Bristol to get new powers
Bristol has been designated as one of eight "core cities" which should give it more freedom from Whitehall to invest in and secure money for major spending projects.
The government announced the South West city – along with Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and Birmingham – would be offered "a menu of transformative new powers" through a series of "city deals".
Cities minister Greg Clark told the House of Commons: "The intention is to start a series of negotiations with cities. It's not a definitive announcement of powers that are being invested in one city rather than another. They have the great capacity to create private sector jobs.
"If you consider that our jobs in the future are likely to come from knowledge-intensive industries, cities are ideally placed to be the hosts of those industries."
The government said the move would provide cities with greater freedom to invest in growth. This will include an end to the current system of bidding to Whitehall departments for different pots of cash for things like roads and housing. Instead, cities could get one consolidated capital pot to direct as they see fit.
Local authorities would also have the freedom to set lower business rates for certain types of companies, while the decision making on transport projects would be handed over so cities no longer have to "jump through numerous Whitehall hoops".
The government added that the cities will be able to bid for a share in a £100m capital investment pot to spend on ambitious broadband infrastructure projects.
Phil Smith, managing director of Business West, said: "For many years, business has said that too many decisions are made in Whitehall, and are often taken without real knowledge or understanding of local business conditions. Those of us at the heart of our communities, such as local councils and companies, are best placed to make the decisions that will affect our local areas for years to come.
"Our Chamber of Commerce members and many local companies will welcome the 'city deals' announcement which will benefit our urban area. But business must be at the centre of any decision-making processes.
"Provided there is appropriate business input, and local control of transport and training, there is the potential to create a better environment for private-sector growth.
"I am also heartened by the fact that some of the proposed powers of this 'city deal' are reflective of at least two of the recommendations that Business West and the business community have called for in the Bristol 2050 40-year vision published yesterday."
