The city region will join Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and West Midlands as part of the trial which connects it to central government and industry expertise in a bid to help unluck private investment opportunities and boost local growth.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the new approach to work with local leaders across Britain to support incoming investment and projects which must be linked to regional growth.
The initiative aims to play a major role in unlocking investment across technology, manufacturing and green energy while putting local knowledge and leadership at the front of it.
The partnerships will provide hands-on support with commercial and financial advice tailored to each region.
Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow City Council, believes it is a serious recognition of the work already being done in the city and is hopeful it will lead to more investment.
She said: “This is welcome recognition of Glasgow City Region’s role as Scotland’s metro region, a vital motor in delivering prosperity and with a track record of securing and delivering on investment.
“Cities and city regions are the vital engine rooms of local and national economic growth and Glasgow’s selection as one of the four strategic partnerships to work with Government on maximising investment opportunities will, I’m sure, contribute to our ambition to become the most innovative, resilient and inclusive regional economy in the UK.”
The Green Book, the government guidance on value for money, will also be reviewed as part of the regional growth plans.
The review will report back at the end of the spending review this summer and will look at how it is being used across the public sector to provide advice on investment.
It follows the English Devolution White Paper which was published at the end of last year, setting out an enhanced framework to ensure local authorities have the tools to meet growth ambitions.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP said: “Those with local knowledge and skin in the game are best placed to know what their area needs, and our transformative reforms will put local leaders at the centre of a network that will connect them with investment opportunities, bringing wealth and jobs to their communities”.
Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray said: “It’s fantastic to see that Glasgow has been chosen as one of four areas where the UK Government will develop investment pipelines. The move will see us engage with local leaders and tap into their expertise to find out exactly where we can best put to use support from avenues like the National Wealth Fund and Office for Investment.
“Encouraging regional growth is key to our Plan for Change, to speed up investment in business and industry, creating jobs and opportunity right across the UK.
“The potential for growth in Scotland is phenomenal and we’ll explore every opportunity to maximise that growth, to put more money in people’s pockets and see living standards improved everywhere.”
