Fifth Report - Local economic growth

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 252 8 June 2022
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 27 items (12 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 27 of 27 classified)
Accepted 4
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 15
Not Addressed 4
Rejected 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fifth report from Session 2022-23 · published 2 Sep 2022
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Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results
3 Recommendation Accepted
We are concerned that optimism bias has meant realistic bids to the Levelling Up Fund...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
Economic development is a devolved power and, since the late 1990s, local growth funding in...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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
The Department’s accounting officer reasoned that we had discussed and reported on the Towns Fund...
Recommendation
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 Summary
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
The Department told us that getting started on delivery was, in many cases, taking longer...
Conclusion
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 Summary
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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