Powers and decision-making abilities must be devolved to West Midlands, Chamber boss tells Tory conference

KEY powers and decision-making abilities must be devolved to those who best understand the West Midlands if the Engine for Growth is to achieve its goal, a prominent business leader has told the Conservative Party Conference.

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, delivered his message to a fringe meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority at the conference, which is being held in Manchester – the heart of the Northern Powerhouse.

Faulkner told the meeting that having come through a very hard recession, the West Midlands was now establishing a sound economic base. He pointed to such gains as the region’s strong exporting record, 130,000 businesses contributing £80bn of GVA to the UK economy, the immediate impact of the new £750m Grand Central and New Street Station redevelopment project, the extended runway at Birmingham Airport and the belief that the region was now the most entrepreneurial outside London and the most popular destination in the country for people relocating out of the capital.

“In fact,” he said, “last year almost twice as many people moved to the West Midlands as headed to Greater Manchester – a pattern that will only increase further as the likes of HSBC decide to move the headquarters of their new retail bank to the region along with thousands of jobs.

“The West Midlands is currently at the start of a period that many people in the area, myself included,  believe could be a true renaissance for the region,   and the devolution agenda is something that individuals and businesses alike,    throughout the West Midlands, want to grasp with both hands in order to help fuel our future growth.”

He said the region now wanted to build on this strong base and the opportunities that were developing as a result.

“We want key powers and decision making abilities that will help shape our future, devolved to people who best understand our region. We are aiming high, and, as the Chancellor said, our aims are bold,” he added.

He said the WMCA was designed to be a public and private partnership, with the various metropolitan authorities and LEPs, supported by the key regional business bodies such as the chambers of commerce, all working together.

Outlining the strategy to the meeting, he said: “We believe our combined authority should span the three regional local enterprise areas that make up our functional economic geography, and include our population of four million people, making the West Midlands Combined Authority the largest such body in the country.

“The scale of what we want to achieve is ambitious and bold. But our belief is that for the region to compete globally and to maximise its contribution to the UK’s general prosperity then size really does matter.

“We are ready to take on the responsibility to both attract investment and generate income that we can keep and recycle back into the region’s economy, and in doing so help position the West Midlands as the region that will truly power the engine of the UK economy in the years to come.”