The West Midlands Datastore: Request for Partners

The WMCA today issued a Request for Proposals (Access tender documents here) to help us develop a West Midlands Datastore. This was a key element of our Digital Roadmap and builds on the work of our Office for Data Analytics and Transport for the West Midlands Data Insights team. In this blog, Adam Hawksbee and Rebecca … Continue reading “The West Midlands Datastore: Request for Partners”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 12th March 2021

On Monday it was International Women’s day and it has been found that a year on from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, women have suffered the impacts more than their male counterparts. The Women’s Budget group released their ‘Women and employment during Covid-19 report’. The report found that: Women are the majority of employees … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 12th March 2021”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 5th March 2021

It is Budget week and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented HMG’s Budget 2021 to the House of Commons on 3 March 2021. The Chancellor outlined measures in the Government’s Build back better: our plan for growth budget aimed at supporting jobs and businesses and stabilizing public finances. Budget summary: Business: £126m to fund … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 5th March 2021”

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”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 26th February 2021

This week the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the Covid-19 lockdown which has been welcomed broadly by businesses. It provides some degree of clarity. However, in the immediate term issues persist – particularly for industries unable to open as normal. One local Growth Hub has received a months’ worth of calls, webchats, emails … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 26th February 2021”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 19th February 2021

This week we continue to see the success of vaccine rollout. The Midlands has successfully provided the most 1st and 2nd doses of the vaccines out of any region in England, which is particularly important given the region has the highest reported hospital admissions. The region has recently published its Digital roadmap – research carried … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 19th February 2021”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 12th February 2021

This week the impacts of EU exit and transition continue to unfold in the news, and the UK and regional PMI has gone back into contraction. As predicted by many forecasters, the ongoing lockdown continues to have a negative impact on the economy, but there are some good news stories in the region with £20 … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 12th February 2021”

International Evidence on Levelling Up

A new report co-authored by the Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) and City-REDI researcher, Abigail Taylor, was published recently examining international evidence on what it takes to “level up” places. Watch clips from the event and view more work from this project.  The report analyses experiences in four international case study areas (Estonia, San Antonio, Greater … Continue reading “International Evidence on Levelling Up”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 5th February 2021

This week there is continuing unrest across the world, as political and social changes are affecting world politics. Make UK highlights that manufacturing is still suffering since exiting the EU and there are key issues with barriers to trade. The World Economic Forum states this week that while no nation has emerged unscathed from the … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 5th February 2021”

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 29th January 2021

Whilst many countries start to roll back some of their Covid-19 restrictions and are seeing consumer spend bounce back, the UK is still under lockdown conditions. This week the UK reached a bleak milestone, with the total number of Covid-19 deaths reaching 100,000. This makes the UK the fifth country and first in Europe to … Continue reading “West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor – 29th January 2021”