Chancellor John Healey will announce a devolution package worth at least £1.5bn in borrowing capacity during his budget statement on Wednesday, according to The Guardian.
The new facility will be developed with English mayors over the next two years. Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, framed the push as ending a system where local leaders must approach Westminster "cap in hand" for funding decisions.
Healey's office positions the devolution effort as a growth measure. The specifics of how the borrowing facility will function, which local authorities qualify, or what projects it targets remain unclear from the available details. The budget statement will provide those particulars.
The move represents the government's first major devolution initiative following Labour's election victory. Burnham's language suggests frustration with the previous funding model, in which English local authorities required central government approval for major spending commitments.