UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 22 OCTOBER 2014
Today's call for UK cities to make their own decisions on tax and spending reflects the need for a serious debate about the need for powers to be distributed more widely across our over-centralised country, according to Birmingham City University Vice Chancellor, Professor Cliff Allan.
The comments follow the RSA City Growth Commission's report, claiming the economy could be boosted by £79 billion a year by 2030 by devolving powers.
Professor Allan will tonight tell parliamentarians about the contribution universities can make to regional and national growth, at a set piece event organised by Birmingham City University.
Professor Allan will tell MPs: "Birmingham and the West Midlands are proud contributors to UK Plc but our region also has its own distinct economic priorities which need to be better reflected in how money investment decisions are made.
"For example, Birmingham has the youngest population of any city in Western Europe, as well as a proud manufacturing tradition, yet we cannot always say that these issues are mirrored by decisions taken in Westminster.
"Birmingham is the largest local authority in Europe yet its powers and its budget raising capacity in no way reflect its size, as witnessed this week with news that a further 6,000 jobs are to be cut, in part because of the on-going tensions between central and local funding.
"Major initiatives such as HS2 are welcome in opening up our country but such infrastructure projects need to be allied to changes in the way decisions are made, whether about investment, skills, jobs or education.
"People in the English regions have traditionally been reluctant to demand elected assemblies or mayors but in depth reports such as today's by the RSA City Growth Commission should be considered carefully as a genuine debate about developing more regional powers is clearly needed."
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