Humber gets ‘city deal’ from Clegg

DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg last night promised the Humber a ‘city deal’ that will see major powers and spending transferred north from Whitehall as he warned the UK economy is losing out on £41bn a year because cities outside London have been allowed to “wither”.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick CleggDeputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, working with local councils, wants powers to help make the area a hub for offshore wind energy businesses.

Its plans include the creation of a Humber Investment Bank and taking control over some of the money the Government spends on adult skills.

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Mr Clegg announced the deal for the Humber during a speech to an audience of City business figures at the Mansion House last night where he criticised successive governments for prioritising the Square Mile over the economies of northern cities.

The Sheffield Hallam MP accused the last Government of “emasculating the north and overburdening the south” and said putting control over raising and spending money in local hands was the way to restore the balance.

“It is in everyone’s interests - not least London’s itself - if that potential is now tapped. There can - and must - be more than one jewel in our crown.

“The challenge for us is to rebuild our economy so that it runs on all cylinders.

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“If all of our big cities closed their output gap - in other words met their potential - we would see an additional £41bn on GDP every year,” he said.

Government officials will negotiate the finer detail of the city deal with the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the councils on the north and south banks in the coming weeks.

Cities Minister Greg Clark said: “For years this area has had to put up with London laying down the law about how things should be done locally. These city deals are a revolution in that relationship.

“Who could be better than the people and businesses of Hull and the Humber to know what the area needs to achieve all it that is capable of?

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“The Government should be there to support local ambition and that is what I will do in these negotiations.”

The Government is expected to respond in the coming weeks to a report it commissioned from Lord Heseltine, published last year, which recommended a major devolution of spending from Whitehall to the regions as a way of kickstarting the economy.

The Humber is already working with Lord Heseltine on how his ideas could be put into practice.

Humber LEP chairman Lord Haskins said: “The announcement that the Hull and Humber region’s submission for city dealstatus is being progressed is a landmark moment for the area’s economy and rounds off a year of achievement for the LEP.

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“City deal status will allow important decisions to be made locally through power devolved to the region and aid in the delivery of our five year plan along with our work on Lord Heseltine’s pathfinder proposal for new pioneering ways of economic development.”

The deal for the Humber follows those agreed with the Leeds and Sheffield City Regions which saw them take over spending in areas such as transport and skills.

Wakefield Council leader Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association’s economy and transport board, said: “We need to accelerate the pace and scale of devolution and make deals available to all areas that want them.

“The Heseltine Review identified £58bn of government funding for growth that could be better used if localities made the investment decisions rather than civil servants in Whitehall.”

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