MPs welcome much-needed £860 million investment in South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis, Sheffield City Region Mayor, announced the funding today and said he and local leaders were ‘rewriting the rule book’ to meet the seismic economic challenge posed by Covid-19.

The money will be invested into schemes to protect, create and attract thousands of jobs, train workers and apprentices, back businesses to locate and grow in the region and transform infrastructure by building transport networks and revitalising high streets and towns.

Gill Furniss, MP for Brightside and Hillsborough, said: “The Chancellor forgot about South Yorkshire in the budget, so this much needed investment by Labour’s local leaders is great news. It is the ambitious and bold plan we needed to renew our local economy and revitalise local businesses after Covid.”

Olivia Blake, MP for Sheffield Hallam, said: “We’ve heard a lot from the Government about the ‘levelling up’ agenda and the ‘northern powerhouse’ but, especially in the last year, we’ve seen ministers repeatedly ignore the north and the needs of Yorkshire. It’s fantastic to see the Sheffield City Region Mayor providing exactly the kind of plan we need to recover from the crisis – investing in infrastructure, jobs and in greening our local economy.”

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said: “It’s clearly a major and significant announcement.

“The area is in desperate need of new investment and of course new, well paid jobs and that is what this fund ought to give us.

“I think the mayor is absolutely right, there is no sitting back and waiting for government to throw a few crumbs from their table we have got to get on and do it ourselves, that is what the mayor is saying and he is taking the initiative.

“There is still a lot of detail to be announced but it gives the potential to invest in new well-paid jobs.”

Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: “This investment package is a good example of what the devolution agenda can achieve – empowering communities to invest in and level up their local economies and infrastructure. It is even more important now, as we seek to build back better from the pandemic.

“The mayor has put forward a significant package of investment here, and I look forward to working with Dan Jarvis and the Sheffield City Region team to make sure that the towns and villages I represent are able to benefit as much as possible. All of us must work together to deliver for our constituents and our communities.

“I’m also keen to make sure that the funding for skills, infrastructure and high streets complements the substantial investments being made in South Yorkshire by the Government, including through the Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, and Community Renewal Fund. Bringing these different sources of investment together will help to support our recovery and build a better future for everyone.”