A new report by Alice Pugh, Dr Abigail Taylor, and WMREDI intern Charlotte Tomlinson examines changes in Birmingham City Council’s income and expenditure over the decade between 2010/11 and 2019/20. In this blog, Alice and Abigail summarise the aims of the report, the methodological approach adopted and they key findings. They also discuss key messages … Continue reading “Insights into Birmingham City Council’s Spending Power, Revenue Funding and Spending between 2010-11 and 2019-2020”
Category: Government
Logic Models for Business Cases
Danielle Mason, from the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth, discusses the importance of logic models when applying for local economic growth funding and highlights a new training programme to help support their use. At What Works Growth, we want to improve the use of evaluation and evidence for local economic growth policy. The … Continue reading “Logic Models for Business Cases”
Key Announcements From the Mini Budget
Alice Pugh takes an in-depth look at the government’s recent mini budget and what it means for people and businesses in the UK.
The Wider Impacts of Cutting 91,000 Civil Service Jobs
The Government had recently proposed a cut in Civil Services jobs in an attempt to save £3.5 billion. Dr Matthew Lyons and Professor Anne Green consider the regional economic impact of the proposed cut of 91,000 civil servants and its consequences for levelling up. Introduction The civil service has been in the spotlight of UK … Continue reading “The Wider Impacts of Cutting 91,000 Civil Service Jobs”
The Case for a Just Devolution
Liam O’Farrell discusses the idea of ‘Just Devolution’, whereby devolution is driven not by demands to stimulate growth but to create a more just society. Find out more about the Just City Project. Devolution is currently front and centre in British politics. There have been comparisons of the relative performance of the devolved governments in … Continue reading “The Case for a Just Devolution”
Reflections on Assessing Value for Money at Local Government Level
George Bramley discusses his attendance and presentation at a recent Green Book event, and why these events are so useful for those who commission, produce or review business cases at the local government level. I recently had the opportunity to share my reflections at the ‘Green Book: One Year On: Value for Money’ event in … Continue reading “Reflections on Assessing Value for Money at Local Government Level”
Devolution and Levelling Up: Boon or Bane for the Region?
Charlotte Hoole discusses the levelling up agenda, what it means for devolution, and what opportunities it presents for the West Midlands. This blog post was produced for inclusion in the Birmingham Economic Review for 2021. The annual Birmingham Economic Review is produced by City-REDI, University of Birmingham and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. It … Continue reading “Devolution and Levelling Up: Boon or Bane for the Region?”
Local Government and Its Captivity by National Electoral Interests
With the upcoming local elections in England, Dr Tasos Kitsos looks at the influence of distributive politics and the importance of local government to catalyse change where we live. With the local elections coming up in (some of) England, and our recent publication (with Dr Antonios Proestakis) on distributive politics in Greece, I wanted to … Continue reading “Local Government and Its Captivity by National Electoral Interests”
Budget Breakdown 2021 and the Key Points for the West Midlands
Mike Lewis, Senior Policy Officer at the West Midlands Combined Authority provides a breakdown of HMG’s Budget announcement 2021 and highlights some of the key points of interest to the West Midlands. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented HMG’s Budget 2021 to the House of Commons on 3 March 2021. The Chancellor outlined measures … Continue reading “Budget Breakdown 2021 and the Key Points for the West Midlands”
WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda
In this blog, Ben Brittain and Dr Abigail Taylor discuss a new WM REDI project with the Industrial Strategy Council investigating governance and institutional arrangements, focusing particularly on the relationship between governance structures, policy levers and inclusive growth outcomes. Local regions have been hard hit by the economic fallout of this pandemic. The extent of … Continue reading “WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda”