Chancellor Rachel Reeves today (Wednesday October 30) backed West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker with a budget focused on jobs, housing, economic growth and transport, mirroring his own priorities for the region.
From the budget, the West Midlands is expecting to receive:
- Funding for the Black Country Metro tram extension
- A share of £1bn to protect vital bus routes
- A share of the extra £500m for the Affordable Homes Programme
- A share of the £240m ‘Get Britain Working’ package
- A direct HS2 link between the West Midlands and the heart of London
- Further support for the region’s Innovation Accelerator to develop cutting edge green and medical technologies
The Chancellor also confirmed that the West Midlands, along with Greater Manchester, will get an integrated settlement in April 2025 expected to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
This will allow the Mayor and fellow West Midlands leaders much greater freedom to allocate funding where they feel it is most needed. The exact figure will be announced in the coming weeks.
Welcoming the announcements, the Mayor said the budget would support his own four key priorities – Jobs for Everyone – Homes for Everyone – Growth for Everyone and Journeys for Everyone.
The budget was also a personal win for the Mayor who had lobbied Government for extra funding for both affordable housing and getting people back into the workplace.
The integrated settlement also confirmed the Government’s intention to put Metro Mayors at the heart of the nation’s push for economic growth by pressing ahead with devolution and the transfer of money and power from Whitehall to the West Midlands.
The Mayor said: “My goals are simple – real jobs, affordable homes, economic growth and better public transport for the people of the West Midlands.
“Today’s budget will help deliver those local priorities and is great news for the West Midlands, helping us build a solid platform for future growth across our region.
“It will provide money to improve and protect our public transport and for the construction of more affordable homes, echoing my own target to build 20,000 new social homes for those people who need them most.
“I will now work closely with Government departments and our local authorities on how best to use the resources available to secure the maximum benefit for the people of our region.”
The Mayor also welcomed the Government’s confirmation that HS2 will now go from the West Midlands directly into London Euston.
The Mayor launched his four key priorities last month following a series of meetings with new Government figures and regional leaders.
The four priorities are:
- Jobs for everyone – investing in jobs, skills, training and apprenticeships and reducing youth unemployment and ensuring everyone has a job that pays well.
- Homes for everyone – building social and affordable homes and creating vibrant communities so that everyone will have a place to call home.
- Growth for everyone- helping businesses grow, supporting innovation and creativity and making sure everyone benefits and the environment is protected.
- Journeys for everyone – connecting communities and making travel easier, safer and more affordable for everyone
