Hammond pledges second devolution deal for the West Midlands

The Chancellor has confirmed plans for a second devolution deal for the West Midlands as part of its pledge to decentralise decision making from Westminster.

The measures outlined for West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and the West Midlands Combined Authority are aimed at addressing local productivity barriers.

The major outlay – £250m to support transport infrastructure – had been revealed at the weekend, with the bulk of this going towards an extension of the Midland Metro in the Black Country.

Other steps include £6m for a housing delivery taskforce and £5m for a construction skills training scheme.

To support the delivery of the Midlands Connect strategy, the government will also provide £2m to develop options to address key constraints on the Coventry to Leamington Rail Corridor, and £4m to tackle road congestion in the region.

In support of the wider Midlands Engine, the government will also pilot a manufacturing zone in the East Midlands. This will reduce planning restrictions to allow land to be used more productively, which it said would provide greater certainty for business investment, and boost local productivity and growth.

The government is also making available a £12m fund to the various Mayoral combined authorities. Applicable for 2018-19 and 2019-20, the extra funding is intended to boost capacity and resource facilities for the new mayors.

The government will also support skills development in the construction industry to back up new steps to increase the number of new homes being built across the country.

A £34m investment will scale up innovative training models across the country, including a programme in the West Midlands.

“Far too much of our economic strength is concentrated in our capital city,” said Mr Hammond.

“If we are truly to build an economy that is fit for the future then we have to get all parts of the UK firing on all cylinders.

“Today we back the Northern Powerhouse, the Midlands Engine and elected mayors across the UK.”

He said of the new £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund, half would be shared by the six areas with elected metro mayors – which includes the West Midlands – to give them the firepower to deliver on local transport priorities.

The remainder of the TCF will be open to competition by other cities in England.

£300m is also being invested to ensure HS2 infrastructure can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine rail improvements.

A key part of Mayor Street’s election campaign earlier this year was to eradicate rough sleeping across the region.

Mr Hammond said he was backing such initiatives by investing £28m in three new Housing First pilot schemes, of which one will be in the West Midlands – the others being Manchester and Liverpool.

“It is unacceptable that in 21st Century Britain there are people sleeping on the streets,” said Mr Hammond.

He said the government’s aim was to halve the number of people sleeping rough by 2022, and eliminating it by 2027.

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