Following the publication of his £9bn Building Back Better plan, Steve Rotheram has now put in a submission to the Government to secure funds to help the city region recover from the COVID-19 crisis
City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram says he has submitted an “unarguable” case to the Government for an injection of funds to help Merseyside recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
In July, Mr Rotheram published his Building Back Better economic recovery plan for the Liverpool city region, which outlined how £1.4bn of support could unlock £9bn of investment, creating 122,000 jobs.
Now he has submitted evidence-based response, based on Building Back Better and the Local Industrial Strategy, to the government’s Comprehensive Spending review, addressing the six key priorities identified by central Government.
Those priorities are focused on jobs and skills, investing in infrastructure, improving outcomes in public services, making the UK a scientific superpower, strengthening the UK’s place in the world and improving the management and delivery of Government projects.
Mr Rotheram’s plan showed how economic recovery could be delivered, across four strategic themes and with concrete, costed projects and programmes of work. The four themes – the business ecosystem, people-focused recovery, place, and a green recovery – were all underpinned by a tangible commitment to Build Back Better.
The Comprehensive Spending Review will set UK Government departments’ revenue budgets for the years 2021/22 to 2023/24 and capital budgets for the years 2021/22 until 2024/25. The results of the review are expected in the autumn.
“know that we are in for the long-haul in dealing with the effects of Coronavirus; a crisis that is impacting every part of our lives,” said Mr Rotheram. “We have identified what we need to kickstart our economic recovery through Building Back Better and have used that work to deliver a thorough and evidence-based submission.
“Our recovery ultimately has to be about people and that is why I have called for investment for a number of innovative local schemes to help unemployed people access jobs quickly, including a new £180m Sustainable Job Creation Programme, and a £53m extension of our pioneering Ways to Work Programme.
“We also need to ensure people have the right skills, through a £25m increase in funding for our Adult Education Budget and £75m to address deprivation and to narrow employment and skills gaps for workers from BAME backgrounds; women and disabled workers.
“We have made the unarguable case for this investment, which is an opportunity for government to help make its stated desire to level-up economic opportunity a reality.”