Chancellor commits to Midlands ‘Engine for Growth’
THE Chancellor has committed the Government to plans for turning the Midlands into the country’s ‘Engine for Growth’.
Whilst the devolution aspect of his Budget speech today focused on the so-called Northern Powerhouse and the passing on of further powers to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the underlying White Papers revealed the Midlands is also on his mind.
The papers said it – the Government – welcomes efforts by local areas to strengthen their governance, and strongly supports the recent publication of a West Midlands Statement of Intent for devolution, which sets out ambitious proposals for a strong and coherent West Midlands combined authority.
It added: “The government is committed to backing the Midlands to ensure it is Britain’s engine for growth. The government will build on the progress made in the Midlands during the course of the last Parliament when 83,300 more businesses were created in the Midlands, and the claimant count was halved.”
It also said the The government reaffirms its commitment to £5.2bn of transport investment in the Midlands in this Parliament.
To support the development of a pan-regional transport approach in the Midlands, the government is committing £5m of additional funding for Midlands Connect to help develop its vision and strategy for transforming transport connectivity across the region in order to drive economic growth.
In the Long Term Economic Plan for the Midlands, the Chancellor committed to working with the Midlands LEPs to support a regional approach to skills. The government will work with LEPs, the local partners and the emerging combined authorities to scale up this work across the Midlands, looking to agree a clear and detailed delivery plan in autumn 2015.
The government said it also supports the extension of the Birmingham Enterprise Zone, which will support Birmingham to build on the government’s investment in HS2 to generate further benefits for the city of Birmingham, and will consider a business case as part of the Spending Review.
The government also announced it is creating a new Jobcentre Plus Employment Advisor role, working with schools and sixth-form colleges to improve young people’s understanding of the local labour market, the skills local employers are looking for, and routes into work.
The programme will start in Birmingham, ensuring that young people in the city can benefit from the strong partnerships already in place, before expanding to the wider Greater Birmingham and Solihull area and beyond.
Ian Cornock, who heads up property consultancy JLL’s Birmingham office, said: “It’s good to hear George Osborne reference the Midlands engine of growth – a clear signal we’re moving in the right direction with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
“More than ever, we have a huge opportunity with the largest combined authority in the UK and we must seize this now if we are to maximise our great economic powerhouse and really put us at the heart of the UK economy for productivity, growth and innovation.
“We need to take control and make sure that, as a region, we have sufficient strategic locations and industrial space for major employers such as JLR.”
