West Midlands Combined Authority

Supports regional transport, skills, housing, and economic development programs across the West Midlands.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is a Mayoral Combined Authority established in 2016 for the West Midlands region. It is led by Mayor Richard Parker and chief executive Ed Cox, and it brings together seven constituent councils with additional non-constituent councils in a devolved regional governance model.

WMCA is set to receive a four-year GBP 2.6 billion Integrated Settlement from April 2026, covering 30 funds across eight government departments. Its current funding footprint includes the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator and the GBP 25 million Creative Places Growth Fund, alongside housing, regeneration and investment-zone support. The structured portfolio points to work across built environment, medtech, climate, energy, manufacturing, biotech and AI infrastructure.

The authority operates as a place-based delivery body rather than a local council. Its style is flexible and programmatic: direct grants, upstream funding and investment vehicles sit alongside rolling expressions of interest and a five-stage assurance framework, which lets it move money toward regional priorities such as transport, skills, housing, innovation and net zero.