Councillors are preparing for final meetings which will decide whether to establish a new Mayor-led authority for Cumbria.
The Government believes the introduction of a mayoral authority for Cumbria would improve people's economic, social and environmental wellbeing. And, after considering the powers, responsibilities and potential funding that would be available to a new authority, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Councils now need to formally decide whether they both want to go ahead.
If they do, a Cumbria Combined Authority would become a legal body early in 2026, with leadership until mayoral elections in May 2027 coming from the two constituent authorities, Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils.
A new authority would have a range of powers, responsibilities and opportunities not available to individual local authorities and be in addition to Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland Councils. This includes access to a multi-million pound,30-year investment fund.
Powers would include strategic, Cumbria-wide responsibilities on transport and local infrastructure; skills and employment support; housing and strategic planning; economic development and regeneration; environment and climate change; health, wellbeing and public service reform and public safety.
In Westmorland and Furness, the council's Cabinet will meet on 29 September to discuss the issue and is expected to put forward a recommendation it is 'minded to' either give consent or withhold consent.
Cabinet's recommendation will then be discussed by the council's Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 30 September and a full council meeting on 9 October.
Feedback from those meetings will then be considered by Cabinet and a final decision to consent or not will be made at its meeting on 14 October.
Cumberland Council is set to make a decision on the same day. Both councils need to consent to setting up the combined authority.
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said:
"This is clearly a very significant decision and we have sought to gain as much information as possible from Government on how the mayoral authority would work, the additional powers and responsibilities the new authority could expect, and the funding available.
"Now, in weighing up their final decisions, members will be considering that information, evidence from other areas of the country that already have an elected mayor and feedback from the Government's public consultation earlier this year."
The council believes that through a devolution deal around £11million a year would be passed from Westminster to the combined authority for some of the services Westminster devolves to Cumbria.
However for other items the Mayor or Cumbria would have the ability to charge households a precept via the council tax in addition to that of Westmorland and Furness Council and town and parish councils.
Its understood that the Westmorland and Furness LibDem administration have concerns around the voting structure of a new combined authority with concerns that Cumberland Council and the Mayor of Cumbria could override them on items in the future.
The Westmorland and Furness Council cabinet will meeting in Kendal Town Hall on Monday and be asked to vote for one of two options:
Option 1 - Confirm that Cabinet is minded to give its consent to the establishment of the Cumbria Mayoral Combined Authority.
Option 2 - Confirm that Cabinet is minded to withhold its consent to the establishment of the Cumbria Mayoral Combined Authority.
The councils ruling Libdem party has expressed reservations about the prospect of a mayor for Cumbria and the combined authority that could see the devolution proposal from government rejected.
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