Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Council to consider budget
The joint overview and scrutiny committee will consider the budget proposal principles
Principles of the budget for the proposed Cumbria Combined Authority is due to be discussed at a meeting in Carlisle next week.
Members of Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness Councils’ joint overview and scrutiny committee will consider the budget proposal principles at Cumbria House in Botchergate on Monday (February 9).
According to the report members are asked to note the contents of the report and the principles underpinning the proposed Cumbria Combined Authority budget 2026/27.
In addition, they are asked to provide comments to the joint executive committee ahead of consideration of the Cumbria Combined Authority (CA) budget.
It is claimed that having an elected mayor for the county would give Cumbria greater influence and there would be Government funding totalling £333 million available for a 30-year Mayoral Investment Fund.
The report states: “There are a number of matters that require specific voting arrangements of the CA, for example the approval or amendment of the CA budget requires that the majority must include members of the constituent councils or, where any substitute members are acting in place of members, all members and all such substitute members.”
It states that the draft constitution includes a single overview and scrutiny committee. The scrutiny of the mayoral budget (and any mayoral precept) will fall within the remit of the CA’s overview and scrutiny committee.
The report adds: “Both authorities have sought to nominate the first four members from each of their members to the O&S committee of the CA, with a delegation to the respective monitoring officers to make further appointments should the recommendation be one of a larger committee.”
According to the report on October 14, 2025, both Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council, the constituent councils, agreed to consent to the creation of the Cumbria Combined Authority (CCA) with the aim to deliver major opportunities for Cumbria.
It states: “The benefits of increased investment, improved co-ordination and integration of services and stronger regional, national and international influence were recognised as considerable for the region.”