In a bid to boost growth in the UK, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has unveiled a package of initiatives. Among them is a new drive to get the national wealth fund and the Office for Investment to work more closely with regional mayors. Speaking at a meeting with combined authority mayors and civil servants, Reeves emphasised the need for more localised knowledge and skin in the game. She explained that the new scheme was aimed at avoiding “the previous top-down approach”.
As part of the plan, newly formed taskforces will develop bespoke regional growth strategies to make sure investment is tailored to local needs. Last year, combined authority mayors were asked to submit initial growth plans, but the Institute for Government thinktank reported confusion at the time about what the plans sought to achieve.
Under the new scheme, partnerships between the national wealth fund and regional mayors will start in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and Glasgow City Region. Reeves said that since it was established last year, the fund had already created 8,600 jobs and unlocked nearly £1.6bn in private investment.
The Office for Investment, which brings together civil servants from 10 Downing Street, the Treasury, and the Department for Business, will be working with the Liverpool City Region and North East Combined Authorities to seek greater private investment. The intent here is to test whether devolving some controls to the regions can deliver meaning economic growth and improve living standards for local people.
Several other measures were also introduced this week to underline the government’s focus on growth. These included easing the tax and regulatory rules for wealthy foreign residents and reviewing the visa regime for highly-skilled migrants. The Chancellor’s growth plans are expected to be set out in more detail in a speech next week.
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