Lack of government strategy holding back ‘levelling up’

A lack of direction from central government is proving to be a key barrier to ‘levelling up’ parts of the country, according to a new report.

The report by Centre for Cities in partnership with Legal & General warns that current ‘levelling up’ plans are also too Whitehall-centric and there appears to be a ‘lack of political direction’, which is also hampering Boris Johnson’s flagship agenda.

To avoid this, the report calls for local government to be given more power and responsibility to deliver infrastructure, housing and adult education projects.

It also calls on the government to press ahead with the abolition of the complicated system of county and district councils and replace them everywhere with directly-elected political leaders with the same powers as metro-mayors.

This warning comes ahead of an expected Comprehensive Spending Review this autumn, in which the Chancellor is under pressure to re-write the spending rules – known as the Green Book – to benefit places outside London and the South East.

The report argues that the government’s review of the Green Book should develop a clearer system for deciding how to invest in levelling up.

This should either be through a new finance settlement, or a local government funding formula similar to the Barnett Formula that apportions UK government funding to the devolved nations.

‘While the overall principles enshrined in the Green Book are correct, our struggling cities and towns will not be levelled up by directives from Whitehall,’ said Centre for Cities’ chief executive, Andrew Carter.

‘This can only be done by democratically accountable local politicians with the knowledge to select the right projects for their area – not by Treasury officials choosing between different parts of the country.

‘The time has now come to confirm exactly what they want levelling up to achieve, and commit the money necessary to achieve it. There are deep economic divides between places in this country and it will take a very significant sum of money to close them,’ added Mr Carter.

Bill Hughes, head of real assets at LGIM Real Assets, commented: ‘Though the economic and social impacts of Covid-19 are widespread throughout the UK, without proper support some areas may suffer disproportionately in the wake of the virus, particularly those that are already at an economic disadvantage.

‘It is essential, therefore, that the government seeks to revise its levelling-up agenda, and this report makes several excellent recommendations, including giving more local authorities greater autonomy to manage their own finances.’

Photo Credit – Derwiki (Pixabay)