Healey plans £1.5bn borrowing facility for English mayors in devolution package
The chancellor is expected to set out new borrowing and funding plans on 28 October, giving local leaders more room to choose investment projects.
Chancellor John Healey is expected to announce a devolution package for English mayors and local leaders in his budget on Wednesday 28 October, including a proposed £1.5bn borrowing facility. The plans would give local officials more scope to decide how to invest in their areas, according to the Guardian and the Mirror.
The government plans to provide an initial £285m in ‘good growth’ funding next year for priorities chosen by local leaders. The Guardian said those could include housing, transport links and high street regeneration. The Mirror reported that the approach is intended to reduce reliance on separate funding pots administered from Whitehall.
How the funding and borrowing plans would work
The borrowing facility is to be designed with mayors over the next two years, with the Mirror reporting that it would be available from 2028. The Guardian said the £285m is intended to bridge the period before a new system begins in 2028, when some income tax revenue is expected to go directly to local areas. Local leaders may also be allowed to retain some extra revenue generated by stronger local economies. The precise borrowing terms and funding allocations have yet to be set out.
Another £150m is planned for local authorities to build the expertise needed to handle larger budgets. The Mirror said strategic authorities would receive that support next year to manage complex projects and investment programmes. It also reported that areas without strategic-authority status could access a share of the funding during a transitional period.
What mayors say the powers could change
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the plans would end the need for local leaders to seek Treasury approval for each individual project. ‘I’m calling time on local leaders going cap in hand to Westminster,’ he said, according to the Guardian. Healey said mayors and local leaders knew what their communities needed to grow and should have more money, power and capacity to get projects moving and build homes.
Claire Ward, chairwoman of the UK Mayors Network and East Midlands mayor, welcomed the commitment but said she would continue to press for the tools regions need. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said greater investment powers could help unlock projects including the West London Orbital route, a Bakerloo line extension and development of Stratford International station, the Mirror reported.
The Guardian reported that the package was developed with No 10 North, which has held weekly meetings with local leaders about barriers to growth. Healey is due to present the measures in Wednesday’s budget; their implementation would follow later.
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Sources and context
- Healey’s first budget to include big devolution package to boost growthThe Guardian
- England’s mayors to be boosted with ‘more money and more power’ in BudgetThe Mirror
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.