Chancellor commits to regions with series of pledges

Detail was light on new money for the Midlands in Rishi Sunak’s maiden Budget, but some details were evident in the longer Budget document published after he had given his statement.

Some £161m has been set aside for a new transport system between Derby and Nottingham including over £25m for bus rapid transit in Derby and over £10m for a new cycle route between Nottingham, Derby and East Midlands Airport.

Meanwhile, the government is devolving over £160m from the Local Growth Fund to West Midlands Combined Authority to accelerate progress on the Eastside Metro extension and phase one of the Sprint bus rapid transit network.

The government will also provide part of £4.2bn from 2022-23 for five-year funding settlements for the West Midlands.

The Budget allocates £21.3m for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Trade, Tourism, and Investment Programme to take full advantage of the economic legacy for the West Midlands.