The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities (Jacob Young) With permission, Mr Speaker,
I would like to make a statement on levelling up. This Government
are committed to levelling up and creating opportunities across all
regions and nations of the UK. Last year, we set out our 12
levelling-up missions in the levelling-up White Paper, all
principally aimed at tackling regional inequality, because we
believe that people’s...Request free
trial
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on
levelling up. This Government are committed to levelling up and
creating opportunities across all regions and nations of the UK.
Last year, we set out our 12 levelling-up missions in the
levelling-up White Paper, all principally aimed at tackling
regional inequality, because we believe that people’s
opportunities should be the same wherever they live, be it in a
city or town, on an island, or in a rural or coastal community. I
am proud to say that since 2019 this Conservative Government have
committed over £13 billion of local growth funding to levelling
up. Through the levelling-up fund, the town deal, the UK shared
prosperity fund, the future high streets fund and much more, we
are regenerating town centres and high streets, improving local
transport, funding heritage assets and boosting productivity,
jobs and living standards.
Our recently announced long-term plan for towns is providing
long-term investment for 55 towns, and the money is to be spent
on local people’s priorities. We have launched our investment
zone programme: 12 investment zones across the UK will grow key
industries of the future and increase jobs. That includes west
Yorkshire’s investment zone, announced earlier today, which will
focus on life sciences.
We have also made excellent progress on freeports. All freeports
in England are now open for business, and we have announced a
further four in Wales and Scotland. As levelling-up Minister, I
have been lucky enough to see at first hand how we are using this
transformative funding to unlock the potential of local economies
and improve the everyday life of people across the UK. We
recognise the good that this funding can do, so we have embarked
on an ambitious plan to simplify the funding landscape for local
authorities, led by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of
State.
Our simplification plan describes how this Government will
deliver our levelling-up White Paper’s commitment to streamlining
funds in three phases of reform. First, there will be an
immediate simplification of existing funds. Secondly, we will
establish a funding simplification doctrine, by which central
Government will abide. Finally, we will implement further reforms
at the next spending review. We have already delivered much of
the first phase. For instance, we have given local authorities
greater freedom to adjust their town deal, future high street and
levelling-up fund projects. We have also invited 10 local
authorities to become part of the fund simplification pathfinder
pilot, which will give them greater flexibility to move money
between different funds. By increasing local flexibility, we will
reduce bureaucracy and inefficiency within the delivery
process.
The second phase of our funding simplification plan will see the
Government launch a new funding simplification doctrine, which
will change how central Government give funding to local
authorities. It is clear that funding competitions can drive
value for money and help identify the best projects for certain
programmes, so we will continue to deploy competitions where they
make sense, but we also recognise that bidding into multiple
competitions, especially in parallel, can place a dispro-
portionate burden on local authorities. The new Government
doctrine will therefore ensure that we consider fully the impact
on local authorities when designing new funds. Finally, we have
committed to further reforms at the next spending review,
including giving our trailblazer mayoral combined authorities in
Greater Manchester and the west midlands single Department-style,
multi-year settlements.
Of course, our work to give local authorities the right levers to
spend funding efficiently is only one part of the picture; of
equal importance is the funding itself. As I mentioned earlier,
since 2019 we have made more than £13 billion available to local
places. As part of that, across rounds 1 and 2 of the
levelling-up fund we committed £3.8 billion to 216 projects
across the country. We have listened to feedback from the first
two rounds of the fund, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of
State announced in July that we would take a new approach to
round 3. As a result, we decided not to run another competition
for this round. Instead, we have drawn on the impressive pool of
bids that we were not initially able to fund through round 2.
Today, I am delighted to confirm the allocations of the
levelling-up fund’s third and final round. We are investing £1
billion in 55 projects across England, Scotland and Wales. Copies
of the successful allocations have been made available in the
Vote Office. The sheer number of high-quality bids is testament
to the enthusiasm for levelling up across our country and the
hard work of so many hon. Members in supporting their local areas
to develop strong plans for renewal. From Chorley, Mr Speaker, to
Elgin, and from Doncaster to Rhyl, these local infrastructure
projects will restore pride in place and improve everyday life
for local people.
We have targeted funding at the places most in need, as
identified through our levelling-up needs metrics. We have also
ensured a fair geographic spread across Great Britain, including
£122 million across six projects in Scotland and £111 million
across seven projects in Wales. That means that across all three
rounds we have invested more than £1 billion in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland, exceeding our original funding commitments.
It also means that across all three rounds of the fund, the
north-east and the north-west will have received more per capita
than any other region in England. They are followed closely by
the east midlands and by Yorkshire and the Humber.
