52
JUNE 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Devolution plans to see
cities granted control
of skills and housing
A “revolution” in the
way England is governed is to see major
cities handed control
over key policy areas
including skills, housing
and planning.
It is hoped that decentralising power away from
Westminster will give areas
outside London the ability
to boost their own economies, while also creating a
greater sense of pride in the
regions.
The proposals, unveiled
in a speech by Chancellor
George Osborne, form part
of a Cities Devolution Bill
included in the Queen’s
Speech last month.
Mr Osborne was speaking
in Manchester, which is set
to be one of the first cities
to benefit from the plans
when it elects a mayor in
two years’ time.
He said: “We all know
that the old model of trying
to run everything in our
country from the centre of
London is broken. It has led
to an unbalanced economy;
it has made people feel
remote from the decisions
that affect their lives.
“Here’s the deal: we will
hand power from the centre
to cities to give you greater control over your local
transport, your housing,
your skills, your healthcare
and we will give you the levers you need to grow your
local economy and make
sure that local people keep
the rewards.”
Councils in Greater Manchester currently control £5
billion each year.
But once residents elect a
mayor, who will head up a
combined authority, the city
could be entitled to an extra
£2 billion.
Other cities are now
being encouraged to follow
Manchester’s lead and take
advantage of the proposals,
which Mr Osborne described as “a revolution in
the way we govern England”.
Jim O’Neill, a former economist with Goldman Sachs,
has also been appointed
as commercial secretary to
the Treasury, charged with
stimulating infrastructure
and devolving more powers
to English cities.
The moves are part of a
wider plan to create a socalled “Northern Powerhouse” that could close the
gap between economies of
the north and south and
generate more than £18
billion by 2030.
Mr Osborne said it was a
“once in a lifetime” opportunity for change in the
way the country was run
with “radical devolution to
the great cities of England”.
Source: www.citb.co.uk
New housing minister
means five in five years
Previous armed forces minister Mark Francois has been
named a minister at the
Communities Department
and is expected to take over
the housing and planning
role as David Cameron continues his Cabinet reshuffle
following his election success.
Francois, who is MP for Rayleigh
and Wickford, replaces Brandon
Lewis who only held the
position for ten months.
Since 2010, there
have been five
Conservative
housing ministers: Grant Shapps,
Mark Prisk, Kris Hopkins, Brandon Lewis and now Mark Francois.
Francois, who has previously
been described by The Telegraph
as ‘a bit of an animal’, which came
about after he made a series of
claims on his expenses for a wide
variety of snacks, the information
for which came out during the
expenses scandal in 2009.
His claims included Mars bars,
Snickers, Kit Kats, wine gums,
Twiglets, Jaffa Cakes, chocolate
biscuits, Pringles crisps and “bags
of sweets”.
As well as for several Peperami
‘hot’ 5 packs, marked with the
slogan, ‘Peperami: It’s a Bit of an
Animal’.
Meanwhile, previous construction minister at the Department of
Business, Innovation and Skills,
Matthew Hancock will become
minister for the Cabinet Office and
Paymaster General.
Sajid Javid will replace Vince
Cable as secretary of state at BIS,
while Anna Soubry will attend
cabinet meetings as minister for
small business. Patrick McLoughlin
continues in his role as Transport
Secretary.