CHALLENGES will be faced and change for residents is on the cards according to the West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker.
This comes after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board agreed a £1.2billion budget for 2025/26 during a meeting at the City of Wolverhampton Council chamber.
Mr Parker said the financial plan would help drive economic growth, build more social and affordable homes, improve public transport and give people the skills they need to land good quality jobs.
This year’s Budget is historic in that it includes, for the first time, an Integrated Settlement marking an unprecedented shift in power, funding and responsibility from Westminster to the West Midlands.
The £389million Settlement will cut bureaucracy and give Mr Parker and local leaders, greater control, choice and power to focus the money on regional priorities.
Together with additional funds secured from Government and other sources, the WMCA’s indicative Capital Budget for 2025/26 will be £684.4m.
This will be used to invest in projects that support the Mayor’s four key priorities – Growth for Everyone, Homes for Everyone, Jobs for Everyone and Journeys for Everyone. It will be accompanied by a revenue budget of nearly £559m.
The Mayor said: “Since being elected I have taken action to tackle youth unemployment, secured a £5.5bn Investment Zone to drive economic growth, funded hundreds of new social and affordable homes and made swift progress to bring our buses under public control.
“It is these things – good jobs, affordable homes, efficient public transport and thriving businesses – that matter most to people and that’s why they are my priorities.
“We have just approved a £1.2billion budget to deliver on these priorities and make a difference to the West Midlands.
“This is the same amount as last year despite a difficult economic backdrop. It will help tackle some of the biggest challenges we face as a region so we can begin to change thousands of lives for the better and look forward with renewed optimism.”
At the meeting it was said the Budget had taken into account the financial and cost of living pressures faced by the region’s local authorities and residents.
This includes committing to delivering operational efficiency savings of £5m to ensure that WMCA continues to deliver value for money.
There will also be no Mayoral precept for the tax payer during 2025/26 or any increase in the WMCA membership fees for local councils
The scale of the investment set out in the Budget to improve the quality of life across all of the region’s communities includes:
*£204m investment in jobs, skills, training and apprenticeships to help reduce youth unemployment and give everyone the opportunity of a job that pays well.
*£67.7m for housing delivery, especially the construction of more social and affordable housing so that everyone will have a place to call home and £37.8m for retrofitting homes across the region to make them more energy efficient and reduce home owner energy bills.
*£55.7m to drive economic growth and support the region’s investment zone with help for smaller businesses to make sure all communities benefit and the environment is protected.
*The Budget also includes £554.9m for transport including major infrastructure projects to expand and decarbonise the network including the ongoing construction of new rail lines and stations, Metro tram lines, zero emission buses and safe walking and cycling routes to better connect people to jobs, education and training opportunities.
Provision is included to support the region’s bus network and protect the existing level of services.
In addition to this, the transport revenue budget includes £61.1m for concessionary travel for older people, children and people with disabilities as well as £6.9m for Accessible Transport.
There is also funding for the continued subsidy of the operation of the West Midlands Metro and support for the West Midlands Cycle Hire scheme.