Our round 3 investments double down on two of our key
levelling-up missions—pride in place and improving transport—but
we also recognise the key role that culture plays in levelling
up. We invested £1 billion on projects with a cultural component
in rounds 1 and 2, and as part of this round we are setting aside
a further £100 million for culture projects to be announced in
due course.
We want to get delivery happening quickly. We will work closely
with local authorities to confirm that their projects remain
viable, and we will provide ongoing support to ensure that local
places are able to deliver. We are committed to giving local
areas the funding and power they need to deliver transformative
change within their communities. We have committed more than £13
billion of local growth funding for communities the length and
breadth of our country. We have invested in pride in place and
reversed decades of decline. We are taking long-term decisions
for a brighter future for our country. I commend this statement
to the House.3.43pm
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. I start
by congratulating all those areas that have been successful in
their bids—including Chorley, Mr Speaker. Commiserations to all
those areas that have missed out once again, although the truth
is that even the areas that have won will find that this money is
a drop in the ocean, compared with the £15 billion cut from local
government funding since 2010. Only six weeks ago there were
reports that councils face a £3.5 billion shortfall in their
budgets for this year alone. How does today’s announcement help
them face that existential threat?
At least the Government appear to have finally accepted that
local authorities were forced to spend disproportionate sums in
previous rounds to get bids prepared, although we appear to have
lurched from one extreme to the other: this time, councils have
not been involved in any dialogue on the bids and were possibly
not even aware that their bids were being considered. Will the
Minister tell us what discussions have taken place with local
authorities before decisions were made? Given that the proposals
are approaching being a couple of years old, what assurances will
he give us that they still reflect local priorities?
The Government’s methodology notes say the Department capped bids
for regeneration projects outside priority areas by local
authority and region. Did any projects that met the Department’s
threshold not get funded for that reason, and which ones were
they?
Please do tell us what on earth is meant by a “funding
simplification doctrine”—is it an elaborate way of saying sorry?
Does it apply to all Government spending decisions, or just to
this Department because it has so patently failed to get a grip
on spending that it has to have its own doctrine? Is it being
done to address the concerns of the National Audit Office and the
Public Accounts Committee that billions of pounds are being
wasted because the Department has engaged in a programme without
any understanding of its impact? As the IPPR North said,
levelling up has been a
“litany of missed deadlines, moving goalposts and
dysfunction”
although, to be fair, it could have been talking about any
Government project when it said that.
Does the Minister accept that the new approach announced today
means that the concerns levelled against the Department are, in
fact, valid? With this latest iteration, how does the Minister
expect anyone to keep up with what this Government want when they
flit around so much? The Prime Minister announced five new
priorities this morning. Were the projects selected in line with
those priorities, or will they all be changed again to reflect
this week’s prime ministerial thinkin
Of course, where does this leave the hundreds of projects that
still have not been successful? There was no mention of any
future rounds in the statement; in fact, I think the Minister
said that this was the final round of bidding, so where does that
leave all the places that have been unsuccessful so far? What is
the plan to address those communities that are crumbling and
those high streets that are emptying? Is this the end of any hope
of levelling up for them?
Even in those areas that have attracted funding, we know that
these crumbs from the table are not enough to reverse 13 years of
neglect. Streets that were once bursting with pride are shutting
down, rents are rising, mortgages are soaring, and insecurity is
still baked into the workplace. Tackling those things would be
genuine levelling up, and Labour believes in giving those
communities the power, resources and flexibility to tackle such
issues in the way they think best. That is a true way of allowing
people to take back control.
The statement offers no path ahead to deal with those issues; it
just rearranges the deckchairs of what has gone before. We have
been left with a failed experiment—an illusion that lasted as
long as the press release. It has not gone unnoticed that the
number of Conservative MPs standing down at the next election has
gone past 50. They know that after 14 years of stagnation, they
do not have a record to defend. They are not levelling up; they
are giving up.
The hon. Gentleman misjudged the mood of the House. He talks
about local government finances. Last year, we gave local
authorities an uplift of more than £5 billion. He asks whether
any projects were axed by the methodology that we used—no, they
were not. As I say, we set out the methodology online, and I will
ensure that there is a copy in the House of Commons Library.
The hon. Gentleman asked what conversations there were with local
authorities ahead of any announcement. We have area teams on the
ground in all local authority areas, which confirmed with
councils that projects were still a priority. They also confirmed
with councils whether projects could still be delivered by the
deadline. No projects were identified through those conversations
that did not qualify this time around.
Further to that, the hon. Gentleman asked about funding
simplification and why we are embarking on that. He mentioned the
NAO’s concerns. Some of its concerns are legitimate, but we
looked at its report and many of the figures dated from March. We
have spent £1.5 billion on local places since March. We announced
the funding simplification plan in July, in response to the
commitment we made in the levelling-up White Paper to simplify
the funding landscape.
Finally, the hon. Gentleman described £13 billion of levelling-up
funding as “crumbs”. That says it all about the Labour party. It
does not recognise the value of anything. We are investing £13
billion in local priorities, and Labour describes that as crumbs.
I leave it to the House to determine what it thinks of that.
(Totnes) (Con)
I am well accustomed in this place to rejection, and after rounds
1 and 2 of the levelling-up fund, it was disappointing not to see
Brixham and Paignton recognised. However, I am delighted today to
see that Brixham harbour and the EPIC centre in Torbay business
park have been recognised with £20 million of support, which will
make a huge difference. Can the Minister reassure me that that
money will come in good time and good order, so that we have the
ability to deliver as quickly as possible in our coastal
communities?
Absolutely. We are delighted to be funding high-tech fish and
chips in Brixham. This announcement comes on top of additional
funding pots that we have been able to give Torbay, including the
levelling-up partnership, on which I am working well with my hon.
Friends the Members for Totnes () and for Torbay (). The funding will come in due
course and we will work with local authorities to ensure that
they can still deliver the projects on time and to plan.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glenrothes) (SNP)
Some Members may have an advantage on me in that they have seen
the details of the allocation, which I have been handed just this
second, so I will give a completely constituency-neutral response
to the Minister’s statement.
However hard the Tories try to hide the truth, the fact is that
these days, the word most people will apply before Britain is
“broken”. Most people support genuine levelling up—who could
argue with it?—but when the Prime Minister’s constituency got
more than the whole of Glasgow last time around, and when most
people think their high streets are getting worse rather than
better, we have to ask what the real agenda is.
Will the Minister confirm how much of the money he boasts has
been committed since 2019 has actually been spent? How does it
compare to the overspend on HS2, for example?
The Scottish Government have decades of experience—Scottish
Governments of various political persuasions, by the way—in
successfully allocating EU funding, for example, in true
partnership with local authorities. What discussions did the UK
Government have with the Scottish Government, given their
statutory role in culture and transport, and their role in pride
in place, before he made today’s announcement? What discussions
did they have with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
to get a consensus view on what Scottish local authorities need?
Or is this decision just being made by somebody in a ministerial
office in Whitehall who is as out of touch with Scotland today as
they will be out of office next year?
The hon. Gentleman describes being out of touch with Scotland; he
also mentions Glasgow. I should tell him that Glasgow has
received £15 million in this round, so I suggest that it is he
who is out of touch with Scotland. The Government have a
responsibility to all people, businesses and communities across
the whole United Kingdom across all three rounds of the funds. As
I mentioned in my statement, we have invested £1 billion of
levelling-up funding in local authorities in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The hon. Gentleman should consider his
argument: it seems somewhat bizarre that he is frustrated at the
funding that we are spending in Scotland. He should focus on what
the cash is delivering, rather than on who is delivering it.
(Wolverhampton North East)
(Con)
I am thrilled that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities has funded the green innovation corridor in my
constituency. The Government have invested tens on tens of
millions of pounds in Wolverhampton, which was desperately
needed. However, speed of delivery is an issue. Will the Minister
meet me to discuss how the council can be encouraged to deliver
the projects quickly?
I commit to meeting my hon. Friend to discuss that matter. She is
a fantastic champion for her constituents in Wolverhampton, which
is a key place where we are seeing levelling up in action,
including the relocation of DLUHC’s offices to Wolverhampton. I
am pleased that we have been able to fund my hon. Friend’s
project in this round, and I am delighted to be working with her
on it.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chairman of the Select Committee.
(Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
The Minister has said a lot about inputs, but what is important,
in the end, is outputs and the changes that are made. Will the
Minister say which indicators have shown a reduction in
inequality between the south-east and the north since this
funding began, and in particular whether the productivity gap has
reduced at all?
Finally, I am surprised there is no mention of the trailblazer
projects in Manchester and Birmingham and their roll-out to the
other mayoral combined authorities. I understand that they will
be rolled out but with reduced powers for the rest of the
combined authorities. Will the Minister tell us exactly what the
situation is? Please do not ask us to wait for Wednesday’s
statement. I read about it in the Financial Times on Saturday,
and if the Financial Times can be told on Saturday, I am sure
this House can be told today.
I am very grateful to the Chair of the Select Committee. As I
said in my statement, across all three rounds of the fund, the
north-east and the north-west have received more per capita than
any other region in England. He asked about the specifics on
productivity improvements and so on, and I will write to him and
his Committee about that. Regarding the trailblazer deals, I have
not read the piece in the Financial Times, but I will do so as
soon as the statement is finished. I would encourage him to wait
until Wednesday.
(St Austell and Newquay)
(Con)
The Mid Cornwall Metro is a levelling-up infrastructure project
to upgrade railway connectivity across Cornwall. It will bring
huge benefits both economically and socially. I was pleased to
hear the Minister say that the Government are keen to get on with
delivering the project. I ask him to use his offices to work with
the Department for Transport, the Treasury and Cornwall Council
to get the final business case over the line and the funding
released, so that we can get on with the project.
Absolutely. There are few greater champions for Cornwall in this
House than my hon. Friend, and I shall work with him to ensure
that the business case is signed off as soon as possible and that
we are able to see levelling up in Cornwall. I am delighted that
I will be visiting Cornwall in the very near future to sign a
devolution deal.
(North Durham) (Lab)
I am not sure whether the Minister lives in some parallel
universe, but he came to the Dispatch Box today to talk about the
simplification of the process—a process that both he and the
Secretary of State have been implementing—as though it is nothing
to do with them.
County Durham had one successful bid in the first round, which
happened to be in Bishop Auckland—surprise, surprise—the
constituency of the former levelling-up Minister. In round 2,
Durham County Council was asked to put in bids and spent hundreds
of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money doing so. Once the
bids were in, it was told that they would not be considered
because it had had a successful one in round 1. Will the Minister
compensate Durham County Council for the money it has wasted, not
through its own inefficiency but because he seems to chip, chop
and change the rules when he likes?
The right hon. Member talks about the processes that are owned by
my Department. As I said, we are embarking on this ambitious
funding simplification agenda purely on the basis of some of the
points that he has raised. Local authorities, Members of this
House and the Select Committee were concerned about the number of
competitions that were involved in various Government funds. We
are addressing that through our funding simplification
doctrine.
The right hon. Gentleman talks about Durham. I simply say to him
that the international territorial level region for the Tees
Valley in Durham has received eight projects across the rounds of
the levelling-up fund. That equates to £128 per capita in the
region, which is one of the highest amounts. I would ask him to
welcome that.
(Bolton West) (Con)
Bolton is opening its new £40 million Institute of Medical
Sciences, which followed an earlier £50 million levelling-up fund
investment. Will my hon. Friend confirm that the latest £20
million of funding for Bolton town centre, for which I am very
grateful, is not the end of his commitment to the people of
Bolton?
It could not be the end of the levelling-up commitment in Bolton,
because of the efforts of my hon. Friend, who works so hard for
his constituents. I am delighted that Bolton is receiving money
in this round, and I will work with him to ensure that levelling
up continues in his part of the world.
(Tiverton and Honiton)
(LD)
In his statement, the Minister referred to Scotland, Wales,
Northern Ireland, the north-east, the north-west, the east
midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber. There was no mention of
the south-west. How can this Conservative Government claim that
they want to level up communities when Conservative-run Devon
County Council cannot even level up the potholes?
I am delighted to confirm for the hon. Member that the south-west
region has received 20 projects across the rounds of the
levelling-up fund to a total value of £409 million. That works
out at about £71 per capita. I thank the hon. Member.
Dame (Gosport) (Con)
May I warmly welcome the announcement of over £18 million to
regenerate Gosport’s historic waterfront? It will drive jobs,
attract visitors and drum up a huge amount of economic prosperity
for the area, which has such a rich cultural heritage but has
been overlooked for so long. This excellent bid was, of course,
submitted under the previous Conservative-led administration. The
council has since changed hands and it will be for the Liberal
Democrat leadership to deliver on it. This is a Lib Dem
leadership that has already paid back £1.3 million of brownfield
land release funding to the Government because it was unable to
spend it. What message does the Minister have for the council to
ensure that the money is spent in a timely way to level up
Gosport and drive prosperity for the region?
I am delighted that Gosport was able to receive funding in this
round. The funding in Gosport must be spent on the project
priorities. The council is unable to reallocate that funding to
some other random Lib Dem project that it has in mind; it has to
deliver on the priorities that my hon. Friend mentioned. There is
an adjustment process that local authorities can work on with my
Department to ensure that challenges around inflation, for
example, can be met. However, the project aims must still be met,
and I shall work with my hon. Friend and her local authority to
ensure that they are.
(Rochdale) (Lab)
Can the Minister confirm that Rochdale received no funding in
this round, in either path? Can he also explain to my
constituents why, even if we had a successful bid, which we would
have welcomed, it would have been dwarfed by the cuts made to
health, education and, of course, our local authority? Those are
the things, ultimately, that are destroying the quality of life
in my constituency.
I would not accept the hon. Member’s synopsis. As I said earlier,
we gave councils an uplift of £5 billion last year to meet
priorities in their area. I cannot answer the hon. Member’s
question today on Rochdale, but I shall write to him as soon as
this statement is over.
(Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale
and Tweeddale) (Con)
I particularly welcome the £4.1 million for the Chambers
Institute in Peebles, the £6.8 million for walks and cycleways in
Clydesdale and the £13.8 million for transport in Dumfries and
Galloway, but I pay particular tribute to the trustees of the
Annan Harbour Action Group for its compelling bid, which secured
£11.9 million to regenerate Annan Harbour. These are all
essentially rural projects. Does my hon. Friend agree that rural
areas across the United Kingdom must be at the core of levelling
up?
There is no greater champion for levelling up in rural areas than
my right hon. Friend. I am delighted that we have been able to
give Dumfries and Galloway a chunk of money in this round, and I
am sure that he will work to ensure that his local authorities
put it to good use. I am delighted to be working with him on
doing just that.
Sir (Rhondda) (Lab)
I confess that I am very disappointed by today’s announcement,
because we have been trying to get some money for the Rhondda
tunnel, which would be an enormous enhancement to the top end of
the Rhondda Fawr. Successive Government Ministers have told me
personally that we should apply under round 2, and then told the
local authority that it could not apply under round two. I was
then told personally that we should apply under round 3, and now
it turns out that there is no such thing as a round 3, so we
never had an opportunity to make a bid at all—of any kind
whatsoever. I am hopeful that the Minister will now say that the
Government are not closing the door on the Rhondda tunnel, and
that there will be another chance for us to make an application
to the Government for the £20 million that we need for one of the
poorest areas in the country.
I understand the hon. Member’s concerns. To be absolutely clear,
I have not made any such commitments to him. Levelling up is an
agenda that the Government are focused on; this is not the end of
the road for levelling up, and I would be delighted to come to
Rhondda, not least because Rhondda received money through round 1
of the levelling-up fund—a total of £3.6 million.
(Shipley) (Con)
The Minister knows full well how much Bingley has been neglected
and let down by Labour-run Bradford Council, largely because I
keep telling him about it. Bingley needs regeneration, and it
particularly needs a new swimming pool, so can he tell me what
the Government will do to help Bingley receive the swimming pool
and the regeneration that it desperately needs? I am afraid that
the people of Bingley cannot trust Bradford Council to deliver
those for them.
I understand the plight of the people of Bingley because, as my
hon. Friend says, he raises it with me at every possible
opportunity. I will work with him to see what funding streams are
available to tackle the mess left behind by Labour-run Bradford
Council, and to fund Bingley swimming pool.
(East Antrim) (DUP)
People in Northern Ireland will be angry tonight that not one
penny of a fund that the Minister describes as creating
opportunities across all regions and nations of the UK, and aimed
at tackling regional inequality, is allocated to Northern
Ireland. He gives the flimsy excuse that it is because the
Northern Ireland Executive are not up and running. The Northern
Ireland Executive did not have any input into the previous
rounds, and would not have had any into this round. Of course,
they would not even have needed to seek new allocations, because
no new applications were needed. Is this not a case of blatant,
pathetic, transparent economic blackmail to try to get the
Assembly up and running again, without addressing the reasons why
it fell, and of pouring the money into key Conservative marginal
constituencies to bolster party support?
I share the right hon. Gentleman’s frustration that we have been
unable to fund projects in Northern Ireland this time around. As
I indicated to him, that is because of a lack of an Executive in
Northern Ireland. I assure him that we have set aside what
Northern Ireland’s allocation would have been in this round, and
I commit to working with him and his colleagues to ensure that
Northern Ireland receives the full benefit of levelling up.
(South Derbyshire)
(Con)
I thank my hon. Friend for his statement. I have lost my voice
cheering for the £1.1 million for Swadlincote town. This is the
first time in 50 years that Government money has been put into
regenerating that area, which is the heart of South Derbyshire,
and I thank him very much indeed. I have had a word with the
chief executive of the new Labour council, and I will sit on the
board that ensures we have spades in the ground. I thank the
Minister very much.
I am delighted to be able to give my hon. Friend’s constituency
the funding this time around. She is an extremely efficient
champion for the people of Derbyshire, and I am delighted that we
have been able to fund the project.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
I can be one of this Government’s sharpest critics, often
justifiably, but today I thank the Minister and his predecessor,
the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (), whom I harassed
relentlessly since the round two bid for Denton was rejected. I
am so pleased that today “Destination Denton”, the project that
we put forward, will receive nearly £17 million. Given that I am
the constituency Member of Parliament, and was involved in
putting the bid together, what assurances can the Minister give
me that I will be involved in ensuring that the project comes to
fruition?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his kind words. We expect
local authorities to work with their Members of Parliament, who
are key community stakeholders, in delivering the bids. A project
adjustment request process is available to local authorities if
projects need to be adjusted because of changes in inflation and
so on; a key thing that I asked for is that Members of Parliament
be consulted in that process, and I will ensure that the hon.
Gentleman is consulted at all turns.
