Centre for Cities report shows 'Midlands Engine will stall' without devolution
Centre for Cities report shows 'Midlands Engine will stall' without devolution
A new report, which says nine of the ten places with the lowest wages in the UK are in the Midlands and the North, further emphasises the need for urgent devolution of powers and money to local areas, says the Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council.
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire is one of the top ten 'low wage, high welfare' places named in the Centre for Cities report today (www.centreforcities.org).
Of the 62 cities examined for the report, only Hull (£376), Blackburn (£404) and Blackpool (£414) had a lower average weekly wage than the average £414 paid to people in Mansfield.
Meanwhile, eight of the ten 'high wage, low welfare' places are in the south-east of England, with the other two in Scotland. London tops the wages table with an average weekly salary of £629.
Councillor Alan Rhodes, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council said that devolution was the area's best and only hope of redressing the 'glaring imbalance in the UK's economy'.
He said: "The 'Midlands Engine' will continue to stall and the glaring imbalance in the UK's economy will remain without the devolution of powers and finance from central Government to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
"Despite the best efforts of local authorities and the business community to stimulate economic growth, we have been severely hampered by limited resources and powers. As a result, Mansfield, and places like it, have been let down by London for many years.
"The Centre for Cities report provides the backdrop to a compelling case for devolution at the earliest opportunity. Mansfield - like many places in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire - has huge potential for growth, which the North Midlands Devolution Deal can deliver. All we're waiting for is sign off from the Chancellor."
Councillor Rhodes' comments were echoed by Kate Allsop, Executive Mayor of Mansfield District Council.
Mayor Allsop said: "I set out in my Manifesto that a key priority for Mansfield is to create jobs and improve economic growth, making sure we improve the quality of life of our community. This is ever more difficult with reducing Government grant where we have to continue to deliver services with less and less money. The work that we do in partnership with our business community, further education providers and our partners will be crucial to our ability to make a real difference.
"Mansfield is improving and the Centre for Cities report doesn't reflect the journey that we are on, or the progress we have made over the last few years. However, our area still has more than its fair share of deprivation and we want the pace of change to be much quicker.
"We want the Government to devolve decision making and spending power to local people who know the challenges that Mansfield faces, so that we can address the issues on the ground and regenerate our District."
The Centre for Cities study follows the ‘Empowering Counties’ report by the Institute for Public Policy Research( www.ippr.org ) which concluded that giving counties power over their economic potential could boost the national economy and help rural areas overcome problems such as low wages and a mismatch in skills.
19 councils across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire together with business leaders from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership which covers the two counties, are seeking to create a single Combined Authority for the region by March 2016 – the first of its kind featuring district, borough, city and county councils.
The Combined Authority and a new 'Metro Mayor', elected by the people of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, would be granted powers and resources currently held in London and gain responsibility for delivering a raft of new measures to boost economic growth, create jobs, build new homes and improve the quality of life for people living in the area.
These new powers and responsibilities would be provided in support of but separately to the services currently provided by the Councils, which would continue as at present.
The North Midlands Devolution deal sets out ten key benefits devolution would deliver for the residents and businesses of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire:
- 55,000 new private sector jobs
- 77,000 extra homes
- an Investment Fund over 30 years to provide infrastructure such as roads and bridges
- adult skills provision that better meets the needs of businesses
- a joint transport fund to spend on key transport improvements
- a better co-ordinated public transport system with ‘Oyster’ style smart ticketing
- more responsive and co-ordinated business support for growth
- the creation of substantially more apprenticeship opportunities
- more people entering employment through better targeted local programmes
- journey times to London of less than 90 minutes by trail.