Queen's Speech 2022 - Levelling Up

Levelling Up

• ●  The UK is one of the greatest countries on earth, with an unparalleled history and a boundless future. We are home to globally renowned scientists making new discoveries every day, innovative entrepreneurs creating products and services which deliver jobs and growth, and a National Health Service which is the epitome of the kindness and compassion of millions of our citizens.

• ●  But while talent is spread equally across our country, opportunity is not yet. Levelling up is this Government’s mission to change that, ending geographical disparities by giving everyone the opportunity to harness their ability and flourish. Our Levelling Up White Paper set out a long-term plan to transform the UK, including a complete ‘system change’ of how Government works. At the core of this new way of making and implementing policy is twelve bold, national missions – all quantifiable and to be achieved by 2030. These missions form the heart of the Government’s agenda for the 2020s and will be a cross-government, cross- society effort.

• ●  We will do this by improving economic dynamism and innovation to drive growth across the whole country, unleashing the power of the private sector to unlock jobs and opportunity for all. We will improve productivity, boost economic growth, encourage innovation, create good jobs, and enhance educational attainment across all parts of the UK. We will also extend, deepen, and simplify local devolution in England where the local appetite exists, while continuing to support the City and Growth deal areas in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

• ●  We have made good progress towards spreading opportunity across the country since 2019, with:

  • ○  £5 billion committed to Project Gigabit to bring gigabit-capable broadband to 85 per cent of the UK by 2025, and the £1 billion Shared Rural Network deal with mobile operators delivering 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by the end of 2025;

  • ○  five-year consolidated transport settlements amounting to £5.7 billion in eight city regions outside London, £5 billion of funding for buses and active travel over this Parliament; and £96 billion for the Integrated Rail Plan delivering faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys across the North of England and the Midlands;

  • ○  a new schools funding formula in England ending the previous postcode lottery, and an extra £4 billion for schools in England in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22, with the devolved administrations receiving funding through the Barnett formula;

• ○  total government investment in skills of £3.8 billion in England planned by 2024-25, including a Lifetime Skills Guarantee, enabling 11 million adults to gain an A Level or equivalent qualification for free (with equivalent funding transferred to the devolved administrations through the Barnett formula) as well as a new UK-wide adult numeracy programme - Multiply - and skills bootcamps in England;

• ○  a lower Universal Credit taper rate – down from 63 per cent to 55 per cent – and a higher National Living Wage, making work pay for millions of people, and letting them keep more of what they earn;

• ○  over 13,500 new police officers already recruited in England and Wales as part of the commitment to have 20,000 more officers;

• ○  control of our immigration system by ending free movement and introducing a new points-based immigration system, giving the UK the freedom to decide who comes to our country based on the skills people have to offer;

• ○  £1.49 billion in City and Growth Deals in every part of Scotland, £791 million across Wales and £617 million for deals covering the whole of Northern Ireland;

• ○  eight innovative Freeports bringing jobs, investment and prosperity across England through cutting through existing red tape and lowering the tax burden, with a commitment to deliver more Freeports in each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;

• ○  101 towns across England receiving funding from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund to unleash their economic potential, and £4.8 billion infrastructure investment across the UK via the Levelling Up fund;

• ○  nearly £2 billion in Culture Recovery funding to help museums, theatres, cinemas and heritage organisations survive the pandemic; and

• ○  £30 billion of public investment for the industrial revolution on clean growth and the transition to a lower carbon economy.

● But there is much more to do to truly level up the UK. Levelling up will require us to:

• ○  boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging;

• ○  spread opportunities and improve public services, especially in those places where they are weakest;

• ○  restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been weakened; and

• ○  empower local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency.

• ●  Levelling up is not about pulling down more prosperous areas, any particular points of the compass or preferment for any one part of the country at the expense of any other, but rather extending opportunity across the UK.

• ●  Only by building on every UK city, town and village’s unique strengths will we be able to grow our economy to address the cost of living, make our streets safer, and fund the NHS to clear the COVID-19 backlogs.

• ●  The prize of levelling up is enormous. By levelling up skills, health, education, and wellbeing, we can grow the economy and boost GDP by tens of billions of pounds each year. But most importantly of all, we can finally realise the potential of every place and every person in the UK.