Andy Burnham will get full control over his budget, government says

Andy Burnham will have full control over local funding, the government has announced.

The Greater Manchester mayor would be given a single budget rather than having to bid for separate pots of cash, the Chancellor said.

Delivering his budget speech, Jeremy Hunt said that this would give Mr Burnham more financial freedom. The new funding proposals for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands could also soon be rolled out elsewhere.

The move means that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) would be treated more like a government department. It gives the mayor more power to move money around and spend it according to his own priorities.

It comes after months of negotiations over a new devolution deal for the two city-regions which were selected by the government as ‘trailblazer’ areas. Local leaders have asked for more control over skills and education budgets, railway services and stations and new powers to punish rogue landlords.

Greater Manchester has also asked for a new funding model similar to that of a government department with long-term commitments and more flexibility.

In his budget speech yesterday (15 March), Mr Hunt said: “I will boost mayors’ financial autonomy by agreeing multi-year financial single settlements for the West Midlands and the Greater Manchester combined authorities in the next spending review, something I intend to roll out for all mayoral areas over time.”

Mr Hunt also said that Greater Manchester will continue to keep the business rates councils collect, saying that he has agreed to a ‘long-term commitment’. He also said the government will consult on transferring more responsibilities for local economic development to local authorities by April 2024.

He said: “For levelling up to truly succeed we need to unleash the civic entrepreneurship that’s only possible when elected local leaders are able to fund and deliver solutions to their own challenges.”

The Chancellor also named Greater Manchester as one of 12 Investment Zones across the country which would benefit from £80m to invest in skills, infrastructure, tax relief and business rates reduction. He announced the second round of transport funding worth £8.8bn over the next five years.

And he listed Oldham and Rochdale as areas which could be part of new Levelling Up partnerships with £400m of funding available.

According to the Treasury, the programme involves ‘deep dives’ carried out by a partnership of local councils, MPs, business and civic leaders to gather a ‘holistic picture of a place and its unique challenges and opportunities, and identify cross-Government interventions to unblock obstacles to regeneration’.

Mr Hunt added: “Investment zones, regeneration projects, levelling up partnerships, local transport infrastructure and business rates retention.

“More control for local communities over their economic destiny so we will level up wealth and opportunity everywhere.”

Joseph Timan, Local Democracy Reporter