Wednesday's Budget will include a devolution package for England, the Treasury and No 10 say. It includes £285m of transitional 'Good Growth' funding next year for mayors and local leaders, and plans for a £1.5bn borrowing facility from 2028.
The Treasury says the funding is a 'downpayment' that could pay for homes, high street regeneration and transport links. Areas that are not yet strategic authorities can access a share during the 'transitional period'. The borrowing facility will be designed with mayors over the next two years.
The Guardian says the £285m is meant to tide areas over until a 2028 system under which some income tax revenue is handed directly to their areas.
The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said local leaders would no longer have to go "cap in hand to Westminster". The Chancellor, John Healey, promised "more money, more power and more capacity".
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said the change could help unlock the West London Orbital, the Bakerloo line extension, the DLR and Stratford International. Claire Ward, chair of the UK Mayors Network and mayor of the East Midlands, backs the plans, as do Steve Rotheram, Richard Parker and Tracy Brabin, according to Rayo.
Reports of the announcement give no costing against the fiscal rules and no source for the money.