(Gloucester) (Con)
I congratulate the new Minister on the energy and purpose that he
has brought to the vital task of levelling up the country, and
particularly small cities and large towns, which were largely
overlooked by the Labour Government during 13 years of focus on
metropolitan cities. The £11 million award to the Greyfriars and
Eastgate project in Gloucester will deliver a new shopping
centre, indoor market and much more besides, as well as put a
roof for the first time in 60 years on the beautiful 13th-century
Greyfriars friary. That will make a huge difference, alongside
the King’s Quarter projects that have already been funded by the
local council and the Government. Does the Minister agree that if
the shadow levelling-up Minister, the hon. Member for Ellesmere
Port and Neston (), wants to see an example
of giving up in this country, he is welcome to visit the car park
bought by a previous Labour administration for £11 million and
later sold for £1? That is why Gloucester, like the rest of the
country, needs to keep regeneration in the right hands.
Gloucester could not have a better champion than my hon. Friend;
he is a fantastic champion for it. When I took on this job, one
of my first conversations was with him about the urgent need for
levelling-up funding in Gloucester. I am delighted that we have
been able to fund his project this time around. As he said, it is
important that we keep Gloucester in Conservative hands.
(Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
(SNP)
My goodness, what a con this is. Earlier this year, we heard from
the National Audit Office that of the £9.5 billion allocated in
the first round, only £1 billion had been spent. Perhaps the
Minister can say how much has been spent now. Is this not much
like any other Tory slogan—meaningless in reality? Once again,
there is nothing for Ross, Skye and Lochaber. We heard from the
right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
() about the importance of
rural areas, but there is nothing for the Portree harbour bid,
which would have made such a difference.
I invite the Secretary of State and his ministerial team to my
constituency. We will drive around and look at all the sites of
the projects that were funded by the European Union—roads,
bridges, harbours, sports facilities. That money would have come
if we had stayed in the European Union, as Scotland voted to do.
We are missing out on €750 billion that the EU was investing in
regeneration, and once again we are getting nothing—zip—from this
Tory Government.
The right hon. Gentleman is wrong. I shall write to him following
the statement on exactly how much UK shared prosperity funding
his area has received, and I hope that when I do, he will come
back to the Chamber to update the House on the facts of the
matter. He asked how much money has been spent since the National
Audit Office released the figures in March: £1.5 billion has been
spent since then, but I would be delighted to come up and visit
the humble crofter’s constituency.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
Pardon me for having an unfashionable Thatcherite point of view,
but much better than Government, taxpayer-funded levelling up is
private sector levelling up. Although I thank the Secretary of
State for having released some money for Gainsborough, £300
million of private sector levelling up, namely for RAF Scampton,
is at risk in my constituency. Will the Minister meet me after
the court case to ensure that, whatever its result, we get on
with levelling up? For instance, the roof of the officers’ mess
alone will cost half a million pounds. The roofs of the hangars
are decaying. The site will not be viable unless private sector
investment is unleashed and the Home Office gets on with it.
I would be delighted to meet my right hon. Friend, but one of the
key ways to unlock private investment in the Greater Lincolnshire
area is to progress with the devolution deal. I shall be
delighted to meet him to discuss that further.
(Easington) (Lab)
What consideration has the Minister given to the formation of
development corporations to deliver specific projects? As he may
be aware, I represent a Durham constituency that includes one of
the poorest communities in the country. There has been a failure
to leverage investment into the county, most notably in round 2
but also in round 3, and to resolve some very serious structural
problems. I can identify lots of problems in the ABC streets in
Easington, and the numbered streets in Horden and Peterlee town
centre. We had two very successful development corporations. May
I remind the Minister that Durham is run by a coalition of
Conservatives, Lib Dems and independents that is failing to
deliver?
I hear the hon. Gentleman’s plea for more development
corporations. We are obviously on an ambitious journey with the
north-east to devolve further through the new mayoral North East
Combined Authority. That will be a key way to help ensure
levelling up in his part of the world.
(Torbay) (Con)
It was welcome to hear the news about Torbay today—taking the
total regeneration funding available up to £100 million, which
will hopefully be matched by a similar amount coming in from the
private sector. We are of course in the process of negotiating
the levelling-up partnership, and some of the schemes in that are
now being dealt with via the levelling-up fund. What implications
are there for the levelling-up partnership and will there be an
opportunity to re-look at other schemes that can now form part of
it?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for highlighting just how much
levelling-up investment Torbay is getting under this Conservative
Government. We are working with the local authority, as he knows,
on the levelling-up partnership, and with local Members of
Parliament and key stakeholders. Projects have been addressed by
this funding today, but we will look at other projects to fund
through the levelling-up partnership.
