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Sandwell Council joins West Midlands Combined Authority
Sandwell Council has become the seventh and final council in the West Midlands to sign up to a proposed new West Midlands Combined Authority (WCMA).
Sandwell will join councils which have already agreed to become members, including Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The decision means the parliamentary process can now resume for the new authority to be established in June.
Councillor Bob Sleigh, chair of the shadow board for the WMCA, said: “These are exciting times as local authorities show a commitment to working together to move powers and funding from Westminster to the West Midlands.
“We believe that by joining forces, with additional support and input from the three Local Enterprise Partnerships and a number of district councils, we will have the ability to make the right decisions that will best serve the region as a whole.”
Under the deal, the WMCA will have a number of new powers, including control of a new annual £36 million budget over 30 years.
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