The West Midlands is the fastest-growing City Region outside London. Its Combined Authority chief executive, Deborah Cadman, is determined to push it further to boost the UK economy post Brexit. Heather Jameson reports
All eyes may be on Brexit now, but last week communities secretary James Brokenshire opened up the debate about the future of devolution after we leave European Union.
In the West Midlands, the combined authority is already pushing ahead with its devolution.
The region is moving ahead at speed, harnessing three key events to push forward its economic agenda. In 2020, Coventry becomes the City of Culture; in 2022, Birmingham will host the Commonwealth Games and by 2026, the region will open two high-speed rail stations – putting London within 45 minutes of the West Midlands.
Population growth is set to see an extra two million people in the region in the next 20 years and there is a housing expansion programme to match, with 215,000 new homes planned by 2031. It is the fastest-growing economy of any city region, with wages rising faster than anywhere else in the country.
If there is going to be a poster child for post-Brexit economic growth, the West Midlands wants to be it. West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) chief executive, Deborah Cadman, says leaving the EU has not held the region back. If anything, it has pulled partners together in ‘quite a profound way’.
Less than two years after the body was set up, Ms Cadman says her organisation already has the ‘maturity, flexibility and agility’ to adapt – and it has ‘liberated’ £1.8bn in central Government funding to push economic growth.
With devolution on that scale, there is a lot to deliver and to a rapid timescale. There is a devolved housing deal, a skills deal and the region it has become the 5G testbed for the country.
When it comes to housing, it is not just about numbers. ‘We are also being really thoughtful about the way we create places,’ she says.
That includes ensuring all homes are well connected to public transport. The mayor has given his commitment that no one in the region will be less than 45 minutes by public transport to one of the high-speed stations.
‘We are still really confident and ambitious about what HS2 will give to the region,’ Ms Cadman explains. ‘There is some chatter at the moment about “is the investment worth it?” My response is “absolutely, yes, every penny” because it will open up the country from London.’ And beyond.
The combined authority chief is keen to support the second stage of the development, connecting Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds.
‘For us, having an HS2 interchange, economically, is invaluable. But, to be truly beneficial, it is up to the authority to make sure local people can access it. The 45-minute journey time makes London “commutable” and is opening up wider opportunities for the West Midlands.’
Transport and housing are two of the three pieces of the jigsaw that make up economic growth. The third is skills, which requires the authority to work closely with the core businesses in the region to plan investment in skills. The business community is part of the conversation with the Government about devolving further skills.
‘We are focused on digital and technical skills, but we are also about adult education skills – that is, reskilling people,’ Ms Cadman says. As the economy rapidly changes, adults increasingly need new skills to adapt.
A recent announcement by Jaguar Land Rover saw the automotive firm withdrawing from the diesel market and announcing 4,000 redundancies. But, while there was a huge amount of media coverage, there was less focus on the fact the company plans to focus more on electric and autonomous vehicles.
‘More importantly for us, it is around research and development in battery manufacturing. What we want is to be the host of electric battery manufacturing in this country, because if you manufacture batteries, that attracts the production of electric cars,’ she says.
It may not make up for all the job losses, but it is a plan for the future. For Ms Cadman, the technical aspects of economic growth at this level are not new. As a former regional development association chief executive, economic growth comes as second nature. But it is different to her last role as chief executive of Suffolk CC.
‘I had six years where I was fretting about children dying and getting elderly people out of hospital. This is a completely different job,’ she tells The MJ. ‘A lot of people here get really upset when things go wrong. And I say, “look, has anyone died?” Because if no one has died, it means we can sort it. It does give you a sense of perspective.’
Neither job is more important, but local government has made her more pragmatic. ‘There is something about granular local government that I really enjoyed, felt was really important and worthwhile, and I do miss that.’
While Ms Cadman has said in the past that the combined authority is not local government, she believes it will only be successful if it ‘works with and through local government’.
‘You can’t have strong vibrant economies without strong, vibrant communities and vice versa’.
This will need the seven local authority members and the businesses of the West Midlands all working together with the mayor and combined authority to tackle social mobility, jobs and skills, housing and transport networks.
‘Working within a political system will always be interesting when the politics are never stable. When you have local elections, people change,’ she says.
‘It’s our responsibility to work really hard to ensure that everybody understands the principles of working within a devolved system, which will only be as successful as the least collaborative person.
‘That is not to say we don’t have disagreements or it takes a while to get to a consensus, but you have to ensure people understand why we are doing this.’
For mayor Andy Street, this is new territory. It is the former John Lewis Partnership chief executive’s first foray into politics, but Ms Cadman is full of praise at the way he has adapted.
‘He operates incredibly well at both the national and local political level and has brought rigor and discipline and focus into everything that we do.
‘I think the combination of Andy and I means that two and two equals five. We are able to bring different things to the table and make it work.’
Mayor Street has personally taken on some of the big issues, including tackling homelessness and diversity.
Ms Cadman explains: ‘I came from Suffolk, which isn’t the most diverse place, but in terms of leadership around the table, it felt more diverse than this region. Given that we are the most uber-diverse region outside London, that’s not good enough.’
‘If people from a diverse community cannot see people like themselves in positions of power, they will feel that those posts will always be unattainable,’ she says.
The WMCA mayor and chief both want to see a ‘fundamental shift’ and they have vowed to be loud about it.
The seven council leaders and the mayor are all white, so asking for change is challenging.
‘People always see it as a zero sum game. What I would love is for the seven leaders to see this as a fantastic opportunity to achieve even more than they already have,’ Ms Cadman says.
And there is a lot to achieve. The West Midlands currently has a bigger GDP than 13 of the European Union member states – top for the combined authority regions outside London. Its success will be critical to the success of the whole UK after Brexit.
Ms Cadman describes three routes to get money into the West Midlands. Government funding, which is drying up; regional taxes, which puts pressure on businesses and residents; and global investment.
‘We will be more attractive to these global markets as a country rather than as a city,’ she adds.
She is determined to work with the Treasury to push her regional economy.
‘It is about working with central Government to see it as a shared endeavour,’ she says. ‘We want strong economic growth in the West Midlands because we truly believe that will mean a better life for our residents and a more sustainable environment for our businesses. And Government wants a strong regional economy because that means a strong national economy.’
All this means working collaboratively and while there are things that need to be done at a national, regional and local level, much of the agenda is about collaboration.
‘I think there is room to continue the conversation about what services need to be delivered at what level. I don’t think we’ve quite got it right yet, but devolution is giving us the opportunity to have that conversation. Post-Brexit will be the time for us to have those conversations.’