Audit plan for councils as Byrne vows to be Mayor that 'champions community spirit'

Labour MP Liam Byrne said he wants councils – as well as other public bodies including the NHS and schools – to be audited to ensure billions of pounds worth of contracts are awarded to local firms where possible.

He has pledged to set up an emergency taskforce of expert procurement officers to identify contracts that can be "shifted locally fast".

The "community wealth building programme" is one of a number of measures Mr Byrne has vowed to bring in should he win the race to become West Midlands Mayor at next month's election.

In his manifesto, he also pledged to speed up the Covid vaccination programme, claiming he would bring community pharmacists on board to ensure "everyone in every corner of the region" was given the jab "as fast as possible".

Mr Byrne also said he would make the West Midlands the UK's first net zero carbon region as part of plans to build back "better, greener and stronger".

He said he would hold an emergency budget to kickstart the region's recovery, and also form a cross-party Team West Midlands – made up of MPs, the region’s peers and council leaders – to ensure the region gets its "fair share" of the Government’s recovery funding.

Mr Byrne, the MP for Birmingham Northfield, has pledged to secure 200,000 new jobs by turning brownfield sites into green industry zones.

He says he will double the number of affordable green homes, create a green public transport network across the region and plant thousands of new trees to provide a tree canopy of 25 per cent in urban areas.

As part of his plans for young people, the MP said he will establish a skills and learning agency to double apprenticeship numbers and establish a programme of work placements for 18-30-year-olds.

He says he will put youth workers back in every neighbourhood and promote free bus travel on weekends for 16-18 years-olds.

Mr Byrne has also pledged to tackle rising crime by boosting neighbourhood policing.

He published his manifesto – which he says was compiled after taking on board more than 10,000 views from members of the public – with a warning that the region cannot go back to ‘business as usual’ after Covid.

Mr Byrne said: "The blunt truth is that even before Covid, our region’s healthy expectancy was falling while deprivation and unemployment were going up, and violent crime almost doubled.

“That’s why we’ve called on the good people of our region to help write an ambitious plan for the future. We want to be a place where we build more homes, protect peoples’ safety and back our youth with youth-workers back in every neighbourhood.

"And the foundation on which we build everything is a stronger, safer community life. That’s why I’m determined to be a Mayor who champions community spirit. I’ve seen it change my constituency for the better, and I’ve seen it pull our region through this last year.

"That’s why it’s time for a mayor who’ll stand up for our region, not stand by, and put people first."

Mr Byrne was joined at the launch by Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. They visited the Active Wellbeing Society’s Share Shack scheme in Birmingham and hailed the efforts of the "unsung heroes" of the pandemic.

She said: “It’s so inspiring to see the work being done in our communities by organisations such as the Active Wellbeing Society.

"They are the unsung heroes of the pandemic and organisations like this up and down the country have helped us to get through the pandemic from organising food parcels and providing hot meals to support people who have been shielding.

“It is this community spirit and the values of solidarity and having each other’s backs that people in the West Midlands will see from Liam Byrne as Mayor.

"He knows what the area needs, and his manifesto will deliver for the people of the West Midlands by bringing back industry and good jobs, building more homes and championing incredible projects like the one we are visiting today.

“A vote for Liam on May 6 is a vote for a new future for the heart of Britain.”

Other candidates are Conservative Andy Street, Lib Dem Jenny Wilkinson, Steve Caudwell for the Greens and independents Tim Weller and Colin Rankine.