Today, the Government has announced integrated settlements for West Midlands Combined Authority and Greater Manchester to help them deliver Labour’s Plan for Change.
The West Midlands will receive £385m to drive local growth and unlock regional control of key services including transport, house building and employment support. Greater Manchester will benefit from a settlement worth £560 million.
The Government is looking forward to providing additional transport funding in the West Midlands next year. The transport settlement for the West Midlands reflects the financial challenges inherited from the previous administration, and the Government remain committed to supporting sustainable improvements in the region’s transport network.
This is the first time in English history that mayors will get real control over their budgets. The new Integrated Funding Settlements will be the first of its kind, consolidating funds from multiple Whitehall departments into one pot.
This will bring greater flexibility in how it is spent and cut out needless bureaucracy where the mayoral authorities previously had to repeatedly bid for multiple funding pots from individual departments, such as Education and Transport, making sure every penny of taxpayers’ cash is focused on public services. The funding agreement that will give the West Midlands and Greater Manchester mayors more power to direct government funding towards regional priorities.
The new flexible funding will help the West Midlands drive forward schemes to help build 20,000 new social homes, growing the Business Growth West Midlands support system for local businesses and developing and training the next generation of low-carbon engineers.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham, Edgbaston, said:
“Our region will benefit greatly from this ambitious funding settlement, which will generate growth, boost housebuilding and improve connectivity.
"Our Mayor will now have more control over decision making for our region, enabling him to deliver on the priorities that our communities care about.
“I’m looking forward to working with the Mayor on the delivery of local projects to ensure that my constituents in Birmingham, Edgbaston benefit from this new settlement.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
“Our country and local leaders have been held back for too long by outdated systems and bureaucratic box ticking exercises, stifling growth and ambition.
“Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will now hold the reins on its own priorities – driving forward meaningful change for working people from building more affordable homes to day-to-day running of busses.
“This is our devolution revolution in action, and we are bringing forward this more flexible funding for more mayors next year to continue our Plan for Change to spread opportunities and growth to every region.”
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