City leaders call for more power
WITH less than a week to go before Scotland votes on independence, city leaders are urging the Government to grant more powers to the English regions.
A GVA-hosted summit in London today will call for changes so Core Cities can start benefiting from the devolved policy Scotland already sees.
Commenting in Evolving Cities, GVA’s latest research report, Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council and Cabinet of Core Cities member, finance and investment, said that devolving powers and decision making to cities such as Sheffield would allow the UK to compete better on the global stage.
And Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council and Cabinet of Core Cities member, skills and employment, believes that cities such as Leeds would benefit in vital areas such as skills and employment if greater regional responsibility was granted.
Ms Dore said: “My city of Sheffield is known globally for high quality engineering and manufacturing and like the other Core Cities we have unique and dynamic economic assets with the potential to be the centre of jobs and growth in a new UK economy.
“To achieve our full potential we need the tools that allow us to compete not only with London and cities in the UK, but on the global stage. As cities we must be able to take the decisions that matter and shape our own destiny in the twenty first century economy. We need the freedom to take long term financial decisions to invest in infrastructure, which is vital to make us competitive, and the skills businesses need to make our cities high wage economies.
“The key to enabling cities to achieve this is giving them the financial tools they need to unlock their potential. We must move away from a situation where central government directly controls how the vast majority of public money is spent in our cities, limiting the ability of places to make the decisions that matter for their economy. Cities are better placed to understand the needs of local businesses and what their city needs to grow.”
Addressing skills, Mr Wakefield added: “A centralised model run from Whitehall is inevitably a ‘one-size fits all’ solution. If we are to maximise regional growth we need the flexibility to work with employers to respond to local challenges and opportunities.
“We have already proved that, where we have the freedom, power and resources to determine local solutions to the big challenges facing our communities, we can deliver more effective solutions than Whitehall alone.
“This is why we are asking government to endorse our five year Skills and Labour Market Agreements. These agreements will see provision for skills and employment services devolved to local functioning economic areas, our cities and city regions.
“Fulfilling our economic potential will rely upon us having the essential skills our labour market needs. Only by freeing local areas to establish their own provision will we get a more responsive skills and employment system that will allow us to achieve that ambition. Doing so will be good for jobs and good for businesses.”
The comments come as the eight English core city leaders come together to campaign for more regional powers at a summit today.
GVA, one of the UK’s leading commercial property advisers, will launch the new research at the Core Cities Summit at Vintners Hall in central London. The report, entitled ‘Evolving Cities’, will highlight how the case for greater regional control is a compelling one given that the eight English core cities and their regions account for 27% of the English economic output.
Iain Jenkinson, senior director and head of planning, development and regeneration in the North for GVA, says: “The Core Cities project collectively represents the first chance in a generation for regional cities to work together to actively shape their own future; the powers they currently have are only a starting point. This will not be a quick fix. Rather it will take time and require the core cities to continue working together with a range of partners, from international governments and sovereign wealth funds to more local players such as universities and business leaders.
“Schemes such as an improved rail network or hub airport require planning, funding and support at a macro level but in the long run, it is up to the core cities themselves to shape and fund what works best for them. Central to this agenda is the devolution of even more powers to create greater fiscal, economic and political autonomy, and to seal strong and sustainable growth for decades to come.”
