By Ben Lucas and Duncan Selbie

This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

Metro mayors now cover 20% of the English population and they are changing the governance and policy landscape.

That is why we have teamed up to set out the opportunity that devolution has opened up to integrate health and wellbeing into an inclusive growth agenda.

Improving people’s health and promoting economic growth may not traditionally have been seen to have much in common.

But health and wealth are flip sides of the same coin.

Developing national and local understanding of the connection between better health and the potential for productivity growth is a key priority for Public Health England (PHE).

Metro Dynamics were commissioned by Public Health England to produce a report on the relationship between health and wealth and the opportunity that devolution presents to promote prevention and early intervention across the life course.

The report argues that improving people's health and wellbeing is fundamentally about creating prosperous local economies that benefit everyone. Health and wellbeing are not only impacted by the quality of NHS care and health-related behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and exercise, but also by other factors, such as one's childhood or whether one lives in high quality housing in an area which has good air quality, encourages social contacts and encourages outdoor activity.

By Ben Lucas

This article originally appeared in the Local Government Chronicle. 

In the last couple of weeks both the president of the Confederation of British Industry and the Industrial Strategy Commission have noted that the East Midlands is one of the most significant areas of the country not to have its own clear voice on industrial strategy.

The success of the Midlands Engine and the imminence of the white paper on industrial strategy brings this into even starker focus.

It’s a large region that comprises several overlapping types of economy including urban/metro, former coalfields, market towns and rural areas. Each of these has distinctive as well as interconnected challenges and opportunities. They are represented by every tier of local government, from districts, through cities to counties.

By Mike Emmerich 

To the ambition of growth, long the goal of local policy makers, have been added a variety of qualifying adjectives over the years. Sustainable growth, having once been a fad has now entered the lexicon as an established term of art referring to a growth imperative that is environmentally responsible yet also in some sense socially responsible, building communities that people want to live in. Today, our concern is with socially inclusive growth.

Core Cities today released its report 'A call for greater fiscal autonomy for our cities', authored by Metro Dynamics.  Read the new report here and Core Cities' response here.

Cities need a wide range of fiscal freedoms to deliver economic growth. Business rate localisation is a welcome step, but is not without risk, and should be introduced as part of a programme of wider fiscal reform -  new report from Core Cities UK and Metro Dynamics.

By Sarah Whitney

It has been widely reported that Sir Jeremy Heywood is running his slide rule over HS2 reflecting concerns within Government that the budget for the project could be exceeded.  The cost of HS2 has gradually risen over time, from £32.6 billion in January 2012 to £55 billion in November 2015, up from the previous estimate of £50 billion set two years earlier.

This increase is a particular issue, because the vast majority of the cost of building HS2 will fall on the taxpayer, with perhaps a proportion of those costs recouped on completion by the letting of a contract to operate the line. Therefore, it should be no surprise that a project of this magnitude should be subject to periodic review by one of our most senior mandarins.

This month's Prospect magazine features an extensive article written by our Founding Director Sarah Whitney. 

By Simge Kartav

Yesterday the Chancellor George Osborne delivered his third budget in 12 months.  In his 62-minute speech, changes to tax rates and savings took centre stage. However, his announcements on devolution, transport and business rates are those that will inevitably have a big impact on cities in the UK. 

The Chancellor emphasised that the ‘devolution revolution’ will carry on full speed and announced new deals with the West of England, East Anglia, and Greater Lincolnshire. The Chancellor will be building on existing devolution deals with Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, the North East and Tees Valley; soon 57% of the population of the North of England will be represented by elected mayors. Previously agreed mayoral devolution deals will also each receive unringfenced single pots of funding to spend on local priorities, worth £2.86 billion in total.

The Great Western Cities today released its report ‘Britain’s Western Powerhouse’, authored by Metro Dynamics. The report examines the benefits of greater ‘sharing, matching and learning’ between the three city regions – including an influential role for universities, businesses and civil society. The report also identifies major potential for the three city regions in strengthening transport links, expanding renewable energy and improving its international profile.

Metro Dynamics has been commissioned by Core Cities and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to write a report on the case for fiscal devolution to drive city led growth.  
 

Metro Dynamics is very pleased to welcome two new members of staff to our Manchester office...

The recent tour of China by the Chancellor was notable for the presence of several leaders of cities from across the Northern Powerhouse...