Impact case study database

1. Shaped the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) policy enabling regional resilience in response to the threats of Brexit and Covid-19

WMCA has produced a strong resilience plan in response to Brexit and Covid-19 threats (R1; S1). We contributed by identifying some of the worst likely impacts on the region; for example, reductions in local economic growth and competitiveness associated with value-chain disruptions due to Brexit in the most regional embedded sectors like advanced manufacturing industries (automotive and basic pharmaceutical products) or services such as business and professional services (R1, R3). We also highlighted the uneven impact of Covid-19 and Brexit in the regional skill distribution (R5, R7; S1). Through this work, we enabled local policymakers to develop regional resilience plans in response. That these plans benefited from WM REDI’s work is confirmed by the Mayor of the WMCA who said “Your analysis has improved our understanding of the region’s distinctive exposure to different kinds of risks and therefore enabled a more effective response to the disruptive effects of Brexit and Covid-19. City-REDI analysis, particularly the ‘West Midlands Weekly Economic Monitor’, has tracked the impact of Covid-19 on the various elements of our economy, enabling members of the (Economic Impact Group) to respond to pressures across the region [. . .] We were able to highlight specific areas of local risk, with evidence and data to support requests made of central government for funding and support schemes for vulnerable sectors and communities.” (S2). The Head of Economy and Local Industrial Strategy Chair attests that “[City-REDI’s] analysis has improved our understanding of the region’s distinctive exposure to different kinds of risks and therefore enabled a more effective response to the disruptive effects of Brexit and Covid-19 [. . .] City-REDI’s advice shaped the types and level of resources requested as well as the prioritisation of specific risks and remedies.” (S3). This evidence and data were vital to support requests to Central Government for funding and support schemes (S1, S3, S4; R1, R2, R3, R4).

That we were successful is shown by the funding received from Central Government to support the resilience plans, specifically:

• £1.5bn to accelerate planned infrastructure projects, such as new tram and rail lines that inject extra money into the economy and create new jobs (S4–S5).

• £644m fund for businesses with cash flow issues or struggling to secure loans for investment (S5; R6).

• £36m workforce support package for workers made redundant, the retention and retraining of staff, and for an apprenticeship protection scheme (S5; R5).

• £8.3m business support package with help for exporters to access foreign markets including bespoke trade missions (S5; R1–R4).

2. WMCA was awarded a larger share of Central Government support funding.

The West Midlands region was awarded approximately 50% additional funding from Central Government compared to a straightforward per-capita basis (S2). On 3rd July 2020, the region was awarded £66m allocation from the national £900m Getting Building Fund (S3, S5). According to the Mayor of the West Midlands “the work of City-Redi was also pivotal in putting together the list of asks for Government support that formed our ‘Recharged the West Midlands’ document” (S2, S4). The region’s enhanced share of this fund was calculated on the basis of the additional risk of shocks to our regional economy. The WMCA’s case to Central Government was robust because of our contribution, which demonstrated the higher levels of risks to firms, jobs and communities from our unique industry sector mix, lower average skills and existing levels of inequality (R7; S5). That this award is substantially higher is attested to by the Head of Economy and Local Industrial Strategy at the WMCA, who states, “Had this fund been allocated crudely on a straight per-head basis, the region would have received circa £46 million, so this represents about a 50 per cent uplift to the region as a result of ministers’ decisions to ‘target in areas facing the biggest economic challenges as a result of the pandemic’” (S3). That our input was material to the success is confirmed by the Head of Economy and Local Industrial Strategy at the WMCA, who asserts “This is a result of the robust, evidence-based case which the WMCA put forward, with City-REDI analysis at its heart” (S3). Similarly, the Chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Partnership said that “working in collaboration across the private, public and education sectors has secured a compelling set of high-impact investments that can deliver tangible benefits in the short and medium-term” (S4).

3. Contributed to the national policy design and implementation of the ‘levelling-up agenda’

We have impacted on the Whitehall’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda in four main demonstrable ways:

1. Shaped Whitehall’s thinking and action with regard to local and regional implications of all trade deals; not just those with the EU, but with respect to other countries and parts of the world as well (S6). Using our data sets (S7), we showed the importance of analysing the interregional trade data to understand the heterogeneous resilience prospects of different UK regions as a result of the impacts of economic shocks such as Brexit (R1, R3). According to the Deputy Director at the UK Department of Business and Local Growth Analysis (BEIS), “The interregional trade data generated by your [City-REDI’s) project was novel, and no similar types of data were available to BEIS or any other Whitehall department prior to your project [. . .] These data have been critical for helping us in Central Government to consider the regional implications of alternative trading arrangements. Moreover, the remarkable level of analysis at the sectoral and regional levels that your research provided helped us to embed consideration of these risks across Whitehall and with local partners and the quality and timeliness of the data meant that it was, and still is, in high demand [. . .] Indeed, the impacts of the project are greater than this, because it helped Whitehall as a whole to consider the local and regional implications of all trade deals more generally, not just with respect to the EU, but with respect to other countries and parts of the world as well” (R1, R3; S6, also see S7).

2. We have made it possible to anticipate and mitigate any adverse trade-related effects on UK regions, improving policy design and implementation. For the first time, our new datasets and analysis have enabled the calculation of growth indicators at sub-national level associated with trade relationships between local areas (R1, R3; S7). This analysis has helped Whitehall think about particular allocation formulas relating to the Local Growth Fund and the forthcoming “Shared Prosperity Fund”, resulting in more effective policy implementation; for example, Local Enterprise Partnerships across England will benefit from a more place-based and evidence-based distribution of funding covering the next six years in the areas of regional economic development (R1, R3; S6, S7).

3. We have shaped discussions leading up to the Spending Review. Specifically, how funds should be used to help local areas to prepare and recover after Brexit has been informed by our evidence on the implications of Brexit for the UK regions (R1–R4; S6, S7).

4. We have helped reshape the “place” consideration in the new edition of the Green Book, the national guidance for business cases (S8, S9). Specifically, our contribution to the place chapter emphasised the importance of the strategic case and setting objectives, and to ensure that all government funding is now assessed for place impacts (S10). This is already changing the way government and funded organisations shape their intervention assessment processes, and the new Green Book was used to agree the 2020 Spending Review.