(Ogmore) (Lab)
It is deeply frustrating to hear the Minister say that round 3
was done by reviewing round 2 projects, which meant the Pencoed
level crossing in my constituency was rejected again. That means
my constituency has received zero levelling-up funding. There is
a wider concern in local authorities across the UK that level 2
rounds, which may not start until the next financial year, will
not have continuation of funding into 2026, because the Minister
has said that this will potentially all end in 2025. Will he
confirm that any project that starts next year from round 2
funding will be funded fully for completion of projects, even if
it goes beyond the Minister’s confirmed funding for 2025?
I will write to the hon. Gentleman on the specifics of his
question. Without reading my notes, my understanding is that
round 2 has to be spent by the end of March 2025, but I shall
write to him to confirm after this session.
(Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
(Con)
I welcome the Minister’s statement, and in particular the £20
million that is announced for Halesowen town centre. Halesowen
has recovered well from the pandemic, not least because of the
work of the local business improvement district. This further
investment will be a secure investment in the future of
Halesowen, and I very much welcome it today.
I am delighted that Halesowen is receiving funding in this round
of the levelling-up fund. My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion
for his constituents in Halesowen and I look forward to working
with him to ensure that the project is delivered as quickly as
possible.
(North Down) (Alliance)
Northern Ireland is missing out on this. It would be nice if we
had a devolved Executive working with the Department, but that
has not been the case in the past anyway, even whenever the
Executive was sitting, so the Minister’s rationale simply does
not stack up. Can he confirm that the money for Northern Ireland,
which has been denied today, will be ringfenced, and what sort of
timescale he envisages—including without a restored Executive—for
spending that? Will there be a fresh round 3 in Northern Ireland,
or will it too be a continuation of round 2?
I do not believe it is accurate to say that Northern Ireland is
not benefiting. As I have already outlined, we have spent £120
million across the levelling-up fund in Northern Ireland, and we
will continue to work with Northern Ireland communities on the
delivery of those projects. With regards to the hon. Gentleman’s
other questions, I will be happy to write to him after this
session but, as I say, the £30 million that would have been spent
in this round has been set aside for levelling up in Northern
Ireland.
(Don Valley) (Con)
I welcome the £18 million for Mexborough and Moorends in my home
city of Doncaster, but it does mean that Edlington in my
constituency has missed out again. My constituents are missing a
leisure centre, a decent shopping high street and decent quality
housing. This needs to be addressed, because unfortunately we
have had decades and decades of neglect from the socialist Labour
council, which I know is playing party politics. Will the
Minister and the Secretary of State, who on his visit promised he
would help fund this, meet me to find out what we can do for my
constituents in Edlington? It is not fair that they have not at
least got a leisure centre.
I think both you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and my hon. Friend know
how amazing a community Doncaster is. We want to do what we can
to help level up in Doncaster, which is why we have been
delighted to fund bids there in this round. I appreciate my hon.
Friend’s concern that Edlington is not getting its swimming pool,
and I shall meet him at the earliest possible opportunity to look
at different ways that we could fund a pool in Edlington. I know
that he is a fantastic champion for constituents in that
community, and I will continue to work with him to do what we can
to level up there.
(Leeds North West)
(Lab/Co-op)
I was here 10 months ago after the conclusion of round 2; none of
Leeds—a city of 800,000 people in eight constituencies—was
successful. Today, one bid was successful. What about the six
constituencies in Leeds that have not received levelling-up
money? We have five bids from round 2 that are on the table, and
councillors and council officers have worked hard on them. What
is their status? Is there going to be another round? Where can we
go to deliver that project, including transport and employment
land in my constituency, which would deliver thousands of
jobs?
As the hon. Member mentioned, we are funding Leeds in this round
for the “Heart of Holbeck” scheme, with almost £16 million of
funding. As I said in my statement, Leeds is also the beneficiary
of a new investment zone announced earlier today. This Government
have continued to focus on levelling up, and I will work with him
to ensure that the benefits of that can be felt in Leeds and
across West Yorkshire.
(Isle of Wight) (Con)
I am delighted that the Isle of Wight’s bid has been accepted,
and I am grateful to the Minister for pushing it through. Our
cycle group—CYCLEWight—has raised with me the condition of
current cycle routes on the Island. As well as this funding
delivering new routes—especially the west Wight cycle route,
which is incredibly important—when we are reconfirming the bid,
will we be able to tweak elements of it so that we can spend some
of that money on improving and repairing the existing cycle
routes, namely Sandown to Newport?
I apologise to my hon. Friend that I am not able to give him that
assurance today. We have an adjustment process where we work with
local authorities to ensure that the projects that they have
received funding for can still be delivered. If that is not the
case, we will work with them to see what can be delivered through
the bid. I am happy to work with my hon. Friend to do just
that.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
It is a really positive day for my beautiful part of West
Yorkshire: £16.6 million for Huddersfield open market
regeneration; and £48 million for the Penistone line rail
upgrade, with stations in Honley and Brockholes in my
constituency—and it continues through the patches of my hon.
