Labour’s Lisa Nandy has today (Wednesday) called for an
independent investigation into comments made by Prime Minister
, who boasted that while
Chancellor he changed funding formulas to redirect taxpayers’
money from “deprived” areas to affluent Tory shires.
Sunak’s comments, revealed by the New Statesman in
August, were made at a Conservative Party leadership hustings in
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on 29 July.
The Prime Minister boasted: “I managed to start changing the
funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the
funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas
from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas
and that needed to be undone. I started the work of undoing
that.”
Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy has today written to her
new counterpart, , urging him to launch an
independent investigation to establish what funding formulas were
changed, the nature of those changes, what justification was
given for the changes, and what impact assessment was carried out
in advance.
This comes after the Public Accounts Committee said the
Department for Levelling Up “has past form” with ministerial
interference in funding decisions.
In June, the Committee said it was “unsatisfactory” that
ministers finalised the principles for awarding the first round
of Levelling Up funds only once they knew the identities of
shortlisted bidders, and in November 2020 they reported that the
selection process for awarding the Towns Fund had “not been
impartial”.
In her letter, , Shadow Levelling Up
Secretary, says:
“The Conservative Government was elected in 2019 on a flagship
promise to level up parts of the country that had experienced
relative economic decline.
“This could not be more serious. The Prime Minister has admitted
that when he was Chancellor, he fixed the rules to funnel
taxpayers’ money from “deprived” to more affluent parts of the
country. This is the complete opposite of levelling up.
“The Prime Minister has no mandate from the electorate to reverse
the commitments made in 2019. His admission undermines the trust
and confidence of the public and shatters the legitimacy of this
government. It is a warning sign that is not on the side of working
people.”
Ends
Notes
Please find the text of Lisa Nandy’s letter below.
Original story on Rishi Sunak’s comments: https://twitter.com/REWearmouth/status/1555475661917421568?s=20&t=XuZx4AkJZuL_Z2STHpsS2A
According to the government’s own data, Tunbridge Wells is within
the top 15% least deprived local authorities in England. It is
ranked 273 out of 317 on the index of multiple deprivation:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019
The Public Accounts Committee has said the Department for
Levelling Up “has past form” on not being “impartial” in the
awarding of taxpayer funds:https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/171244/pac-highlights-past-form-at-dluhc-with-questions-over-award-of-levelling-up-funds/
Analysis earlier this year found that some of the wealthiest
parts of England, including areas represented by Conservative
ministers, have so far been allocated ten times more money per
capita than the poorest under the ‘levelling up’ agenda: https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2022/feb/02/levelling-up-funding-inequality-exposed-by-guardian-research
Full text of Lisa Nandy’s letter to
Dear Secretary of State,
Congratulations on your reappointment.
The Conservative Government, led by , was elected in 2019 on a
flagship promise to level up parts of the country that had
experienced relative economic decline under his Conservative
predecessors.
Your party has now appointed a new Prime Minister who said, in
Tunbridge Wells on 29 July:
“I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make
sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because
we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the
funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone. I
started the work of undoing that.”
This could not be more serious. The Prime Minister has admitted
that when he was Chancellor, he fixed the rules to funnel
taxpayers’ money from “deprived” to more affluent parts of the
country. This is the complete opposite of levelling up.
The Prime Minister has no mandate from the electorate to reverse
the commitments made in the 2019 general election campaign. His
admission undermines the trust and confidence of the public and
shatters the legitimacy of this government. It is a warning sign
that is not on the side of working
people.
Therefore I am asking you to urgently establish an independent
investigation into the changes to funding formulas to which the
Prime Minister was referring in his comments on 29
July.
This investigation should establish:
- What funding formulas were changed.
- The nature of those changes.
- The basis on which those decisions were made.
- What impact assessment was made of the impact of these
changes.
- Which areas of the country gained – and which lost – as a
result.
- Whether No. 10 or the Department for Levelling Up, Housing
and Communities were consulted in the process.
The conclusions of the investigation should be published in
full.
Yours sincerely,
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing &
Communities
