The government has released its “Levelling Up” white paper.
The document, at over 400 pages long, sets out plans to address the decline of what are referred to as Britain’s “forgotten communities” and close the gap between the rich and poor.
Strategies to improve education, broadband and transport are laid out in the paper, which Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove says will “shift both money and power into the hands of working people”.
But Labour have criticised the programme for offering no new money or fresh thinking. They note that many of the outlined missions are existing government policies, with funds already allocated to them.
Mr Gove argues that they will be enshrined in law for the first time.
The UK is among the most geographically unequal economies in the world, a problem that has worsened over the last thirty years. Indeed, the GDP of East German states is now higher than some regions in the north of England.
Shifting power from Whitehall to local leaders.
The Levelling Up White Paper sets out a plan to transform the UK and put power in the hands of local people.
Find out more ???? https://t.co/xuvNMpcUpV#LevellingUp pic.twitter.com/je6y04vTfF
— Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (@luhc) February 3, 2022
The 12 ‘levelling up missions’ in full
- Increase pay, employment and productivity in all areas of the UK, with each one containing a “globally competitive city”
- Raise public investment in research and development outside the south-east of England by 40%
- Eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy by refocusing education spending on the most disadvantaged parts of the country
- Increase the number of people completing high quality skills training by 200,000 a year
- Bring the rest of the country’s public transport “significantly closer” to London standards
- Provide access to gigabit-capable broadband nationwide by 2030 and 5G mobile data coverage for the “large majority” of households
- Create more first-time homebuyers in all areas, and reduce the number of “non-decent rented homes” by 50%
- Narrow the gap of healthy life expectancy between the areas where it is lowest and highest
- Improve wellbeing in every area of the UK
- Increase “pride of place”, such as people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community
- Reduce murder, manslaughter, serious violence and neighbourhood crime, especially in the worst-affected areas
- Give every part of England that wants it a devolution deal with more regional powers and simplified, long-term funding
