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Out-Law News 1 min. read

Midlands councils announce intention to create West Midlands Combined Authority


A group of seven councils has announced its intention to create a combined authority for the West Midlands with the aims of co-ordinating economic growth in the region, undertaking public sector reform and negotiating the devolution of powers from the UK government.

In a statement of intent (20-page / 8.7 MB PDF) issued last week, the metropolitan councils for Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton invited other local authorities in the Coventry and Warwickshire, Black County and Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnerships to join them in “the most effective combined authority in the country”.

The statement said the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) would be established in April 2016 and would work with public and private sector partners to promote economic growth, reform public services and direct investment to "where the biggest outcome for the Combined Authority can be achieved". It said that the powers to be handed to the WMCA would be "decisions for existing councils to take", but noted that regions with existing combined authorities had "shown themselves to be in a better position to negotiate with government the devolution of power and resources from the national to the local level".

Among the proposals in the document were the establishment of an independent West Midlands Land Commission to arrange the registration, assessment and remediation of development sites and vacant properties across the region and a Regeneration and Development Growth Board to "oversee a portfolio of major development projects".

The councils proposed to produce a Strategic Economic Plan for the West Midlands by early in 2016; to establish an "economic intelligence hub" to inform decision-making; to develop a programme of transport interventions; and to set up a joint programme on skills. The proposals also included new independent commissions to address levels of productivity and to tackle mental health issues and reform public services in the region.

The UK government gave its strong support to the statement of intent in its summer Budget (123-page / 1 MB PDF) on Wednesday. 

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