GREATER MANCHESTER SEEKS £400M FUND FROM GOVERNMENT

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have submitted a joint Growth & Reform Plan to the Government setting out its aim to become a financially self-sustaining city region.

The plan includes seeking a £400m share of the Local Growth Fund to support the region’s transport and infrastructure requirements, to build business support and help provide the skills which employers need and to fill gaps in the region’s Life Science and Graphene sectors.

The plan has been published as part of discussions with the government over the area’s Growth Deal and outlines proposals for a new “place-based” partnership with Government, to drive reform of the way that local services are delivered and to better align local and central growth programmes.

This £399.1m bid breaks down as:

• £204m for its Major Transport Investment Programme and £110m for Transport Minor Works – with the region’s schemes prioritised based on how they will support the wider growth strategy.
• £47.9m in match funding to provide high class learning facilities ensuring a supply of labour with the skills which employers need.
• £7.2m to improve and expand the Business Growth Hub services available to Greater Manchester businesses
• £10m to contribute to an investment fund, to be developed jointly with Cheshire East, to support life sciences in direct response to the Government’s Task Force requirement to support the transition of Alderley Park into a regional Life Science cluster, and the sector in general. This would be matched by private sector investment.
• £20m to support the development of the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre at the University of Manchester.

Additional proposals set out in the Plan include working with UKTI to expand international trade services and improve the region’s international competitiveness; working with Government to accelerate the development of Piccadilly Station to help ensure that Greater Manchester is HS2-ready; Government support for Rail North proposals giving oversight for rail franchising in the North to local partners and greater freedoms and flexibilities around highways and local bus services.

The plan also calls for local public services to be given the same long-term indicative budgets as government departments, something which the Government has indicated it will look favourably on. Greater Manchester is proposing two initiatives – one to increase the scale of its work with troubled families, with a greater emphasis on employment and for a reform of health and social care provision across the conurbation.

Greater Manchester is looking for a deal with Government over the full five years from the next spending review (expected autumn 2015) covering significant blocks of funding where the region can keep savings generated through reforms over the period – with an agreement sharing risk and reward.

Lord Peter Smith, chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said:

“This is a hugely ambitious plan but one which is grounded in clear priorities, evidence and experience. Our public services and business leaders have a long, strong record of working together and the GMCA and the LEP provide effective and accountable strategic leadership. We believe our approach, in which economic growth goes hand in hand with public sector reform, is fundamental to the future success of Greater Manchester.”

Mike Blackburn, chair of the Greater Manchester LEP, said

“We recognise that our vision to eradicate the gap between public spending and tax generated is an ambitious one but believe it’s achievable. If empowered to take control over the levers and resources which impact on our ability to deliver economic growth and to improve the quality of life for local residents, by 2020/21 we estimate that tax take in Greater Manchester will have risen to £21.5bn and public expenditure will have fallen to £21.2bn.”

The Minister for Cities, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, said:

“The Government welcomes the Strategic Economic Plan that Greater Manchester LEP has published and looks forward to continued engagement with local civic and business leaders over the next few months on the negotiation of their Growth Deal.

The Growth Deal provides a fantastic opportunity for Greater Manchester LEP to seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from government, and a share of the Local Growth Fund to put towards their the growth priorities set out in this strategic economic plan. This provides the opportunity to unleash the ambition and creativity of Greater Manchester’s local leaders, by devolving resource and responsibility in return for compelling local economic leadership in pursuit of growth.”

Source: Greater Manchester LEP