The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) must mean an end to the region getting an unfair deal, MPs have demanded.
A special investigation by the Birmingham Post today reveals the true scale of how the region is missing out on funding.
In the week the deal was signed to create a 'super-council' politicians are calling for the injustice to end.
MPs warned George Osborne to ensure the pain of future cuts was shared fairly across the country after a Budget statement which made it clear councils and police forces could expect more reductions.
And they called for the new WMCA to be given the spending power other regions seem to enjoy.
A study published earlier this week by think tank the Centre for Cities revealed significant differences in spending by region.
Across the country, spending per person on infrastructure, economic development and the environment is £845 per person each year. But in the West Midlands proposed combined authority area it is £613.
Meanwhile, in the Greater London Authority area it is £1,220, and in city rival areas it is £704 in Yorkshire, and £992 each in Greater Manchester and Liverpool.
Overall spending per person from tax income is £10,793 in the WMCA, but in Greater London it is £11,669 per resident, Manchester £11,277 and Liverpool £12,323.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has welcomed plans to create a new West Midlands Combined Authority – saying it would help the West Midlands become a "powerhouse".
Speaking as council leaders in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Solihull and Coventry launched a "prospectus" setting out plans for a new region-wide council, Mr Cameron said: "The West Midlands has huge potential to become an economic powerhouse in its own right and a real engine for growth for the whole of the UK.
"That's why I'm delighted that councils in the West Midlands are coming together to seize this opportunity and we'll be looking at these proposals closely over the coming weeks."
Chancellor George Osborne mentioned the WMCA in his Budget speech – but didn't give any details of commitment about funding or powers. Accountancy experts KPMG questioned the point of combined authorities – unless the Government moves quickly to give sweeping financial powers.
Richard Threlfall, head of infrastructure, building and construction at KPMG, said: "Our politicians tell us how keen they are on devolution. But so far we haven't seen any clear proposal for the amount of buying power that Government proposes to put into the hands of city regions. Until we get that, the devolution debate is just hot air.
"The Government has shown over recent years that it understands the critical link between infrastructure investment and the UK's economic prosperity and competitiveness.
"Longer-term planning and fiscal devolution to our major city regions, could turbo-boost that investment, leading to the development of regional infrastructure funds and drawing in much higher levels of private capital."
MPs warned that the Government's pledge to "rebalance" the economy would be revealed as an empty promise if the West Midlands continued to be hit unfairly by spending cuts, with a fresh round expected to be announced later in the year.
MP Jack Dromey (Lab Erdington) said: "Birmingham has been hit hard by the biggest cuts in local government history. To add insult to injury our city has been treated less favourably than southern Tory shires and the Chancellor's own constituency.
"How can it be right that every household in Birmingham has lost £2,000 whilst the spending power of councils in Surrey Heath and Cheshire has gone up. And worse is to come."
Jess Phillips (Lab Yardley) said: "Birmingham and the West Midlands needs settlements which mean we can actually invest in improving our city and improving transport and improving our decision making about businesses and business development.
"But at the moment we're struggling to collect the bins and look after children and elderly people.
"I want to see George Osborne put his money where his mouth is."
The Government's own figures show some authorities have suffered much greater cuts in spending power than others this year.
Spending power is the measure preferred by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and it takes into account the total budget available to councils from central government grants and the council tax.
Birmingham's spending power is falling by £150 per household between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Sandwell's spending power falls by £123. But some wealthy areas will see their income actually increase. For example, spending power in Windsor and Maidenhead goes up by £39 while in Buckinghamshire it increases by £40.
But in January a report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee warned: "The Department for Communities and Local Government confirmed that authorities in the most deprived areas had received the biggest cuts in spending power."
And official spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that councils may have already made all the cuts they can.
It said: "Local auditors are increasingly concerned about the future financial sustainability of some authorities and their capacity to make further savings... auditors' responses reflect their concerns over the capacity of certain authorities to identify and make further savings given the scale of savings they have already made." Meanwhile, cuts to police forces have also hit the West Midlands harder than other areas.
An NAO report in June found that police forces nationwide had been forced to make savings of £2.5 billion between 2011-12 and 2014-15 – but that the level of cuts varied significantly between forces.
Each force has actually experienced roughly the same cut in grant from central government, but this fails to take into account the fact that some depend more on central government grant than others.
It meant forces which received less funding from the council tax precept – which by definition tend to be those in poorer areas – were hit hardest. The NAO said: "The current funding approach does not consider the full range of demands on police time, relative efficiency or the split between central and local funding in individual forces."
The forces which suffered the biggest cuts were Northumbria and West Midlands Police, which both saw their total funding fall by 23 per cent between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
By contrast, Surrey Police's funding fell by 12 per cent.
Mr Dromey said: "The Prime Minister says he is a one nation Conservative.
"One nation should mean fairness in tough times. Fair funding would see our city suffer £170 million less in cuts.
"The Government must change its approach. Birmingham is a vibrant city with much to be proud of, but Birmingham's missing funding means many of our vital services are threatened, such as caring for the elderly, giving children the best start in life, keeping streets clean and filling potholes."
