“This is a hugely significant outcome for Greater Manchester”Andy Burnham was buoyed by the letter(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)

Andy Burnham received a letter this week he believes is ‘hugely significant’ for Greater Manchester’s ‘next decade’.

A buoyant mayor revealed on Friday morning (December 12) the government has formally signed-off on his plans to revolutionise Greater Manchester’s education system and supercharge development in the city.

“It’s extremely good news in terms of laying out that next phase of devolution,” he told a Greater Manchester Combined Authority meeting.

“Backing the MBacc and backing for the Good Growth Fund really sets us up for huge progress in the new year. This is a hugely significant outcome for Greater Manchester. It sets us up for the next decade to come.”

The mayor’s education plans centre on his ‘Greater Manchester Baccalaureate’, or MBacc. It creates a new pathway for technical education in the city which is linked to Greater Manchester’s key industries, so teenagers can select the GCSEs, and later B-Tecs or T-levels, necessary to land top jobs without going to university.

The move was confirmed in a letter from Rachel Reeves and local government minister Steve Reed after lengthy talks. The 3,818 word letter also approved his new £1 billion ‘Good Growth Fund’ to supercharge development in the city-region.

Some 30 projects were given the go-ahead last week under the fund, with millions more still to be spent. The £1b fund uses £300m from the controversial housing investment loans fund (HILF), the operation of which was subject to court action earlier this year.

Ultimately, the Competition Appeals Tribunal upheld the HILF was run properly, although the case is set to go to appeal next year. Questions still remain over how the public and politicians will scrutinise millions of pounds of public money going to private developers, Mr Burnham recognised late last month.

He said at November’s GMCA meeting, when leaders approved creating the fund: “It opens up the question of what is the oversight mechanism for the Good Growth Fund beyond here.

“What does that look like in relation to this fund? There’s no sense of doing anything other than monitoring as we go.”