Our Partnerships

Successive governments have backed the West Midlands as a national leader in English devolution. By establishing the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2016, constituent local authorities have secured further funding and powers. The 2023 Trailblazer Devolution Deal and the 2025 Integrated Funding Settlement (£400m) have enhanced our ability to drive regional, inclusive growth.

We’re a national leader in innovation, piloting the Innovation Accelerator and set to be recognised in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act as an Established Mayoral Strategic Authority. The 2025 Modern Industrial Strategy formally names the West Midlands as a region of strength across all eight priority sectors, with key initiatives in three.

To achieve our shared goals, the WMCA and government have agreed three shared priorities: Skills and Employment, Housing and Commercial Development, and Innovation.

This Growth Plan is our blueprint to deepen partnership with government – especially DfE and DWP, bringing more people into work and reducing the pressures on public services. We’re calling for £1bn to transform our Skills and Employment System and improve thousands of lives.

To deliver, the WMCA wants full control over:

• Technical education for 16- to 19-year-olds, to better support our young people for work or further training.

• All employment support programmes, tailored to local needs
• Making the new Growth and Skills Offer – formerly the Apprenticeship Levy – work better for our residents, businesses and the economy, by bringing it under the direction of the WMCA.

We also want the Government to pool multiple budgets for prevention – through the region’s Integrated Settlement – and give local partners more flexibility over how they can be spent.

The WMCA and its local authorities have leadership roles but to make the biggest impact, we will work in partnership with:

• Parents, childcare providers and schools – shaping early development
• Residents – Taking charge of their own inclusive growth and personal development.
• Employers – Aligning skills with jobs and inspiring the next generation
• Voluntary, community and faith organisations and social enterprises – Supporting communities
• Job centres – Helping people move from welfare benefits towards work readiness.
• Colleges, universities and independent learning providers – The backbone of post-16 education and key in facilitating innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Health organisations – Especially the Integrated Care Board, supporting people with health barriers

The WMCA and regional partners have developed a strong relationship with government through co-developing the Industrial Strategy and driving place-based innovation. To deepen impact on the economy, we seek devolved funding and targeted support to grow regional clusters—replicating successful models like the creative industries and Aerospace Technology Institute. Innovative partnerships with government can boost public R&D investment, empower local leaders, and leverage initiatives like the R&D Missions Accelerator and dual-use tech development.

The West Midlands fosters collaborative leadership across high-growth sectors. This Growth Plan strengthens universities, colleges, and research institutions to drive innovation and align skills with industry needs. The Innovation Board brings together business, academia, and civic leaders to guide priorities through the Local Innovation Partnership Fund. Regional collaboration on sector plans will unlock shared opportunities, such as automotive electrification with the Northeast and aerospace growth via the Midlands Aerospace Alliance.

We propose a Global West Midlands Partnership with key national bodies to drive regional, inclusive growth through aligning national business support with Business Growth West Midlands and devolving productivity programmes. By co-designing tailored finance solutions with the British Business Bank and strengthening tourism via a formal partnership with Visit Britain and Visit England through the West Midlands Tourism Framework.

Businesses drive regional growth, and the Business Commission West Midlands sets clear direction to unlock this potential. The private sector plays a key role in supporting business growth, alongside universities, colleges, and innovation hubs. This Growth Plan outlines the region’s ambition and reinforces a pro-business environment. The West Midlands Growth Company will deliver business support under WMCA oversight, while local authorities will shape local priorities through place-based strategies, informed by local economic needs.

The Government has an important role in increasing living standards and business productivity in the everyday economy, by:

• Supporting low-paid workers through welfare,
• Strengthening workers’ rights via the Employment Rights Act,
• Advancing social care reforms,
• Devolving funding for skills, employment, and business support to enable regional investment in people and businesses.

To maximise impact on the economy, we’ll partner with employers to boost productivity through workforce investment and encourage adoption of the West Midlands Good Work Charter. We’ll also collaborate with community, voluntary, and faith groups to reach local communities and grow the social economy, and work with trade unions to strengthen businesses, people, and places across the everyday economy.

• Partnership working to back our capital investment pipeline with the National Wealth Fund and National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, and devolution of local growth, regeneration and site development funding.
• Additional levers to safeguard and strengthen the transport system by maintaining vital financial support for the West Midlands’ bus network.
• Regional control over the Affordable Homes Programme, to deliver £1.5 billion investment needed in new affordable homes.
• Provide additional devolved funding for retrofit, local area energy planning, and heat networks.
• Joint working with the West Midlands to boost digital infrastructure

• Private investors and pension funds, to whom we offer a pipeline of regional investment opportunities in one of the UK’s prime growth regions.
• Universities, who provide spaces and opportunities for learning, living and entrepreneurship.
• Transport companies and operators to connect people to jobs and businesses to markets.
• Homes England to deliver affordable housing across the region and in our priority inclusive growth locations.
• West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner to create safe places for people and businesses.
• Developers, registered providers and the construction industry to deliver the social and affordable homes and placemaking schemes we need.
• Business improvement districts to improve high streets and revitalise urban centres.
• The Energy Capital partnership, which convenes key regional energy system partners around our vision for a net-zero energy network.
• The Environment Agency and other local, regional and national partners to deliver our environment, nature recovery and adaptation programmes.

In each of the sections above, we have outlined where we need additional support from central government to deliver inclusive growth for our economy and higher living standards for our residents. These are shared priorities between the West Midlands and central government, and we look forward to deepening our partnership and delivering them together.

The Mayor and Leaders of the WMCA will lead, but real impact relies on strong partnerships to make an impact on all residents’ lives. It’s only through working together – local, regional and national; public, private and third sector – that we will have a significant amount of power to shape the future of the West Midlands.

Each section of the Growth Plan sets out how partners will help deliver our vision and shared priorities. An annual West Midlands Growth Summit will assess our collective progress and celebrate our impact.