Post-pandemic economic growth: Levelling up - local and regional structures and the delivery of economic growth

Business and Trade Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 24 Jul 2020 Closed: 3 Dec 2021 Parliament page
This sub-inquiry - Levelling up: local and regional structures and the delivery of economic growth - forms part of the Committee’s overall ‘super-inquiry’ into Post-Pandemic Economic Growth. Our ‘levelling up’ inquiry will look at how local and regional government structures (including the role of powerhouses, local enterprise partnerships and growth … Read more
14 Recommendations
4 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
3 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
13 Jan
2022
Correspondence
15 Dec
2021
Correspondence
3 Dec
2021
Report published
22 Jul
2021
Report published
24 Jun
2021
Correspondence
18 May
2021
Oral evidence
24 Nov
2020
Oral evidence
22 Oct
2020
Oral evidence
1 Oct
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
18 May 2021
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Levelling up; Industrial decarbonisation
Aaron Goater · Committee on Climate Change Kate O'Neill · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Luke Hall · Housing, Communities and Local Government Mercedes Maroto-Valer · Heriot-Watt University Nick Molho · Aldersgate Group Paul Scully · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
24 Nov 2020
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Post pandemic economic growth: Levellying up; Post-pandemic economic growth: Levelling up
Andrew Carter · Centre for Cities Henri Murison · Northern Powerhouse Partnership Katherine Bennett · Western Gateway Marvin Rees · Bristol City Council Mr Duncan Simpson · Taxpayers' Alliance Rachael Greenwood · Midlands Engine Rokhsana Fiaz · Newham Council Sir Peter Soulsby · Leicester City Council The Lord Kerslake · UK 2020 Commission
22 Oct 2020
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Post-pandemic economic growth: Levelling up
Jamie Driscoll · North of Tyne Combined Authority Rt Hon Andy Burnham · Greater Manchester Combined Authority Steve Rotheram · Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Tim Bowles · West of England Combined Authority
1 Oct 2020
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Post-pandemic economic recovery: Levelling up; Oral evidence
Chris Fletcher · Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Councillor Sue Baxtor · National Association of Local Councils Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe · Local Government Association Louise Bennett OBE DL · Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Mark Bretton · THE LEP Network Sandy Needham DL · West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Stuart Elford · Devon Chamber of Commerce
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Post-pandemic economic growth: Levelling up HC 566 22 Jul 2021 18 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
18 results
1 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The Prime Minister, from the first day of his premiership, identified levelling up as a...
The Prime Minister, from the first day of his premiership, identified levelling up as a major focus of Government policy. It was featured in the Conservative Party Manifesto in 2019 and was a central theme of the programme for government, … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on the significant impact of COVID-19 on health, the economy, and society, explaining how understanding its long-term implications is crucial for the levelling up agenda. It describes ongoing work to factor this analysis into planning and delivery, but does not directly address the committee's observation about the lack of definition for levelling up itself.
Department for Business and Trade
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2 Conclusion Deferred
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
Given the Government’s own focus on its levelling up agenda, the lack of clarity around...
Given the Government’s own focus on its levelling up agenda, the lack of clarity around its meaning and how it translates into specific policy initiatives and strategies is stark. As it currently stands, levelling up risks becoming an everything and … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the committee's comments on the lack of clarity around levelling up and commits to publishing a Levelling Up White Paper to articulate its strategy and provide further details on plans.
Department for Business and Trade
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3 Recommendation Acknowledged
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
There is no doubt that geographical inequality is a structural problem in the UK and...
There is no doubt that geographical inequality is a structural problem in the UK and attempting to address these inequalities should be at the heart of the UK’s plans for economic recovery post-pandemic. These plans should be focused on longer-term … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the importance of the issue and the need for long-term planning, stating they will take it into consideration for future policy. They also highlight existing provision of capacity funding to local authorities for bidding for grants.
Department for Business and Trade
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The impact of Covid-19 has not been uniform, and the extent of these differences may...
The impact of Covid-19 has not been uniform, and the extent of these differences may not be known for some time. The Government should factor detailed analysis of the impact of Covid-19 into its planning for, and delivery of, the … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, recognizing the importance of factoring COVID-19 impacts into levelling up. It is undertaking a program of work to understand structural shifts and will continue to work closely with the Levelling Up Task Force to integrate this analysis into planning and delivery.
Department for Business and Trade
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The current available documents on the policy instruments the Government aims to use to level...
The current available documents on the policy instruments the Government aims to use to level up—the Conservative Party Manifesto, its submission to this inquiry and the 2021 Queen’s Speech—show a wide ranging and disjointed programme of random policies from an … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to publishing the Levelling Up White Paper, which will articulate how livelihoods will be improved across the country, with further details on plans to be included in the paper.
Department for Business and Trade
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6 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
We recommend that the promised Levelling Up White Paper sets out a coherent plan for...
We recommend that the promised Levelling Up White Paper sets out a coherent plan for levelling up. This must set out, in detail, a road map and timeline for the delivery of the wide range of policies proposed. Fundamentally, it … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomes the committee's comments on delivery but responds by discussing local government effectiveness, funding, and general levelling up principles. It does not commit to detailing the specific content requirements (roadmap, timeline, problem statements) for the promised Levelling Up White Paper as requested.
Department for Business and Trade
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7 Recommendation Acknowledged
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
Despite its large-scale ambition and promised additional funding, it is unclear whether the levels of...
Despite its large-scale ambition and promised additional funding, it is unclear whether the levels of funding available to local areas (via levelling up) will equal, never mind exceed, historic levels of UK and EU funding to local government. Given the … Read more
Government Response
The government reiterates its commitment to levelling up, highlighting DLUHC's role and the publication of priority outcomes and delivery plans from the 2020 Spending Review. It notes that updated priority outcomes will be published at the next Spending Review, but does not specifically commit to being more realistic or clear about the scale of funding.
Department for Business and Trade
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8 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
Nor is it clear how levelling up is different to past regional policy and how...
Nor is it clear how levelling up is different to past regional policy and how it will therefore succeed in areas where previous regional policy has failed. Ministers offered no adequate response to this.
Government Response
The government states its commitment to levelling up, outlining DLUHC's central role and the use of priority outcomes and outcome delivery plans from the 2020 Spending Review for accountability. However, the response does not address how levelling up differs from past regional policies or how it will succeed where they failed.
Department for Business and Trade
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9 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The funding available to achieve levelling up is disparate and lacking any overall coherent strategic...
The funding available to achieve levelling up is disparate and lacking any overall coherent strategic purpose or focus. Individual departments should be clear on what their contribution to levelling up will be in line with a clear strategy and agenda. Read more
Government Response
The government states its commitment to levelling up and explains that it uses Spending Review priority outcomes and Outcome Delivery Plans to ensure departmental contributions are aligned with a clear strategy. Updated outcomes and metrics will be published at the next Spending Review.
Department for Business and Trade
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10 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
Funding for levelling up should be explicitly and directly linked to the identified issues that...
Funding for levelling up should be explicitly and directly linked to the identified issues that the Government are seeking to address, with clear metrics on what that money is seeking to deliver. There is an inequality in the capacity of … Read more
Government Response
The government states its commitment to levelling up and explains that it uses Spending Review priority outcomes and Outcome Delivery Plans to link departmental contributions and provide accountability. Updated outcomes and metrics will be published at the next Spending Review.
Department for Business and Trade
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11 Conclusion Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
Regional and local devolution is incoherent and inconsistent across England.
Regional and local devolution is incoherent and inconsistent across England. In some areas, this can result in duplicative and ineffective outputs. In other areas, this results in communities which feel left behind, without the support or capacity provided by other … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses the helpfulness of Local Industrial Strategies and encourages local areas to develop their own economic plans, which would be locally owned and not require government agreement. It does not address the committee's observation about the incoherence and inconsistency of regional and local devolution across England.
Department for Business and Trade
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12 Recommendation Acknowledged
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The Levelling Up White Paper (incorporating the Devolution White Paper) needs to be bold and...
