ST HELENS Council leader Barrie Grunewald insists the authority’s contribution to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority budget will not impact on services.

The council is to set aside more than £700,000 for the LCRCA’s 2018/19 budget, which Cllr Grunewald says can ensure “additional benefits” for the borough.

But it is understood concerns were raised by councillors at a scrutiny meeting that the payment had not been factored into the council budget. The money is part of £6.2m to be paid by the six authorities of the region to support a Single Investment Fund for “mayoral capacity requirements”.

A LCRCA report states the payments will also be made “in recognition of the transitional nature of the 2018/19 financial year, and in order to support the 2018/19 LCRCA budget”.

St Helens, which comprises of 11.64 per cent of the region’s catchment population, is to pay a sum of £721,729 towards the fund. Knowsley will pay £598,004 towards the total.

Some key proposals within the proposed budget include £1.6m funding to support key mayoral priorities, including digital connectivity, the Mersey Tidal project and new bus powers.

The budget will also support the establishment of the necessary capacity to enable the Combined Authority to deliver an investment fund that is already in excess of £1bn.

The report adds: “Unless government policy shifts significantly, the burden of funding the Mayoral CA will continue to be felt locally. As a result, the Combined Authority commits to securing a sustainable funding model for Mayoral costs from 2019/20.”

Cllr Grunewald said: “With the Combined Authority budget now set, the council will make a provision to meet the requirement. As a single year contribution it can be contained without an impact on ongoing services.

“As a member of the CA we obtain a number of benefits in terms of project funding and also from being part of the national business rate retention pilot. By supporting the CA in 2018/19 through a one-off investment we can ensure that it secures additional benefits for St Helens.”