Press release from gov.uk
Today (2 February 2022) the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove unveiled the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper. This document will set out a plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of it.
The White Paper will set out a complete ‘system change’ of how government works that will be implemented to level up the UK.
At the heart of this new way of making and implementing policy will be 12 national missions to be achieved by 2030. These missions (in full on gov.uk) are the policy objectives for levelling up, and thus form the heart of the government’s agenda for the 2020s.
These missions will be cross-government, cross-society efforts. The first mission, for instance, will see pay, employment, and productivity grow everywhere, and the disparities between the top and worst performing areas narrow. This is the first time a government has placed narrowing spatial economic disparities at the heart of its agenda.
The Research & Development (R&D) mission will see domestic public R&D investment outside the Greater South East increase by at least 40% by 2030, with these funds leveraging a huge increase in private investment in these areas too.
By 2030, other missions will see:
Other missions will see: hundreds of thousands more people completing high quality skills training every year, gross disparities in healthy life expectancy narrowed, the number of poor quality rented homes halved, the most run down town centres and communities across the country rejuvenated, a significant decrease in serious crime in the most blighted areas, and every part of England getting a ‘London-style’ devolution deal if they wish to.
The government will do whatever it can to achieve these missions. Government’s resources, energy, and focus throughout the 2020s will be re-oriented around achieving them – and thus squarely focussed on helping the people and parts of the country most struggling. Whilst the missions are UK-wide ambitions, in the many instances where they are driven by devolved policy levers, the UK government wishes to work hand in hand with the devolved governments to achieve them.
The missions will be underpinned by a suite of public metrics to track progress and monitor the evolution of spatial disparities. The government will legislate such that it has a statutory duty to publish an annual report updating the public on the progress of these missions, with a new Levelling Up Advisory Council including members such as Sir Paul Collier, renowned economist at Oxford’s Blavatnik’s School of Government, providing further support and constructive analysis.
Other parts of the ‘system change’ include: all policy across Whitehall being aligned with the levelling up agenda and therefore subject to spatial analysis, and a transformation of the government’s approach to data and evaluation – with a new independent body created to improve transparency of local government performance.
Click here to view the policy papers on gov.uk
Responding to the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“This is an important first step in putting local economic prosperity at the heart of Government policy. This step though, must now rapidly become leaps and bounds. Business communities are keen to see the ambitions of this agenda turn into delivery in the very near future, improving prosperity around the country.
“We are pleased to see policies the Chamber Network has long campaigned for – such as UK-wide infrastructure reaching London standards, widespread 5G internet, local skills planning and devolution of funding decisions to the local level – take real significance and be enshrined in law.
“What must now follow is the detail on the role local business leaders will have in oversight and delivery of the missions laid out. Where necessary, additional funding must be made available in order to drive change. Government must not forget the role that local businesses play in creating opportunity and prosperity in their communities, and should continue to work with British Chambers of Commerce and others to identify further ways to improve the business environment and enable more firms to grow and thrive.”
"Business communities are keen to see the ambitions of this agenda turn into delivery in the very near future."
On Devolution
“Chamber business communities across England support greater devolution. The centralisation of money and decision making in Whitehall continues to be a brake on cities, towns and counties that are keen to realise their potential. However, businesses only want to see devolution with purpose – not just devolution for its own sake.
“Devolution must be shaped by business knowledge of local and regional needs, and be accountable to local businesses and communities. It is vital that time and energy spent on structural changes results in the acceleration of genuine uplifts to prosperity in our regions and nations.
On Funding Allocation
“Government has heeded our calls to streamline the variety of funding pots and will be taking a more strategic approach to funding. Accredited Chambers would like to see local areas receive larger funds to use within a strategic framework and given greater autonomy to use it to address areas of greatest challenge or opportunity in their local communities over the long term.
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