£389m West Midlands devolution settlement expected to save residents £3m a year on bills
A “milestone moment” of shifting funding and responsibility from Westminster to the West Midlands will result in thousands of local households saving a combined £3m on fuel bills.
The publication of an Integrated Settlement Outcomes Framework, released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, presents the expected outcomes of the first financial devolution settlement for the West Midlands.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – a group of 17 local authorities led by the West Midlands mayor Richard Parker – will deliver £389m of spending over the coming 12 months on local infrastructure, transport and housing.
Mr Parker said: “Government is backing our region – putting funds and powers into the hands of local leaders, so that we can make the right decisions for the West Midlands.
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“We will use this money to get more people into jobs with better paid work, maintain and improve our public transport network, deliver more affordable and social housing, and help businesses to grow.
“And we will tackle fuel poverty by improving thousands of old and cold homes, cutting people’s energy use and bills.”
Over the coming year, the £389m, alongside the region’s existing £211m transport fund, will deliver support for 4,275 businesses, nearly 1,000 new jobs and more than 1,770 new homes, many of which will be affordable, according to the outcomes framework.
The money will also be used to support the three-year, £167m buildings retrofit pilot, which will see 14,000 homes, including 12,300 social homes, benefit from measures such as low-carbon heating and energy-efficient insulation.
The mayor has estimated that households across the region are set to save a combined £3m a year on their fuel bills, putting an average of £236 a year back into their pockets.
Part of the settlement will go on skills and training for more than 58,000, people helping them into work or better jobs.
It will also fund 240 million bus journeys, as well as additional cycle routes and electric vehicle charging points.
A further £36m will be invested into retrofitting public buildings, cutting fuel bills for local authorities, schools, healthcare and emergency services.
Mr Parker added: “My mission is clear – growth, jobs, journeys and homes for everyone. This is how we are going to change thousands of lives for the better.”
The WMCA will also use part of the investment to further deliver the West Midlands Investment Zone, a 25-year initiative it hopes will drive more than £5bn of investment and 30,000 new jobs.
Jim McMahon, minister of state for local government and English devolution, said: “Devolution is an absolute priority for us and the West Midlands receiving their first integrated settlement is a milestone moment.
“We are cutting the time-wasting bureaucracy and putting elected leaders, like mayor Parker, at the forefront of driving change, delivering local priorities and getting better value for money.
“Transferring power from Whitehall to local leaders who know their area best is at the heart of our plans to simplify funding and boost regional growth in a decade of renewal as part of our Plan for Change.”
The first integrated settlement, which will run till March 2026, will deliver services and projects that had previously relied on the region’s ability to win multiple grants from different government departments.
