Senior councillors at Knowsley MBC have backed plans for a combined authority across the Liverpool city region.

The council’s cabinet endorsed the draft findings of the Liverpool City Region governance review, which recommends the possibility of a combined authority made up of Knowsley, Halton, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, Merseytravel and the local enterprise partnership.

Council leader Cllr Ron Round said: ‘Ask any local authority leader and they will tell you that economic growth and jobs are top of their wish list right now.

‘Of course, these are not easy goals to achieve in the current climate.

‘Luckily, my colleagues in the Liverpool city region share my absolute determination to tackle this challenge, which is why we are exploring the option of becoming a combined authority.’

After the end of a consultation on 6 September 2013, a final recommendation will be presented to the council.

Nine councils in South Yorkshire and councils in West Yorkshire and the North East are also proposing combined authorities.