Thousands of families across the region are set to save a combined £3 million a year on their household fuel bills as part of an unprecedented shift in power, funding and responsibility from Westminster to the West Midlands.
Details showing the impact on the economy and people’s standard of living from the £389m Integrated Settlement secured by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, were today published by the Government.
The Integrated Settlement Outcomes Framework, released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), shows what the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will deliver over the coming 12 months to boost economic growth, jobs, homes and transport - the four key priorities of Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands.
The region’s first ever settlement, a cornerstone of the West Midlands’ devolution deal with Government, will cut bureaucracy and give the Mayor and local leaders greater control, choice and power to focus the money on regional priorities.
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
- More than 1,770 new homes, many of them affordable
- Skills and training for over 58,000 people helping them into work or better jobs
- Almost 240m bus journeys
- Additional cycle routes and electric vehicle charging points
The money will also be used to support the three-year, £167 million Buildings Retrofit Pilot, which will see 14,000 homes, including 12,300 social houses, benefit from measures such as low carbon heating, and energy efficient insulation. This will cut fuel bills for those households and put an average of £236 a year back into their pockets.
The Pilot will also invest £36m into retrofitting public buildings, cutting fuel bills for local authorities, schools, healthcare and emergency services.
The Mayor 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.
“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.
“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 Integrated Settlement to further deliver the region’s Investment Zone, a 25-year initiative capable of driving more than £5bn of investment and 30,000 new jobs.
Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE, 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 to March 2026, will deliver services and projects that had previously relied on the region’s ability to win multiple grants from different government departments.
As part of the ongoing devolution of powers and funding to the West Midlands, the region expects future Integrated Settlements to span multiple years and to see additional funding – for skills, employment support, business growth and to tackle climate change – brought under regional control.
Image credit: WMCA
