Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) said the UK Government has confirmed that Greater Manchester will receive an “historic” new £630 million funding settlement as part of its “trailblazing” devolution deal.
GMCA said the new integrated settlement replaces a system of separate funding pots from different Government departments, and gives Greater Manchester more freedom and flexibility to fund local services and invest in its priorities.
“It will also enable us to deliver our ambitious ten-year plan to turbocharge growth and deliver tens of thousands of new homes and jobs over the next decade,” said GMCA.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “This is the biggest step yet on Greater Manchester’s devolution journey, and we are ready to crack on and deliver for our residents.
“With more freedom and flexibility we can be even smarter about funding local services. We can take a preventative approach, getting to the root causes of the issues facing our communities and delivering more practical everyday support.
“We’ve set out an ambitious long-term vision to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs at a pace and scale not seen in the past 20 years. This game-changing integrated settlement will be the key to unlocking that growth for generations to come.”
The UK’s deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “I am pleased to announce that the Government has published details of the Integrated Settlements for Greater Manchester Combined Authority and West Midlands Combined Authority for the period covering the financial year 2025/2026.
“The Government’s primary mission is to drive economic growth and raise living standards. This can only happen if local leaders have the right tools to deliver for their residents and businesses.
“As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, we must rewire England and end the hoarding in Whitehall by devolving power and money from central government to those with skin in the game. Above all we need to free Mayors to direct funding to where it delivers the best outcomes and value for money.
“These historic Integrated Settlements are the first of their kind and will consolidate funding across more than 20 different funding streams covering housing, regeneration, local growth, local transport, adult skills, retrofit, and employment support.
“This will give Mayors greater flexibility when spending devolved funding and empower them to make the strategic policy decisions necessary to foster growth and deliver better value for money and outcomes for their residents.
“Over the coming weeks, we will work with Greater Manchester and West Midlands to agree the outcomes that they will use these settlements to deliver, and which will form the basis of the single accountability framework, replacing the complex and fragmented reporting processes that have existed to date.
“As part of this framework, these Authorities will have flexibility to move funding between policy areas, helping to deliver better value for money and improved outcomes for citizens.
“The English Devolution White Paper set out our intention to extend the benefits of the Integrated Settlement to more areas. The Government is already working rapidly to bring these settlements forward for Mayors in the North East, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authorities from the 26/27 financial year.
“The government is also exploring how the settlement policy could be applied for the Greater London Authority.”