Supporting local economic growth

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 12 Jan 2022 Closed: 2 Sep 2022 Parliament page
Successive governments have tried to address regional economic disparities and raise productivity through a range of interventions, such as the £12 billion government committed to the Local Growth Fund between 2015-16 and 2020-21. In the 2020 Spending Review, and 2021 Budget, government reiterated its intention to “level up opportunity across … Read more
12 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
2 Sep
2022
Report published
8 Jun
2022
Report published
21 Apr
2022
Correspondence
2 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
2 Mar 2022
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Supporting local economic growth
Bernadette Kelly CB · Department for Transport Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Sarah Munby · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Will Garton · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifth Report - Local economic growth HC 252 8 Jun 2022 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
4 results
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Local economic grow…
We are concerned that optimism bias has meant realistic bids to the Levelling Up Fund...
We are concerned that optimism bias has meant realistic bids to the Levelling Up Fund have missed out at the expense of ‘shovel-ready’ projects that have since been beset with delays. The Department told us that, four weeks from year … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, and has a robust process in place to safeguard value for money and ensure deliverability, and has worked with successful applicants to ensure necessary baselining and preparedness for delivery, so they are already addressing the issue.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Fifth Report - Local economic grow…
Economic development is a devolved power and, since the late 1990s, local growth funding in...
Economic development is a devolved power and, since the late 1990s, local growth funding in the devolved nations has been managed by the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive.24 Since 2020 however, central government’s principle local growth … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the committee's implied recommendation regarding effective UK-wide investment but disagrees with the conclusion's premise. It outlines existing efforts such as specific Levelling Up Fund allocations for devolved nations, engagement with devolved administrations, and the establishment of interministerial groups to discuss levelling up.
HM Treasury
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14 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Local economic grow…
The Department’s accounting officer reasoned that we had discussed and reported on the Towns Fund...
The Department’s accounting officer reasoned that we had discussed and reported on the Towns Fund at quite considerable length and that he felt it had a been a valid and fair process.37 In respect of the Levelling Up Fund, he … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to providing information on the balance of successful and unsuccessful bids by theme and geography, directly addressing the committee's call for greater transparency on unsuccessful bids and thematic analysis. It also defends its existing decision-making process for the Levelling Up Fund.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Accepted
Fifth Report - Local economic grow…
The Department told us that getting started on delivery was, in many cases, taking longer...
The Department told us that getting started on delivery was, in many cases, taking longer than expected but that it did not want to penalise places now that they had got through the assessment process. We heard that delays have … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, and has a robust process in place to safeguard value for money and ensure deliverability, and has worked with successful applicants to ensure necessary baselining and preparedness for delivery, so they are already addressing the issue.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 12 classified
Accepted 4
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 15
Not Addressed 4
Rejected 2
Total 12 recs + 15 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
21 Apr 2022 Correspondence from Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport, re Supporting local economic growth, dated 30 March 2022
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