Birmingham leaders urge PM to work together on Levelling Up the city

‘Prosperity and Opportunity for All: Birmingham’s Levelling Up Strategy’ is Birmingham City Council’s ambitious blueprint for inclusive and sustainable growth to improve the lives and life chances of people and communities across the city. Launched in Westminster, it sets out a vision for unleashing the potential of Birmingham, by addressing ill health, poor educational attainment, low skills and incomes, congestion and air pollution – while focusing on increasing the numbers of new homes, employment sites and community assets.

In particular, it urges government to support five ‘Levelling Up Accelerators’, which include supporting long-term, single pot funding, backing the integrated local place delivery model demonstrator, harnessing early intervention and prevention models, and delivering green and digital infrastructure.

The letter, published today and signed by a range of leaders from different sectors including health, business and economic development, and local and regional government, asked the Prime Minister to work together with Birmingham to deliver levelling up for the city. It set out their shared commitment to the city as ‘the beating heart of the UK’ – and their ambition to make sure that every citizen in Birmingham has the same opportunities to succeed.

Henrietta Brealey, Chief Executive of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: ‘Overall, Birmingham is a world-class place to live, work and visit – a global city with an economy larger than some countries. Covid-19, and the global fallout from it, has undoubtedly hit key sectors of our economy hard and many impacted businesses are still struggling to recover. We support the ambition of This Levelling Up strategy to leverage investment in infrastructure and inclusive growth to get 75,000 people back into work while unlocking an additional £9bn in economic benefits for the city, and the clear and innovative path it sets for the city’s economic recovery.’

The Right Reverend David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, said: ‘We know that Birmingham is a city of great challenges and even greater opportunities. It is unacceptable that, in the youngest city in Europe, over 40% of Birmingham’s children are growing up in poverty. Levelling up is both an economic necessity and a clear moral imperative – ensuring that every community and citizen across Birmingham has an equal chance to enjoy all that that our city has to offer.’