Mayor to have planning powers to boost productivity
PLANNING powers will be handed over to Greater Manchester’s mayor as part of the Chancellor’s plans to boost productivity.
The report launched today has been put together by Manchester-born economist Lord O’Neill, who is now commercial secretary to the Treasury, and sets out the key measures that are designed to make Britain “the most prosperous major economy in the world by the 2030s”.
It follows on the Chancellor’s summer Budget statement and is focused on transport, planning and education. The government’s framework for raising productivity includes 15 key areas, built around two pillars – encouraging long term investment and promoting a dynamic economy.
In Fixing the Foundations, it says the Government will devolve new powers to the future Mayor of Greater Manchester “giving them the tools to drive forward complex, brownfield developments…produce Development Corporations, and promote Compulsory Purchase Orders.”
Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The plan I’m launching today will create an open, competitive economy and deliver much-needed investment in skills and infrastructure.
“But only the private sector can produce sustainable growth, create long-term jobs and make the economy as productive as it can be. Boosting productivity is the economic challenge of our age, and there’s a long way to go.”
The report highlights the fact that “the gap in labour productivity between the UK’s two largest city economies, London and Manchester, is larger than in any other G7 country and more than double that in both Germany and Japan” and looks to reform of the skills system to help close this.
The additional planning powers announced today supplement those previously announced for Greater Manchester’s mayor, including control of the fire services and the establishment of a Greater Manchester Land Commission.
