Getting busy building for the future
WELL February has passed in a flash and the pace of activity has certainly not slowed. The month started by agreeing my first budget as Metro Mayor.
We introduced a £1 off-peak fast-tag, as a first step to reducing the burden of tunnel tolls on commuters; commissioned a new ferry to cross the Mersey; and established a Mayoral Priorities Fund to support the Mersey Tidal and digital connectivity projects.
More recently, alongside the Greater Manchester Metro Mayor, Andy Burnham – I called for a Convention Of The North – to help our region’s leaders come together and speak with one voice on the big issues facing the north of England including rail investment, Brexit and possible further devolution.
This month has also seen the launch of a £4.5m initiative to tackle long-term unemployment.
A team of 24 advocates are completing a two-week induction and will be located in the combined authority’s six local authorities.
‘Households into Work’ will support 800 families with two or more adults who are not currently in work.
Drawn from a range of backgrounds, the advocates will work with individuals to identify barriers to entering the workplace and put in place tailored support to overcome those obstacles. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance to fulfil their potential and one of the ways we will build a fairer and more just city region is by helping people into meaningful employment. At the combined authority’s health summit, earlier in the month, I was also proud to sign a pledge, alongside representatives from the six boroughs, to make our region the first ‘dementia-friendly’ city region. This means working with the public, private and voluntary sector to shape our society around the needs of our ageing population. The demographic profile of our city region is changing and we need to ensure that all of its institutions change with it. I was also pleased to fulfil another of my manifesto commitments by holding a housing summit, attended by major figures across the sector, at which we dis- ● cussed how we can create the housing we need for the 21st century.
At the summit I challenged the building sector to work with us to make this city region an exemplar for innovation, sustainability and design excellence.
The coming month promises to be just as productive.
Look out in particular for announcements regarding apprenticeships and further details on a city-region wide music strategy.