DEVOLUTION, the Northern Powerhouse and transport networks are some of the hot topics to be debated at the Yorkshire Enterprise Network Expo 2017 conference taking place at Bradford College’s David Hockney building.

The all-day conference takes place on Monday, November 6, with the devolution debate between 1pm and 2.30pm.

A panel of political and business leaders are lined up to tackle the issues on the agenda and their impact on the economic growth of the city and the region as a whole.

The YEN Expo debate will explore what options exist and what measures are being put in place for a directly-elected regional parliament for Yorkshire. It will discuss how this move would enhance democratic accountability by bringing key decision-making powers to the region.

The panel will be chaired by Nasser Malik, Chairman of the Yorkshire Enterprise Network and co-hosted by Dermot Bolton, co-founder and host of Bradford’s Politics in the Pub group.

They will be joined by the Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Roger Marsh; Bradford Council Leader and chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe; Regional Director of the Department for International Trade, Mark Robson; and Director of the National Literacy Trust, Jonathan Douglas.

Councillor Hinchcliffe said: “I’m looking forward to being on the panel for the Bradford Devolution and Northern Powerhouse session. .

“It’s an exciting time for the city as our ‘Next Stop Bradford’ campaign for a high-speed Northern Powerhouse rail station in the centre of Bradford is gaining traction. I would encourage business people attending YEN Expo to pledge their support for this investment through the www.nextstopbradford.com/pledge-support/ webpage by sharing why they believe Bradford should be included on the NPR network.

“This will demonstrate to decision-makers at Transport for the North and in the Government why Bradford must be included in this major infrastructure investment.”