HM Treasury
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
Government formalises the first wave of city deals
The Government’s plans to transform the powers and levers available to local leaders to deliver growth and jobs in their communities were confirmed recently with the signature of agreements between the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, and the leaders of the eight cities.
The city deals are expected to create up to 175,000 new jobs and 37,000 new apprentices across the eight areas which include; Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said:
“I’m delighted to sign over huge chunks of freedom to our great cities today. Each of our eight core cities have come up with ambitious plans to help them grow and prosper. I look forward to seeing the results of this dramatic shift of powers from Whitehall to our cities.”
Greg Clark said:
“The Government is committed to unlocking the full growth potential of our cities. We want powerful, innovative cities that are able to shape their economic destinies, boost entire regions and get the national economy growing.
These deals provide a suite of new freedoms, powers and tools to help cities embark on new and innovate ways to drive local economic growth.”
Notes for Editors
1. On July 5 2012, the Government announced a series of historic city deals with our largest cities:
2. The recent event saw the Core Cities invited to Downing Street. They were congratulated on their efforts and signed wave 1 deals with the Government agreeing their joint commitment to the full implementation of the city deals.
3. Each deal is bespoke and reflects the different needs of individual places but every deal aims to:
-
Give cities the powers and tools they need to drive local economic growth;
-
Unlock projects or initiatives that will boost their economies; and
-
Deliver a step change in the governance arrangements.
4. Across the deals there is a substantial set of devolved powers that will unlock growth and deliver jobs. Cities have estimated that they will deliver 175,000 jobs over the next 20 years and 37,000 new apprenticeships. If achieved, this is a significant contribution to our economy – one that will create real opportunities for real people across the country.
5. Through these deals, the core cities are embarking on new and innovative ways of driving local economic growth. Taken together, these deals provide a suite of new freedoms, powers and tools to help cities go for growth.
