Leaders across north west ask for support to help 'power up' the region

Article date: April 16 2025

Leaders across north west ask for support to help 'power up' the region

Leaders from across the north west have called on national support around key policy areas they believe will help 'power up' the region.

A delegation from the North West Regional Leaders' Board, led by its chair St Helens Borough Council's leader Councillor Anthony Burns, met with Government ministers in Parliament to present the board's proposals for seven policy reforms to unlock the full potential for the region.

Chair Councillor Anthony Burns said: "This proposal represents the unified voice of leaders from the local authorities across the north west region, alongside the Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region. Our board is driven by a shared ambition to unlock  the full potential of the north west, building on our rich heritage as the heartland of the industrial revolution. We are advocating for large-scale strategic investment and a genuine partnership with the government to achieve this vision.

"Our ambition is clear: to transform the north west into a region with world-class intercity transport, digital connectivity and continued radical devolution. These elements are crucial for building resilience and prosperity, ensuring sustainable economic growth, and enhancing the quality of life and opportunities for all our residents."

The seven key proposals call for:

·       Proper funding - which includes five-year settlements for local government, new measures for how funding is distributed, and re-examining the funding commitments to meet the funding gap identified by the Local Government Association.

·       Fix adults and children's services - which includes calls for a national taskforce to address marketisation, fund additional costs of fair pay, more local accountability for education, and more funding for research.

·       Economic policy that goes beyond growth - which includes broader targets for economic policies that will be key components of the new devolution framework.

·       Support for more homes - which includes five-year local housing deals bringing multiple housing programmes into a single pot, and more support for municipally led housing schemes.

·       Improve transport connectivity - which includes investment in rail and roads with a focus on recommendations of the Transport for the North's strategic plan

·       Empower local climate action - which includes a statutory duty for council to address climate change.

·       Encourage NHS and local government joint working - which includes support for greater working, including joint roles across the two areas to improve collaboration, and increased investment for prevention programmes to support better health and wellbeing outcomes.

Councillor Burns added: "This proposal, prepared by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies on our behalf, highlights the substantial potential of our region for inclusive and sustainable economic growth. It also outlines the critical policy reforms needed from Westminster to scale and amplify our successes to date. It's vital we work closely with government to turn this vision into reality, fostering a thriving, resilient and prosperous north west."

The board was invited to present the document at Parliament by St Helens North MP David Baines. himself the former leader of the NW Leaders Board. He said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Regional Leaders Board Chair Cllr Anthony Burns and leaders from across the north west to Parliament so that together we could put our case for investment to the Local Growth Minister Alex Norris. It is great to see St Helens Borough leading the region and making the case for our communities, and I'll continue to do all I can to make sure Ministers back our potential."