West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has outlined his wishes from central government as negotiations open over a new devolution deal for the region.
The 'Levelling Up' white papers includes plans to give more powers to so-called super councils like the West Midlands Combined Authority as well as creating more of them in areas which do not currently have one.
It says: "The UK Government will open negotiations immediately on trailblazer deals with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, which will act as the blueprint for other Mayor-led Combined Authorities to follow."
Mr Street said: "The two places to lead all this have been chosen as Manchester and the West Midlands."
He highlighted three key areas that are likely to be included in a new devolution deal for the West Midlands, the first of which is to give the region control over post-16 skills and training and the careers service, reports BirminghamLive.
Mr Street said: "The second area will be about this whole area of encouraging trade and investment
"We don't have any real levers over that in the same way the devolved nations do and when it comes to energy, we will be a pilot in that area."
That includes allowing the authority to develop a plan for storing and distributing energy in the West Midlands and making homes more energy efficient.
Talks are due to start imminently, with the mayor adding: "I have spoken to Michael Gove about this in the past few days.
"He said there will be a single minister in this team appointed to do this and they want it done in the next few months."
Mr Street said the White Paper would "finally address the imbalance of opportunities across the UK".
"Prior to the pandemic we already had the fastest growing economy outside of London, with record homes being built, record numbers in work, and record investment in public transport.
"But with Covid knocking us for six we needed the White Paper to help get us back on track, and that is exactly what it will do."
Think tank the Local Government Information Unit responded to the White Paper saying it was unlikely to achieve the Government's goal of levelling up the country.
Chief executive Jonathan Carr-West said: "In the end, perhaps inevitably, the long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper doesn't quite rise to its own challenge.
"It sets out an analysis of the causes and impacts of regional economic disparities and proposes 12 missions to address these challenges.
"These give some clarity to what levelling up means, contain social as well as economic dimensions and have measurable metrics for success.
"It's far less clear how these missions will be accomplished. The structural reforms to local government and the specific policy measures announced feel piecemeal and, in the main, familiar."
University of Birmingham expert Professor John Bryson said: "The UK has always suffered from uneven development and this is reflected in all measures of wellbeing - from salaries to place-based differences in mortality rates and morbidity.
"There is no country on this planet that does not suffer from some form of uneven place-based outcomes. The implication is that any attempt to remove place-based uneven outcomes will and must fail.
"The policy outcome might mean some alteration in the extent or degree of unevenness, but unevenness will continue to persist. No political party will be able to develop effective solutions to create a level playing field.
"Nevertheless, this does not mean that policies should not be designed to support and facilitate some form of more even development. However, the outcome will still be the persistence of uneven outcomes."
