West Midlands to get Combined Authority, elected Mayor and £1bn Government investment
The West Midlands will have an elected Mayor and more than £1 billion of Government investment when George Osborne signs off on a landmark devolution deal today.
The Chancellor will join members of the West Midlands Combined Authority shadow board to put pen to paper on what he called 'an historic deal'.
It will see the region become the first outside of the north of England to sign up to a devolution deal with an elected Mayor.
Speaking at an event in Coventry, Mr Osborne said: "We want to make the Midlands Britain's engine for growth and this deal will give the region the powerful levers it needs to make that happen.
"We have worked with local council leaders across the party divide, and today we are announcing a collaborative way of working that would not have been countenanced in this region even just a few years ago.
"I want to congratulate everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen but the work is now just beginning to drive the Midlands Engine forward. This is just the start."
Final proposals on how the West Midlands Combined Authority will work and what it aims to achieve will go before Parliament in April 2016.
