Richard Parker chaired his first WMCA Board meeting as the new Mayor on 14 June. The vision of the CA is dominated by economic growth funded by the West Midlands Investment Zone. In his Autumn Statement last November Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled plans for an Investment Zone aimed at driving up to £5.5bn of growth across the region and creating 30,000 new jobs. Rather than having to bid for separate funding streams the CA will be awarded a single funding pot, leaving the CA Board to decide how best to use the money.
The zone will benefit from a mix of tax incentives, direct funding and business rate retention. It will focus on driving growth in advanced manufacturing, green industries, health-tech and underlying digital technologies.
According to “Appendix A. West Midlands Investment Zone – Final Proposition” (Link 1 below):
3. Given the accelerated nature of delivery expected of the Investment Zone, an initial Investment and Delivery Plan (‘IDP’) has been developed in conjunction with the partners across the region. This is summarised here, and has informed the development of the Year 1 Annual Delivery Plan (Appendix B).
A copy of the full Investment Delivery Plan is available on request.5. The Investment Zone programme is nationally set by government and includes the opportunity for investment (flexible spend/tax incentives) up to £160m over 10 years, and 25-year business rate retention on specific sites within the ‘Investment Zone’.
The Investment Zone itself will cover the whole West Midlands but will be centred on three sites, with £15m tax incentives:
* Coventry-Warwick Gigapark – anchored by a new battery gigafactory and associated businesses and technologies.
– to tackle land remediation, infrastructure and grid connectivity issues.
* Birmingham Knowledge Quarter – running northeast from Aston University through Duddeston and Nechells to Aston
– public realm and active travel infrastructure to attract investment.
* Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor – creating new green industries and skills through a partnership between the city council and university.
– investment in land remediation and key infrastructure.
(See Link 1 for details)Revenue investment: £26m in Key business and skills support programmes to be designed to support the priority sector across the region and complement mainstream activity funded through the Single Settlement from April 2025:
WMCA Board meeting 14 June 2024: Appointment of WMCA Boards and Committees 2024/25 (Link 2)
Mayor’s announcement of his appointment of the WMCA’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Sharon Thompson (who is also Deputy Leader of Birmingham Council).
Note that following discussions between the Mayor and constituent authority leaders, the Mayor has determined not to continue with the Portfolio Lead arrangements in place in previous years.
2.2 Following the mayoral election held last month, the Mayor has undertaken discussion with constituent authorities, and it has been agreed that a lean and efficient governance structure should be implemented and as a result, non-decision making meetings which are part of our formal governance should be removed and consideration should be given to how meaningful regional collaboration, across the public, private and third sectors, in these important areas will be undertaken in the future. As such, the meeting of the Economic Growth Board, Environment & Energy Board, Housing & Land Delivery Board and Wellbeing Board will not be held in the forthcoming municipal year, and any matters for decision in respect of their work areas will be reported to the WMCA Board in line with its decision making structures.
4.2 Scrutiny Champions are appointed at the first meetings of the overview & scrutiny committees to align with each committee’s work areas and priorities for the forthcoming year from amongst the political groups represented on each committee.
There will be 2 O&S Committees: a general Overview & Scrutiny Committee and a Transport Delivery Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
What has happened to the CA’s climate policies?
The WMCA Forward Plan (Link 3) is a 9 page document which lists ‘Forthcoming key decisions’ for the Board meetings for the year until July 2025. It is extraordinary that there is no mention of climate issues except in relation to public transport. So for example there is no mention of Retrofit, even though this has been a key issue for the WMCA in terms of trying to attract investment. Of course, these and other issues may be added later to the list on the Forward Plan – they should be added now, without delay.
Below are the issues for the Board meeting on 19 July:
WMCA Financial Monitoring Report
To provide an update on the financial position as at the end of Month 2 (May 2024) and present the revised multi- year capital programme which takes account of the outturn position for approvalUniversal Support
To consider the principles agreed with local authority partners for the commissioning and delivery model of Universal Support, a Department for Work & Pensions funded opportunity to support residents with health conditions to gain and progress into employment.Culture, Creative and Heritage Infrastructure Programme
To seek permission to undertake the Culture, Creative & Heritage Infrastructure programme of activityBus Options Report
To consider options for the future delivery of the region’s bus network.Bus Depot Strategy
To approve the funding for TfWM to acquire sites for Bus Depots.Transport Capital Programme
To raise awareness of the capital budget pressures across transport multi-modal programmes.Wednesbury Brierley Hill Extension (WBHE) Business Case
Consider a report in relation to Wednesbury Brierley Hill Extension (WBHE) Business CaseA Review of the Effectiveness of Member Engagement and Development within the WMCA
To consider the findings of a scrutiny review undertaken to examine the effectiveness of member engagement and development within the WMCA.Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO)
To consider the latest position.
There is no mention of the CA’s policies for Net Zero on the 19 July Board agenda. The only climate-related issues are to do with bus and tram services. Nor is there an item on how the functions of those Overview and Scrutiny Committees which have been abolished, including the Environment and Energy Board, will be replaced. Climate issues should be central to the WMCA’s policies and these omissions need to be urgently addressed.
RH 15 June 2024
Richard.Hatcher@bcu.ac.uk
Links
1. https://governance.wmca.org.uk/documents/s17272/Appendix%20A.pdf
2. https://governance.wmca.org.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=835&Ver=4
3. https://governance.wmca.org.uk/documents/s17261/Plan.pdf
Birmingham Against The Cuts 