One of the more radical policy of this government is to hand down powers from Whitehall to cities. This was started with Manchester and the so called Northern Power House and the plan is to allow cities to be able to determine their own futures through planning policy and economic direction planning policy, including infrastructure and investment. Since this was started, a number of other cities are coming forward and this raises very important questions about Birmingham and how we in Wyre Forest participate in the, possible, Midlands Power House. There are three important elements to this. The first is an elected mayor of the region. This individual will be able to take a strategic view of what is needed and be able to focus his or her attention on delivering prosperity without necessarily getting bogged down in the minutiae that will continue with existing arrangements.

The second is to combine all local authorities in the region. And the third is to accept powers devolved from Whitehall to the region. These, in one form or another, are the important three legs of the city region devolution stool.

And there are rewards over and above devolution – there is an extra funding stream for the regions who adopt this path.

View from Westminster But these changes come with questions.

I know that people view elected mayors with scepticism. The problem seems to be that the powers and role of the elected mayors is not something that has been clearly defined as yet. Indeed, each region will determine the mayor’s powers and remit.

But without that clarity, people are unlikely to accept them. Combining local authorities is also a problem. In Wyre Forest, our council, like many outside Birmingham, run a balanced budget and protect taxpayers’ money. Not so in Birmingham. The City council has a deficit of around £1 billion and there are quite legitimate fears that our prudence locally will be lost if we join with Birmingham, by having our resources sucked in to fill Birmingham’s’ fiscal black hole.

Finally, whilst powers from Whitehall to the region may seem good, would we accept powers being taken from Wyre Forest and put into the higher, city region authority? Probably not.

My view is that the city regions, regional power houses – call them what you like – are a good thing and we should work towards them. But we need to resolve these issues. They are resolvable and many of us are already looking at how to deliver a solution. But for those of us on the outskirts of the city, this idea provides a golden opportunity for the region and for Wyre Forest.

CONTACT YOUR MP

  • Email: mark.garnier.mp@parliament.uk
  • Telephone: 020 7219 7198 or 01562 746771
  • Write: 9a Lower Mill Street, Kidderminster, DY11 6UU, or House of Commons, Westminster, London