The Levelling Up White Paper (incorporating the Devolution White Paper) needs to be bold and progressive. It should clarify which tiers of devolved and local government in England are responsible for delivering which levelling up objectives and then ensure those … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the importance of clear direction, citing the transformation of the Ministry to DLUHC and new appointments as indicators of seriousness. It states that more plans will be announced in due course and promises to ensure appropriate governance structures for successful delivery of the levelling up agenda.
Department for Business and Trade
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13 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
We noted that some regional and local authorities performed better than others, which in some...
We noted that some regional and local authorities performed better than others, which in some cases was due to the size, institutional capacity or leadership provided within those tiers of government. We recommend that Ministers consider how to 34 Post-pandemic … Read more
Government Response
The government outlines its existing levelling up strategy centered on DLUHC and cross-departmental priority outcomes and Outcome Delivery Plans to ensure accountability, but does not address the recommendation to consider how to report on the comparative effectiveness of different local and regional authorities.
Department for Business and Trade
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14 Recommendation Not Addressed
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
As we highlighted in our recent report on industrial policy, the local industrial and economic...
As we highlighted in our recent report on industrial policy, the local industrial and economic insights and intelligence that came from creating Local Industrial Strategies should not be lost. We recommend that the Government provide support and funding through its … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the value of past Local Industrial Strategies but encourages local places to develop their own economic strategies and evidence-led thinking. It states these locally owned plans would not require government agreement and would build on previous work, rather than committing to support and fund the updating of existing strategies through the Cities and Local Growth Unit.
Department for Business and Trade
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15 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
We also recommend that the Cities and Local Growth Unit work with the Office for...
We also recommend that the Cities and Local Growth Unit work with the Office for National Statistics to agree a uniform set of local economic metrics to determine progress in achieving them.
Government Response
The government states it already has a system for agreeing provisional priority outcomes and metrics across departments, which are embedded in Outcome Delivery Plans. It notes that updated priority outcomes and metrics will be published at the next Spending Review to ensure departmental accountability.
Department for Business and Trade
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16 Recommendation Acknowledged
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
There should be a clear direction from No10 on which Department will be responsible for...
There should be a clear direction from No10 on which Department will be responsible for delivering which outcomes and how. We recommend that the Government establish a Cabinet Committee to oversee the co-ordination and delivery of the levelling up agenda … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of clear departmental direction for levelling up, citing the formation of DLUHC and the Secretary of State's role in driving cross-Whitehall efforts. It commits to ensuring appropriate governance structures are in place for successful delivery but does not explicitly agree to establish a Cabinet Committee.
Department for Business and Trade
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17 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
We recommend that the Government should set out what it envisages a ‘levelled up UK’...
We recommend that the Government should set out what it envisages a ‘levelled up UK’ would look like and agree a set of metrics by which progress towards this vision can be measured. We recommend that the assessments should be … Read more
Government Response
The government states it is already committed to levelling up and has published priority outcomes and Outcome Delivery Plans that set out strategy and planning information. It commits to publishing updated priority outcomes and metrics at the next Spending Review.
Department for Business and Trade
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18 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Post-pandemic econo…
The Government needs to set metrics on levelling up for each Department.
The Government needs to set metrics on levelling up for each Department. Performance against these metrics should be published annually and monitored by the National Audit Office. (Paragraph 78) Post-pandemic economic growth: Levelling up 35
Government Response
The government states its commitment to levelling up and explains that it uses Spending Review priority outcomes and Outcome Delivery Plans to set metrics for departments and ensure accountability. Updated priority outcomes and metrics will be published at the next Spending Review.
Department for Business and Trade
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Government Response AI assessment · 18 of 14 classified
Accepted 7
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 6
Total 14 recs + 4 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
13 Jan 2022 To committee Letter from the Secretary of State for Levelling UP, Housing and Communities on the Levelling Up White Paper
Parliament page
15 Dec 2021 To committee Letter from the Chair and the Chair of the Levelling up, Housing and Communities Committee to the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities relating to the Levelling Up White Paper
Parliament page
24 Jun 2021 To committee Letter from the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government relating to provisional priority outcomes for policy objectives and provisional metrics
Parliament page