The Liverpool City Region is an area of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 centred on Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. It was one of eight city regions

City region (United Kingdom)

A city region is a pilot administrative division currently being developed in England.-Background:City region is a concept used by economists and urban planners to denote a metropolitan area and its hinterland, usually divided administratively but with shared resources and markets...

 defined in the 2004 document Moving Forward: The Northern Way

The Northern Way

The Northern Way is a 20 year British governmental strategy to transform the economy of the North of England. It aims to bridge a £30 billion output gap between the North and the average for England....

, as a collaboration between the three northern Regional Development Agencies

Regional Development Agency

In the United Kingdom, a regional development agency is a non-departmental public body established for the purpose of development, primarily economic, of one of England's Government Office regions. There is one RDA for each of the NUTS level 1 regions of England...

. The Mersey Partnership is the voluntary partnership for the city region. It is made up of representatives of the five local authorities in Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

, plus from the neighbouring borough of Halton

Halton

- Places in the United Kingdom :* Halton , Cheshire**Halton **Halton, Cheshire village* Halton, Buckinghamshire village** RAF Halton* Halton, district of Leeds, West Yorkshire* Halton, Northumberland village...

 in Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

.

On 13 March 2007 , UK Local Government Minister Phil Woolas

Phil Woolas

Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...

 announced plans to create a "cabinet" of the Leaders of the six councils (Halton

Halton (borough)

Halton is a local government district in North West England, with borough status and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. It consists of the towns of Widnes and Runcorn and the civil parishes of...

, Knowsley

Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley

The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It comprises the towns of Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood and Cronton; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being the major commercial centres...

, Liverpool, St Helens

Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It is named after its largest town St Helens, and covers an area which includes the settlements of Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Haydock, Rainhill, Eccleston, Clock Face, Billinge and...

, Sefton and Wirral

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...

) in a form of regional devolution for what was termed the "Liverpool City Region". While a report in the Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool Daily Post

The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...

newspaper on 3 June 2008 suggests a 'Super Cabinet' plan to boost economy in the city region.

In January 2009 an agreement was made that the local authorities of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral will form the Liverpool City Region, in a Multi-Area Agreement (MAA). This will transfer, from central government, greater responsibilities in more than 10 areas covering employment, skills, transport, regeneration, housing and planning. Hazel Blears

Hazel Blears

Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...

, the former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....

said: "Today's 'Liverpool city-region' Multi-Area Agreement will mean Merseyside's seven councils will no longer have to work alone on their economy, they will work from the same blueprint with more devolved powers to deliver jobs, training, welfare support and economic resilience."