Social Value Ideas for West Midlands Combined Authority

Approve A45 junction funding

The board approved release of up to £16.4 million for A45 Coventry Road and Ason Parkway junction improvements, with a possible £100,000 contribution from the airport. Officers said the project is at …

“Um this paper is for the approval of um the full business case for the A45 Common Road ASON Parkway uh junction improvements. Um and based on an indep…”

Investment programme funding and drawdown

The board received an update on the overall investment programme showing the committed funding position, how much had been drawn down by the end of August 2025, and that officers had approved two chan…

“Thank you chair. Um funding commitment unchanged 844.3 million um versus the 871 million approved by C8. Um the limit is uh fully utilized by contribu…”

Large transport funding gap

The mayor said the combined authority inherited a significant financial gap in its business and finance plans, driven largely by transport underfunding and the need to keep the bus network operating. …

“thank you Robert and apologies for running ahead to items four it's excitement only but um the uh the usual so no really really good question so I obv…”

A4123 corridor FBC funding approved

The board approved a £6.9 million drawdown from CRSTS funding to prepare the full business case for the A4123 walk, cycle and bus measures scheme. The spend covers full business case preparation, deta…

“Good morning, chair, and thank you for accommodating. Apologies for not being there in person this morning, but I'm at Wolverampton for the growth pla…”

Region-wide Lime micromobility rollout

Lime is proposing a large-scale shared e-bike and e-scooter service across the West Midlands, with an initial five-year contract that could extend to ten years. The scheme would launch in Birmingham, …

“We're the world's or one of the world's largest providers of shared ebikes and e- scooters. And the reason I include all these very large sounding sta…”

Pragmatic transport delivery

The mayor repeatedly stated that transport projects must be fully costed, funded and deliverable, and that previous announcements had outpaced business cases and available funding. This is a policy sh…

“let's be really clear um we can have plans and Visions for this place but if the funding isn't there those plans and Visions amount to zero and my pre…”

Wolverhampton city centre move approved

The board considered and approved the full business case for the Wolverhampton City Centre Move bus, cycle and walk package. The scheme is funded through the CRSTS programme with £13.53 million sought…

“the paper um which sets out the W Hampton City Center move bus cycle and walk package is part of the city region sustainable transport um program uh p…”

Longbridge Park and Ride contract issue

A high-risk audit recommendation on Longbridge Park and Ride remains unresolved because the authority still needs evidence of the contract approval. Management said the matter should be completed with…

“"the Longbridge park and ride and there's a high risk recommendation on that um it was supposed to be sorted think September 24 but it's still there u…”

Youth Trailblazer funding

The West Midlands was awarded up to £5 million for the Youth Trailblazer initiative to support 18 to 21 year olds, with most delivery funding passed to local authorities as grants and some direct comm…

““So um in terms of the youth priorities there obviously it came through the get Britain working uh white paper that came out of November and in Decemb…”

Job rotation pilot review

The committee was told to expect a further evaluation report on the job rotation pilot in a couple of months, and members agreed to add an extra meeting in May to consider it alongside the regional en…

“the paper that we've shared with you um for this meeting um very much is um breaks down I suppose the the model of the job rotation pilot what we're l…”

Support for 17 year olds

Members pressed for government and the combined authority to address the gap for 16 and 17 year olds, especially those who fall out of education, training or apprenticeships before reaching the Youth …

““Um, I always make a plea at this point when you talk about 18 and 19 year olds for 17 year olds who get lost in the system and if they have either wo…”

Retrofit pilot launched

The board approved a devolved buildings retrofit pilot with funding of £168 million over three years, plus up to £80 million in match funding and £1.1 million for local authority enforcement of housin…

“this is another big Leap Forward uh for Devolution policy in England the system to dat has um meant that homeowners um local authorities housing assoc…”

Housing delivery and waiting list crisis

The transcript describes acute housing pressure, including 64,000 families on waiting lists and 20,000 in high-cost temporary accommodation. The mayor framed this as a major service pressure requiring…

“we've got 64,000 uh families on housing waiting lists and 20,000 families in high cost poor quality insecure temporary accommodation is blighting peop…”

Brownfield grant process simplified

WMCA has revised its brownfield remediation grant application process into a two-part form to make it easier for applicants, especially smaller developers, while strengthening due diligence and projec…

“So as you've alluded to um there were there were well we're making three recommendations which is firstly to review the progress today in response to …”