WIREDGOV

Partnership with local leaders shows No10 North in action putting power back into communities

• Changes to investment rules will make fairer funding decisions for projects across the country
• No10 North to support all areas across the country to benefit from updated rules

Previously overlooked places around the UK will be better able to make the case for investment, thanks to changes confirmed by the Prime Minister today to help break down barriers to growth.

As part of the government’s work to drive good growth in every postcode, the Prime Minister set out plans to deliver a package of Green Book reforms at next week’s Budget.

The government’s ‘Green Book’ is the official framework used to assess business cases for spending projects across the UK. Currently, projects on different issues, for example a housing scheme or transport proposal, are considered independently of each other. This means that the wider potential available from projects in a certain area is often missed or undervalued, whereas considering projects together gives a fuller picture of their potential.

The guidance will therefore be updated to help places, including local and strategic authorities, to build investment plans around a more detailed picture of their local economy, pinpointing the barriers to growth and coordinating investment around those challenges.

The updated framework will help generate new place-based business cases which will put local priorities at the heart of investment decisions, looking at a place’s potential for growth and what is needed to unlock it and making sure places previously overlooked for investment are properly considered.

That means looking at the bigger picture. Where low employment and skills shortages are holding back growth, for instance, the new approach will consider how different investments could work together to tackle both challenges and support long-term growth, rather than looking at individual projects separately.

No10 North will help support local areas all across the country to make the most of the changes, including providing assistance to places not currently represented by mayors, to engage with the new process and draft strong business cases so that they are on a level playing field.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

Communities have been let down for years by outdated rules that haven’t properly looked at what’s needed to unlock their potential.

That’s why we’re changing the system so that local priorities are put at the heart of decision making.

This is what No10 North is all about. Rebalancing power away from Westminster. Backing local leaders. And making sure government is set up to deliver what communities actually need to feel the difference.

The Prime Minister outlined how this approach will come alongside the work of No10 North to drive growth and support local leadership in all parts of the UK to deliver for their communities.

The changes were announced alongside a meeting with English mayors at No10 North today. Around the Situation Room table, the Prime Minister and Mayors discussed the challenges facing their regions and how government and local leaders can work together to overcome them. This comes after a recent visit of the Chair and Chief Executive of the Local Government Association to Number 10 North to discuss the role of local government in delivering progress in rewiring the state, and the Prime Minister will also soon meet with heads of devolved governments at the next meeting of the National Economic Council.

Today’s meeting comes ahead of next week’s Budget, where Chancellor John Healey will set out the next steps in the government’s drive to move power and resources out of Westminster. This will include a roadmap for future fiscal devolution, setting out plans to give regional leaders control over how they allocate a share of some national taxes.

Chancellor John Healey MP said:

This government wants to back places with the ambition and ideas to grow and make sure good opportunities for investment aren’t overlooked simply because the system doesn’t see the bigger picture. This change gives regional leaders a stronger voice in where investment can make the biggest difference in their communities.

And at next week’s Budget I will set out plans to transfer more power and resources out of Westminster and into postcodes across the country.

Further Green Book reforms at the Budget will build on changes announced by Healey last month, including cutting the headline discount rate from 3.5% to 3%. This will place greater value on the long-term benefits of investment and strengthen the case for transformational projects that drive growth – wherever they take place.

Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands and Chair of the UK Mayors Network said:

Rewiring the State is a mission for all layers of Government, and the Number 10 North Situation Room is one of the ways that the Prime Minister brings those layers together. He knows – from his time as a Mayor – that all important work is done in partnership, and partnerships need space to breathe, share barriers, and do business. It is a space that the Mayors value, because it gets things done.

Today, we have been discussing a specific bit of rewiring: how to ensure different investments in a single place can be seen as one, joined up case. People do not see housing, transport, and other infrastructure investments in isolation: they see the benefits to their home, their place, and their economy. It is important that we do likewise – not least as it wastes public money when we have to make the same case for each element of what is clearly an interconnected proposal.

Getting changes like this right look small on the surface, but they mean that we can bring the benefits of growth into our regions, avoid further widening inequalities, and unlock the interesting, complex investments that will do so much for the people we serve.

Chair of the Local Government Association, Eamon O’Brien, said:

These proposed reforms rightly recognise that investment decisions must better reflect the needs, priorities and potential of local communities.

Councils know their places best and are uniquely positioned to bring together investment in housing, transport, skills and public services to deliver long-term growth.

It is encouraging to see greater recognition of the importance of place-based decision-making and local democratic leadership.

The LGA has been engaging closely with Government, including through No.10 North, to ensure the voice of local government helps shape this agenda. It is vital that both local and strategic authorities have the powers, flexibility and resources to turn these ambitions into real improvements for communities.