers included the ability of the mayor to levy extra business rates from companies in the region. Negotiations also included the desire to take away the ability of local councils to retain future business rates growth and to hand that cash to the WMCA, who would decide how it was spent across the region instead of by individual local authorities.
Membership
As of July 2020, the membership of the combined authority is as follows: Colour key :
