A new devolution deal for Suffolk was signed yesterday but Michael Gove did not attend as he was called to answer an urgent question in parliament.

The deal signed at Little Saxham aims to provide an elected leader for Suffolk County Council and increased powers over investment, transport and adult education at county council level.

It will be subject to local consultation and a council resolution, in preparation for an anticipated election for leader in May 2024.

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove was expected to attend and sign the deal but was instead called to an urgent question in the House of Commons; MP Lee Rowley, minister in the department for levelling up, stepped in for Mr Gove.

Michael Gove failed to turn up for signing

The deal was described as a way to put power in the hands of local people by Mr Gove and leader of the county council, Cllr Matthew Hicks.

However, Green Party county councillor Andrew Mellen described it as a "recipe for deadlock" because the elected leader could have different political beliefs than the majority of the council.

The leader of the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group at the county council, Cllr Andrew Stringer, also criticised the "vague promises" in the deal, asking: "In the words of Bob Geldof, is that it?"

Cllr Stringer said the promise of a £480 million transformation fund over 30 years would equate to £16 million a year, which he said was less than Conservative governments have cut from the council's annual budget over the decades.

The councillor also questioned the ambition of the deal's £6 million a year for homes, which he said would pay for less than 30 homes.

The Commons was suspended by the speaker yesterday over Mr Gove's failure to provide a copy of the statement he had made about the approval of a Cumbrian coal mine to Labour MPs.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "this is not the way we do good government", while the secretary for levelling up argued he could not provide a document as he had ad-libbed some of what he said.

The devolution deal was signed in Little Saxham at the headquarters of Claas UK, manufacturer of agricultural machinery.