Midlands Engine funding set to be scrapped

Funding for an organisation set up to give the Midlands the same voice as the Northern Powerhouse is likely to be stopped, it has been told.

Midlands Engine was set up by the Conservative government in 2015 but some of its functions have been duplicated with the elected mayors for the West Midlands in 2017 and the East Midlands in 2024.

The organisation said stopping government funding would "see us lose critical regional economic connectivity and collaboration at precisely the moment when government is striving to deliver economic growth".

The government said it was consulting on ending funding for Midlands Engine in light of its plans to "extend and deepen" the capacity of regional mayors.

The government provides about £1.5m in funding for Midlands Engine, with many local authorities also contributing.

But some councils have been doubtful about the body's benefits, with a handful withholding funding in its near-decade long life.

In 2016, a government minister told the BBC the organisation needed to be clearer about what it was for.

Despite its work, the Midlands continues to lag behind the UK as a whole on productivity.

The region accounts for 15% of the country's population, but only 13% of its economic output, according to a 2023 report by think-tank Centre for Cities.

A government consultation on the future of its funding closes on 16 December.

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