Levelling Up White Paper sets out ‘largest devolution of power from Whitehall’
County deals and regional mayors could be introduced to the North after the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove unveiled the government’s Levelling Up White Paper.
Gove has set out a complete “system change” in order to “level up the UK” through twelve national missions which the government says it wants to achieve by 2030 and looks to remove the challenges “embedded over generations”
The government says this is the first time economic disparities have been at the heart of any government’s agenda.
The White Paper sets out a devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England after being inspired by mayors such as Andy Street in the West Midlands, Ben Houchen in Tees Valley and Andy Burnham in Manchester.
Nine areas will be invited to agree to new county deals to extend devolution and become Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA). Those areas are; Cornwall, Derbyshire & Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull & East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire & Nottingham, and Suffolk.
There will also be negotiations for a new MCA deal for York and North Yorkshire and expanded Mayoral Combined Authority deal for the North East. Whilst the West Midlands and Greater Manchester will look to secure “trailblazer” devolution deals which extend their powers and act as blueprints for other MCAs.
The result of this shake up will be that each region in England will have a London-style devolution deal if it wants one by 2030.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.
“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.
“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.”
Also detailed are three new “Innovation Accelerators” in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Glasgow. Local businesses and researchers in those areas will be backed by £100m of funding to drive growth and take inspiration from MIT in Boston and Stanford-Silicon Valley models.
Bus improvements are also on the agenda for areas where they “can make the most impact” with Stoke-on-Trent, Derbyshire and Warrington highlighted.
The report comes days after Wolverhampton and Sheffield were announced as the first recipients of the Government’s regeneration funding, which will see them undergo a King’s Cross-style regeneration project where derelict sites will be developed into communities spearheaded by Homes England.
The shake up according to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson aims to remove the challenges which have been “embedded over generations” and created what he called a link between “geography and destiny”.
Other significant changes include the scrapping of the ‘80/20’ which means 80% of the funding that was directed towards maximum affordability housing areas in London and the South East, will now be directed towards brownfield site regenerations in the Midlands and the North, with the Metro Mayors being allocated £120m of this funding.
Responding to the report Matthew Fell, CBI chief policy director, said: “The Levelling Up White Paper is a serious assessment of the regional inequalities which have hamstrung the UK’s economic potential for generations. It offers a blueprint for how government can be rewired and an encouraging basis for how the private sector can bring the investment and innovation to start overcoming those deep-rooted challenges, and power long term prosperity for every community, wherever they live.
“The picture it paints of a reinvigorated 2030 UK can inspire public and private sector partners to unite on shared missions for improving health, wealth, growth and opportunity across the country.”
In total the Levelling Up White Paper has outlined what Gove described as the “12 new national levelling up missions” and set a deadline of 2030 to have levelled up the country and metrics with which to measure success including “the gap between top-performing and other areas closing”
- Pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK, with each containing a globally competitive city
- Domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East will increase by at least 40% and at least one third over the Spending Review period, with that additional government funding seeking to leverage at least twice as much private sector investment over the long term to stimulate innovation and productivity growth
- Local public transport connectivity across the country will be significantly closer to the standards of London, with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing
- The UK will have nationwide gigabit-capable broadband and 4G coverage, with 5G coverage for the majority of the population
- The number of primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths will have significantly increased to 90% of children in England achieving the expected standard
- The number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will increase in every area of the UK resulting in 200,000 more people successfully completing high-quality skills training annually, and fuelled by 80,000 more people completing courses in the lowest skilled areas
- The gap in Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) between local areas where it is highest and lowest will have narrowed, and by 2035 HLE will rise by 5 years
- Well-being will have improved in every area of the UK
- People’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community will have risen in every area of the UK
- Renters will have a secure path to ownership with the number of first-time buyers increasing in all areas; and the government’s ambition is for the number of non-decent rented homes to have halved, with the biggest improvements in the lowest-performing areas
- Homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime will have fallen, focused on the worst-affected areas
- Every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified, long-term funding settlement.
The publishing of this white paper comes a month before Invest North 2022 and will undoubtedly provide further debate during the virtual conference as business and political leaders come together to discuss how the ongoing rhetoric around the North and Levelling Up can in fact be transformed into realistic economic growth which delivers for the people and businesses which live and work in the region.
Curated by TheBusinessDesk.com and its headline sponsor Squire Patton Boggs, and supported by Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, TransPennine Express, Mott Macdonald, Campaigner, Influential and becg; sessions will consider whether the future for inward investment is a collegiate Northern Powerhouse or city focus brands, the story and vision for the North, and how key sectors are helping create thousands of jobs in the region while shaping millions of lives globally.
Book your tickets now to receive the special early bird price.
In addition to the packed one day conference, Invest North 2022 will also include a networking dinner on 3 March at the Radisson Edwardian in Manchester, where attendees will swap pixels for plates continue and develop the conversations from the conference and share views on the opportunities, challenges and even next steps for the North as the region continues to forge ahead a new destiny in the wake of challenges. Tickets for the networking dinner are available now and include a drink on arrive and a three course dinner.
