The chancellor has pledged to ‘back’ the Northern Powerhouse, the Midlands Engine and elected mayors as he announced a pack of new devolution deals.
A second devolution deal for the West Midlands Combined Authority and mayor Andy Street has been agreed ‘in principle’ to ‘address local productivity barriers’, according to the accompanying Budget documents.
The deal includes £6m for a housing delivery taskforce, £5m for a construction skills training scheme.
The West Midlands will also receive a £250m allocation of the newly announced £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund.
The Budget documents also say the Government is ‘minded to’ agree a new North of Tyne devolution deal.
It will see £600m of investment in the region over 30 years and create a new mayor elected in 2019 with powers over ‘important economic levers including planning and skills’.
Greater Manchester will receive a £243m allocation from the Transforming Cities Fund to develop a local industrial strategy.
Mr Hammond added that progress was being made on city deals for Tay Cities and Stirling and on a growth deal for the Borderlands.