£4.7 billion of HS2 cash to be reinvested in Midlands and North

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Hello and welcome to Midlands Message. Here's a round-up of what's making headlines in the region this week.

£4.7 billion of HS2 cash to be reinvested in Midlands and North

Areas of the Midlands are in line for a major cash boost after the Government announced further details of how it plans to reinvest funding from the scrapped northern legs of HS2.

Rishi Sunak sparked huge controversy and anger last year when he cancelled HS2 north of Birmingham. The Conservatives were accused once again of neglecting the Midlands and North.

The Government has now outlined plans to redirect the cash to those parts of Britain, with £4.7 billion to be handed to councils outside of big cities. It will be up to individual local authorities to decide how the cash is spent.

Labour, however, branded it "reannouncement" and a "back of a fag packet plan". The funding has been earmarked for spending between 2025 and 2032.

HS2 was supposed to go to Manchester and the East Midlands but will now stop at Birmingham. It will leave the North without high-speed connection to London, which was always the point of the project. Spiralling costs led to it being axed.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said confirmation of the spending would be "game-changing" for smaller cities and towns, and enable them to "drive economic growth".

But Labour says it's just another empty pledge to invest in the Midlands and the North, without any real details.

Meanwhile, a raft of cuts have been announced by crisis-hit Birmingham City Council as the authority scrambles to try to balance the books.

Residents are being hit with a 10% council tax rise while services that money is supposed to pay for are being cut at the same time.

Bin collections will become fortnightly, while the city council has also asked the Government for £1.25 billion in "exceptional financial support". People and Politics Editor Jane Haynes has the latest.

In other news:

Pro-Palestine protesters halted meetings in Walsall and Sandwell last week. Gurdip Thandi and Christian Barnett report.
Gurdip also reports how work to pave the way for the construction of a brand new railway station in Aldridge is getting under way.
Christian reports how a move to build 60 homes on green space next to the M5 has been turned down over fears that toxic pollution could give people cancer in future.
Richard Guttridge reports how a 60mph speed limit is to remain in place for an unspecified period on parts of the M6 and M5 in the West Midlands.
Richard also reveals how police don't know where dozens of registered sex offenders are in the Midlands.
Council tax in Coventry is set to rise by the maximum 5%. Ellie Brown has the latest.
Ellie has also spoken to Labour's candidate for Coventry East at the next general election.
There are dire warnings from council chiefs in Dudley that £17m worth of cuts may not be enough to put the authority on a stable footing. Martyn Smith has the latest.
A new glamping site is set to be built on the NEC campus in Solihull. Tamlyn Jones reports.

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£4.7 billion of HS2 cash to be reinvested in Midlands and North

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