Chancellor George Osborne will today use a visit to the West Midlands to advance the Government's devolution agenda.

In the course of a day long tour of the region, Mr Osborne will talk up the potential for the West Midlands to become ‘an engine for growth' enjoying similar powers over economic growth and infrastructure as those gained by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority under the ‘Northern Powerhouse' strategy.

Mr Osborne is expected to talk about extending the devolution offer to city and county regions in the midlands - including Derbyshire, Dudley, Halesowen,  Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Loughborough, Newcastle under Lyme, Nottinghamshire,  Rutland, Shropshire and Telford.