Rachel Reeves will instruct bosses of the national wealth fund (NWF) and the new Office for Investment to work with regional mayors for the first time, as part of a package of initiatives to boost growth.
After a meeting of combined authority mayors and civil servants in Rotherham on Thursday, the chancellor said a deeper relationship between Whitehall and regional leaders would enhance her push to enhance growth nationally.
Reeves, who will give a speech about the government’s growth plans next week, said the scheme was aimed at bridging the gap between Whitehall and local leaders to avoid the previous top-down approach.
Speaking before her return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, where ministers have stressed their support for business investment in the UK, Reeves said: “Those with local knowledge and skin in the game are best placed to know what their area needs.”
She added: “Our reforms will put local leaders at the centre of a network that will connect them with investment opportunities, bringing wealth and jobs to their communities.”
Under the plan, newly formed taskforces will tailor growth strategies for each region, “ensuring investment matches local needs and drives sustainable growth”.
Last year, mayors were asked to provide initial growth plans, including some “easy wins” that could kickstart growth in their region.
However, the Institute for Government thinktank said the leaders of combined authorities were not clear at the time “what plans are supposed to achieve and how they will be developed and used”.
The announcement is the latest in a blitz of measures from the government this week seeking to underline its focus on growth, including easing the rule changes on wealthy non-dom tax residents, summoning the heads of watchdogs to think how they can “tear down regulatory barriers” and promising to review the visa regime for high-skilled migrants.
The NWF, which was set up last year to sponsor major infrastructure investments, will trial partnerships starting in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Glasgow City Region.
“This builds on the positive impact the NWF has already had in supporting regional growth. In the last six months, the NWF has created 8,600 jobs and unlocked nearly £1.6bn in private investment across various sectors, including green technologies, digital infrastructure, and manufacturing,” Reeves said.
The Office for Investment, which brings together senior civil servants from No 10, the Treasury and the business department to “land top-tier investment into the UK”, will join leaders of the Liverpool City Region and North East Combined Authorities to look to boost private investment.
“These initiatives will test how government can work in partnership with regions to see where investment can play a meaningful role in driving growth, which is the best way to improve living standards and put more money in working people’s pockets,” she said.
The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who chaired the Rotherham meeting, said her plans to expand devolution across England would allow “local leaders the powers they need to get their local economies moving”.
Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, said:
“With the national wealth fund based here in the heart of the north, driving forward transformational investments in partnership with local leaders, we will deliver the well-paid jobs and the vibrant, well-connected places our communities need and deserve.”
