West Yorkshire Combined Authority Budget 2026-27

Who we are and what we do

At the Combined Authority, we are working with our partners to build a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all. We want to make our region the best place to live, work, learn, start a business and raise a family – a place where anyone can make a home.

To help us deliver that vision, the Government has given us devolved responsibility to make decisions and deliver programmes in key sectors across West Yorkshire – including transport, housing, adult education, regeneration and employment and skills.

From April 2026, our work will be funded through one single funding agreement, known as an integrated settlement. This means that we, and our partners, will have greater control over the projects we invest in and can adapt funding to meet the needs of our local communities.

Our budget, and how we spend it

Our budget for 2025-26 is £866 million, which is made up of capital and revenue funding.

Capital funding is for infrastructure projects. This is roughly £478 million. It comes from various national funds and grants. Examples of an infrastructure project are building a new bus station, or developing a business enterprise zone.

Revenue funding covers daily services and project delivery. This is roughly £388 million, including £92 million from the Transport Levy.

Our main spending areas for 2025-26 include:

• £437 million on transport infrastructure
• £162 million on running transport services
• £98 million on skills and supporting jobs
• £56 million on helping local businesses grow
• £38 million on infrastructure for growth (housing / energy / climate)

Flexibility in our budget

Most of our budget can only be spent on specific projects and programmes, as part of the conditions of receiving the funding from central Government.

The Transport Levy is levied on our partner councils, and we use it to support and maintain our transport network, and to support bus routes and services that aren’t covered by commercial providers. The Transport Levy has not changed for over 10 years.

Each year, we spend £40 million on concessionary travel schemes (ENCTS), £10.9 million on subsidised travel for young people and £30 million on other tendered services.

Transport Levy funding has some flexibility, so we can choose how some of this budget is allocated in future.

Our integrated settlement will allow us to have more flexibility in how we spend our funding from central Government to meet the needs of West Yorkshire.

Challenges we face

We have big ambitions for West Yorkshire but we’re up against rising costs and need to stay within our overall budget amount. This means that we'll need to make decisions about what activities we can afford to do. Your opinions will help us choose how to prioritise the flexibility of what we fund.

How to have your say

Thanks to everyone who came to our local consultation events or answered our surveys recently. Your feedback informs our work, including projects like the introduction of our safer travel PCSOs, our Multiply maths skills programme, the new Halifax bus station and simple, affordable travel for young people.

We’d now like to hear what’s important to you to help us agree our priorities and budget for next year and beyond.

Please share your views by 26 October 2025.

You can have your say by:

• Answering our survey
• Talking to us - we are out and about across West Yorkshire in September
• Asking a question using our Q&A tool
• Email: yourvoice@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
• Telephone: 0113 245 7676 (MetroLine)
• Write to us: FREEPOST West Yorkshire Combined Authority (no stamp required)

Next steps

Results from this engagement will support priority and budget planning, and the proposed budget for 2026-27 will be reported at the Combined Authority meeting in December 2025.

You can sign up to be a part of our Your Voice community to stay updated on how to have your say.

This budget engagement is separate from setting the police budget in West Yorkshire for 2026-27, which we will consult on at a later date. For information on funding our police and previous consultations, please click here.