Richard Parker positions West Midland's youth at the forefront of his growth plans
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting Richard Parker, the Mayor of the West Midlands, at our Cavendish Summer Party 2024. The event, held in partnership with Vistry Group, was well attended by the Midlands business community, with over 220 travelling to the event.
Leading up to the event, Mayor Parker was busy outlining his four main priorities for the region: better jobs, growth, homes, and public transport for all. My colleague Tristan discussed how these priorities align with central government’s goals in his recent article.
The keynote speaker at the Cavendish Summer Party, Parker addressed a crowd of local businesspeople, many keen to hear his plans for housing and growth after Andy Street’s eight-year tenure. The timing of Parker coming to speak at our event was also significant given it was one of his last before he addressed the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
The highlight of Parker’s speech was his emphasis on the value of young people in the West Midlands, seeing them as key to the region’s growth. He pointed out the significant barriers they face, such as skill shortages, limited trade opportunities, and transportation issues. For the “youngest city in Europe”, youth unemployment is “double the national average”. Parker stressed that solving this was crucial to addressing the region’s growth challenges, viewing them as interconnected issues.
Key takeaways from Parker’s speech included:
Greater Manchester’s growth is “running ahead” of the West Midlands At the beginning of his speech, Labour’s new mayor provided a sombre assessment of the region’s fortunes. The West Midlands has declined 20% in competitiveness compared to Greater Manchester, a region of similar stature. Not only this, but over the last ten years the “West Midlands had been the worst performing in the UK”.
The “West Midlands Youth Plan” could make use of our “fantastic ecosystem” One of Mayor Parker’s first acts in office was to launch his plan for youth unemployment. He hopes to provide “20,000 learning and work opportunities” to youngsters across the West Midlands who didn’t “even get a first chance”. Through the scheme, young people will be provided with advice, support services and apprenticeships by Combined Authority partners and businesses.
The West Midlands needs bus franchising like Greater Manchester Parker suggested that National Express “frankly doesn’t want to operate the buses anymore”. The system is costing the region £50 million a year and is underserving the vast number of people who use it. In some cases, young people couldn’t access employment areas at the right times, something that Parker would want to see change under franchising.
There is a desperate need for housing development and “streamlined planning systems” Parker expressed his frustration with the “intransigence of commissioners” who “blighted progress across this city”, acting as a bulwark to development. He emphasised the urgent need to streamline planning systems, with the primary aim of delivering new housing to provide homes for the thousands of people in the region on waiting lists and in temporary accommodation. The mayor also hinted at progress in negotiations with Angela Rayner to free up “£150 million in housing resources”.
A timetabled growth plan for the West Midlands will be submitted in October The growth plan will “focus on the industries of the future”, including advanced manufacturing, life sciences, green technology and creative services. The plan will be presented as a “route map” and call upon the region’s construction, logistics and engineering sectors to provide pathways that change the fortunes of the region, and young people more specifically.
Mayor Parker concluded his speech by calling upon those in attendance to work in partnership with him, education establishments, and local authorities to “turn the region around”. For him, this was a chance “for the first time in a generation to give people in this region hope”.
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Written by,
Joe Anthony | Senior Account Executive