The new Government has put devolution at the forefront of its strategy, kicking off with a meeting of the mayors in Downing Street almost immediately after the election, rapidly followed by Angela Rayner's invite for those without a deal to step forward.

Areas with existing deals have had a mixed history thus far – none more so than Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. In January, the combined authority was slapped with a second Best Value notice for failing to improve quickly enough. The first, a year earlier, found ‘significant weaknesses' in its governance.