Budget reveals £25m good growth increase for North West

North West authorities will receive a share of a £280m fund to back housing development, transport infrastructure, or High Street regeneration schemes.

The figures were revealed by the government in the wake of this afternoon’s Budget, following on from an announcement earlier this week setting out proposals for financial devolution to English regions which also confirmed a £1.5bn borrowing facility for mayoral authorities.

Cash allocated under the Good Growth Fund will provide “new capital for growth” to mayoral areas, as well as transitional funding to help emerging strategic authorities invest in growth priorities.

The fund is targeted at authorities which were not selected for the city densification funding programme in March, which saw Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region scoop £175m and £95m of central government cash, respectively.

Figures released by MHCLG this afternoon show ten mayoral authorities will receive £164m, while a further 14 emerging strategic authorities will receive £98m between them. The remaining £21m will be allocated to areas that are still working on either forming or joining a combined authority.

Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority will receive £11.9m and Cumbria Combined Authority will net £6m as part of the announcement.

Of the emerging strategic authorities, Lancashire Combined County Authority will receive £7.3m.

Delivering his first Budget to the House of Commons, chancellor John Healey said the fund would form part of wider government measures to give mayors and regional authorities greater control to drive growth in their communities.

He added that the government was in the final stages of agreements for ten new strategic authorities, including those proposed for Leicestershire and Staffordshire.

“This will mean that over 90% of England’s population will have a devolution agreement in place, with the entirety of the North of England covered by mayoral devolution for the first time,” he told the house.

“People who know their places best should have more power to shape their future. The Budget sets out a roadmap to fiscal devolution, delivering the biggest transfer of power and resources in a generation and giving local leaders greater control to drive growth in their communities.”

Healey also confirmed government plans for local and regional government to retain 100% of business rates income before the end of the decade, with mayors receiving a share of business rates from 2027, in a bid to replace grants from central government.

A call for evidence on the proposals will be published later in the year.