DEVOLUTION of key powers to Newcastle could see the city making its own decisions on rail ticket pricing and jobs training.

An announcement by Cities Minister Greg Clark could mean major cities including Newcastle get to choose how they tackle areas such as transport investment and training needed for jobs in the region.

It might even mean cities make their own arrangements for how they connect to each other through high-speed railway.

But the announcement was met with caution by Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes, who said devolution promises had been made in the past but not come to anything.

He also stressed that the Government could not pass the buck on responsibility for economic redevelopment and any powers also had to be backed up by investment rather than making Newcastle residents pay for things by themselves. He will be meeting Greg Clark when he comes to Newcastle on Wednesday morning.

He said: “So far what we hear is a lot of noise from Whitehall about what powers cities will get but not a lot of detail. I’m meeting Greg Clark to make the case about what Newcastle needs for the future.

“The starting point for that conversation is how we start growing our economy and the additional powers cities will need to do that, including over skills.

“But we’ve had promises of devolution before from government and often good intentions are lost in translation. So I give this a cautious welcome but look forward to seeing the detail of what’s on the table.”

Mr Clark said: “I think there are deals to be done which will allow policies to be different in one city than another.

“It is part of my conversations with the cities to encourage them to make proposals about how they want things done differently in their areas.”

Mr Clark, who was born and grew up on Teesside, was appointed Cities Minister in July, working jointly for Vince Cable’s Department for Business and Eric Pickles’s Department for Communities and Local Government.

He has told cities to use London’s independence as a model. The eight cities to gain powers to spark economic growth will be Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Coun Forbes added: “Just telling me I have the powers might not help because these things need to be planned. But I’m enthusiastic about more opportunities from the Government.”

I think there are deals to be done which will allow policies to be different in one city than another