Decision details

1.    The release of £12.2m of West Midlands Combined Authority funding to West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) over the next two years to 31 March 2025 be approved. This is comprised of:

a.    £9.9m from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund allocation, from the total £14.1m agreed by the WMCA Board in March 2023, of which £2.5m was agreed by the Investment Board at the Strategic Outline Case stage:

i.£1.8m which has been utilised by WMGC in order to develop the Full Business Case and to begin delivery against the local and regional priorities in the Programme in Quarters 1 and 2 of 2023/24 and

ii. £0.7m which has been granted to local authorities from the WMCA to support an increase in capacity to deliver against priorities in the programme.

b.    £1.6m of UK Shared Prosperity Funding for 2024/25 with the same amount previously released for 2023/24 by the WMCA Board on 16 December 2022.

c.    £0.7m of WMCA core funding for 2024/25, with the same amount previously released for 2023/24 by the WMCA Board on 16 December 2022.

2.         The appended Full Business Case and the total budget of £22.5m

which includes all funding requesting in this report and approved at previous boards be noted and allocated as follows:

a.£21.8m for the West Midlands Growth Company with the WMCA 

            providing £18m and the remaining £3.8m from commercial and other

            funding leveraged by the WMGC;

3.     The WMGC funding will enable the delivery of WMGC’s Business Plan 2023-25 which was agreed by the Economic Growth Board in July 2023 and is comprised of the following:

-       £14.1m from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund, of which £0.7m has been granted to local authorities from the WMCA to support an increase in capacity to deliver against priorities in the programme, with the balance of £13.4m for WMGC

-       £3.2m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

-       £1.4m from the WMCA core budget

4.    The balance of WMGC budget is comprised of £3.8m of commercial and other funding leveraged by the WMGC be noted;

5.    The WMGC’s Business Plan 2023-2025 that was approved by the Economic Growth Board on 12 July 2023 be noted and

6.    Agreed that Investment Board receive a 6 monthly update report on the Global West Midlands Programme.