Mayor calls for further devolution
The government should take a ‘place-based approach’ to next year’s spending review and extend devolution even further, mayor Andy Street has said.
Joining eight other Metro Mayors from across the country, Mr Street called for the government to give more powers to the regions and to push devolution further than ever before.
And, in a joint statement with mayors from Greater Manchester, the West of England, North of Tyne, Tees Valley, Sheffield City Region, London, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire and the Liverpool City Region, Mr Street said that ‘devolved powers need to go beyond any region’s current powers’.
“Collectively, the M9 represents over 43 per cent of England’s population and has a combined GVA of over £700 billion (45 per cent of England’s GVA),” the statement says.
“However, behind these statistics is a wealth of regional variance, opportunities and challenges.
“As a group, our responsibilities vary but we are united in our focus on driving economic growth, increasing productivity, and improving outcomes for the people, businesses and places that we represent.
“Delivering on the Prime Minister’s commitment to level-up powers across our regions, we call on Government to take a place-based approach to the 2020 Spending Review, giving us the long-term flexible budgets, powers and support to deliver on our ambitions.”
Following his meeting with the other mayors, Mr Street expanded on this point, saying:
“The value of devolution is there for all to see. In the West Midlands we are seeing record economic growth, record house building, record investment in our public transport, and record numbers in work.
“I truly believe that none of this would have been possible without the creation of the region’s Combined Authority and its devolved powers.
“But devolution to date has been fragmented and partial, and there is so much more we as mayors can achieve with greater powers at our disposal.
“Our cities and regions offer huge opportunities for the UK, but we need to be allowed to unleash our full potential. We cannot do this without further devolution and I, alongside the other mayors, will continue lobbying government for a place-based approach to next year’s spending review.”
