Combined authority to unlock £5m worth of emergency funding
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority says it has agreed to unlock £5m in emergency funding for local authorities, secured through the West Yorkshire devolution deal.
The money will be used to respond to the immediate need to support the recovery from the pandemic, with projects identified in partners’ local recovery plans.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and leader of Bradford Council, said: “It’s vital that we do all we can to support our partners and communities across the region as they look to recover from the awful impact of COVID-19.
“The funding we have secured through the West Yorkshire devolution deal gives us the flexibility to invest in and support economic recovery priorities right across West Yorkshire and will make a real difference.
“We’re making the limited resources we have available go as far as possible, but if we’re to properly support people, communities and the economy reach its full potential, we will need much greater levels of investment.
“We have drafted a £1.6bn recovery plan and presented this to Government as an investment proposition.”
The £5m in immediate support is being made available from the £38m annual gainshare funding secured as part of the West Yorkshire devolution deal, which was agreed between the region’s leaders and the Government in March 2020.
On a per capita basis, it means Bradford will receive around £1,157,000; Calderdale £453,000; Kirklees £942,000; Leeds £1,700,000; and Wakefield £746,000.
The £1.8bn West Yorkshire devolution deal was signed into law last week, after the devolution order was approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Devolution will bring at least an additional £1.8bn of public investment into local control over the next 30 years, and enable the five councils and the Mayoral Combined Authority to support transport improvements, adult education, skills and jobs, infrastructure, housing and regeneration, and the region’s economic revival.
The Combined Authority, working with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and partners, has developed the West Yorkshire Economic and Transport Recovery Plans, a package of essential funding required to support West Yorkshire’s recovery over the next five years.
The £1.6bn plan, which the Combined Authority has called on the Government to support in March’s Budget, has the potential to help create thousands of jobs in high-growth industries.
Analysis carried out on behalf of the Combined Authority shows that without action to support the region, unemployment risks rising to 14% in 2021, with more than £15bn being wiped off the value of the region’s economy and the job market not recovering to pre-crisis levels until 2027.
