Hope for major social housing programme that's 'the biggest in the West Midlands for 40 years'

Richard Parker said devolution and the Government's plans for growth are key for the future

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said he is "optimistic" the Government's budget plans will help him deliver key pledges such as housing and growth for the area. Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her first budget on October 30 with major tax reforms and an industrial strategy focusing on certain areas of growth being predicted.

Mr Parker said this focus on growing the economy alongside Labour's plans to give more devolved powers to Metro Mayors will bring about the changes the region needs. Speaking to BBC's The World This Weekend on Sunday (October 13), he said: "I am incredibly optimistic about the future.

"It's fantastic there's a recognition from the Government of not just the importance of growth but that economic growth needs to be delivered through the regions. I'm looking forward to working with a Government that will devolve more powers and the ability for people like myself, Andy Burnham and others to have a greater role in how those resources and those devolved powers and funding is used.

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"There's no doubt for too long we haven't made the investment in this country in either technology, infrastructure or indeed people enough since the 1990s. That needs to be addressed if we're going to address the productivity and competitiveness issues we have not just in the West Midlands but the country as a whole.

"I am really encouraged by discussions that were taking place between the Mayors and Government but also the ambitions the Chancellor of the Exchequer has to drive investment in infrastructure that will help us make that step change. That's why I'm deeply encouraged by the plans to spend more on infrastructure and to treat and account for that spending and appraise that spending in a very different way."

He added: "On the housing side of things, we've got 20,000 families in desperate conditions living in temporary accommodation across the West Midlands. High cost, often very poor quality housing which isn't particularly secure through the tenancies.

"That housing is costing councils fortunes. I want to deliver a large programme of affordable and social housing - the biggest programme we've had in this region for 40 years. We're working with Angela Raynor's team about how we start to use resources to commit to that priority and if we do that, we can remove families from those desperate conditions, improving life chances, we can create jobs by creating those homes and we can remove the burden of funding families in that temporary accommodation from local authorities.

"There are issues we've neglected for far too long. The fact the Government has identified these issues and is developing a plan to address them is incredibly helpful. We need to recognise there aren't quick fixes but the sooner we start, the sooner we can get on this journey back to growth and ensure the people in this country get the public services they need and deserve."

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