Mr Rotheram will ask city region leaders to endorse the plan later this week
Mr Rotheram will ask city region leaders to endorse the plan later this week
Retaining the £2 bus fare, concessionary travel and investment in AI will form the backbone of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s budget for the next 12 months. When members meet on Friday, leaders from the six council areas are expected to sign off on a financial plan for 2026/27.
It is the first budget Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has been able to set since taking up his role nine years ago which is based around an integrated settlement, rather than multiple government grants. While it does not represent additional funding, it offers flexibility, longer-term certainty and control to the city region over investment decisions.
The budget includes an extension to the £2 bus fare cap, £52m to fund the City Region’s concessionary travel scheme and £1m allocated to keep the area at the forefront of the AI revolution. Mr Rotheram said the proposals were “firmly focused on keeping our region moving forward.”
More than £60m is being set aside to fund training for thousands of City Region adults. Funding from the government will continue for the Freeport and Innovation Zone programmes, which are designed to increase inward investment and support business growth and jobs in key industries. As revealed by the ECHO earlier this month, the amount we pay to fund the Metro Mayor through council tax is to be frozen for the next 12 months.
Additionally, further funding is earmarked for the continuing development of the Mersey tidal barrage project which could provide vital flooding defences to properties across the region. Recognising the “extreme pressures” that its constituent local authorities are facing, the budget includes £1.6m for each of the six councils to pursue regeneration and growth priorities.
The combined authority said the budget had been set against a “challenging economic backdrop” and balances the need to support households, businesses and local authorities while addressing its own financial pressures. Mr Rotheram said: “This budget is firmly focused on moving our region forward – expanding opportunity, raising aspirations and improving everyday life for the 1.6 million people who call this place home.
“It also marks a major milestone for devolution in the Liverpool City Region as we move to an Integrated Settlement – a clear vote of confidence from national government in our ability to deliver for local people.
By committing more than £60 million to adult skills and training, we are helping tens of thousands of people access secure, well-paid work and long-term prospects.
“At the same time, we are working to keep travel affordable by extending the £2 bus fare cap and taking the final steps towards bringing our bus network back under public control for the first time in 40 years.
This is what devolution is designed to deliver: decisions taken locally, shaped by local priorities, and creating real benefits on the ground.
“My ambition for the year ahead is clear: to make the Liverpool City Region the best region in the country.”
A second part to the budget covering capital spending on buildings and infrastructure, including investment projects such as the now delayed Liverpool Baltic station, smart ticketing and the new Mersey Ferry, will be considered at the Combined Authority’s meeting on March 6.