Friends the Members for Dewsbury () and Penistone and
Stocksbridge (). Also today we have had the
announcement of the West Yorkshire investment zone, which is
anchored around the national health innovation campus at the
University of Huddersfield. Will the Minister ensure that his
excellent officials continue to work with the really hard-working
officers at Kirklees Council, led by David Shepherd, to ensure
that those transformative projects are delivered on time to the
benefit of my communities?
I am really pleased to hear a positive voice for West Yorkshire
in this House and to see some of the investment that we are
making in my hon. Friend’s community. I know how important the
Penistone to Stocksbridge line upgrade was to him and to my hon.
Friend the Member for Dewsbury (), and I am delighted that we
have been able to fund it through this round. I will of course
work with him to ensure that its benefits are felt right across
West Yorkshire and that it is implemented as soon as
possible.
(Somerton and Frome) (LD)
I thank the Minister for his statement. I am disappointed that
that levelling-up fund bid submitted by Somerset Council for the
much-needed regeneration works in the rural market towns of Frome
and Wincanton has not been successful. In the Somerton and
Langport area, we have been without a train station since the
1960s. The Langport Transport Group’s joint proposal with
Somerset Council has not received an update to their bid to the
restoring your railway fund since July 2022. Will the Minister
provide an update and support me to bring much-needed rail
connections to the area?
I am responsible for many things, but not the restoring your
railway fund; I ask the hon. Lady to contact the Department for
Transport for assurances on that. However, I assure her that
across the Dorset and Somerset region, we have been able to fund
five projects to the tune of £87 million.
(Moray) (Con)
I warmly welcome the UK Government confirming Moray’s
levelling-up bid of over £18 million today. When the Minister
wrote to me, he said project adjustments may need to take place.
One reason that there may need to be an adjustment in Moray is
because the announcement follows hot on the heels of Moray
receiving £20 million in the towns fund just last month. Will he
work with me and the excellent local council leader, Councillor
, to look at the
proposals for Moray leisure centre? There is an opportunity to
also unlock private sector investment, which would mean more
resources coming to Moray for people across the region. Does he
also agree that local SNP politicians who were very negative when
we were not successful in round 2 will surely be extremely
positive in welcoming this investment from the UK Government?
I hope every politician is as positive about Moray and its future
as my hon. Friend. It is fantastic that we are funding Moray’s
bid today. As he said, it builds on its success with the
long-term plan for towns. I am happy to work with him to ensure
that the priorities of the local people in Moray are met through
both funds. I will work with him and his excellent Conservative
council leader to ensure that that happens.
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
The communities of Devonport and Stonehouse are some of the
poorest in the country, so it felt like a punch in the gut when
our round 2 bid was rejected. I thank the Minister for agreeing
to the project in round 3. However, the bid we put together was
delivered 10 months ago. Since then, Plymouth’s ambition has not
stopped. We have part-funded elements and changed other parts.
Will the Minister set out what the adjustments mean? For a
community like Plymouth, which is trying to create more jobs and
bring in private sector investment, how can the adjustment
mechanism ensure that we get all the £19.9 million we bid for,
and not just part of it, because our bid has changed, quite
reasonably, because of inflation and other economic challenges
and opportunities over the last year?
I am delighted about the work we are doing in Plymouth to level
up, whether that is the Plymouth freeport or the further
investment we are giving Plymouth today. The hon. Gentleman asks
specifically about the project adjustment request process. A
local authority can amend its bid by up to 30%. The bid is £19.9
million, so it will have flexibility on about £6 million. If any
adjustments need to be made to a project, his local authority
should contact my officials as soon as possible. We will work
with them to reprofile the funds and ensure that his constituents
and people across Plymouth are able to benefit properly from the
funding.
(Scunthorpe) (Con)
I thank my hon. Friend for his work. As soon as I heard the good
news, I was straight on the phone to our excellent council
leader, Rob Waltham, duly confirming that we are absolutely
positioned to bring these projects forward. I hope the Minister
can find time to visit Scunthorpe and see some of the projects. I
would be very happy to show him around and I know that the good
people of Scunthorpe would give him a very warm welcome.
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend. I have had many
conversations with her council leader about devolution in Greater
Lincolnshire. I look forward to visiting Scunthorpe very soon,
hopefully with further good news on that front. I would be
delighted to be shown around by my hon. Friend.
(South Shields) (Lab)
Here’s a first: I would like to thank the Minister. At last,
after over two years of waiting and at significant cost to our
council, the Government have eventually granted South Shields a
piecemeal sum of money. He also knows that, thanks to Tory
economic failure, the cost of delivering our bid is now much
higher. I have just heard his response to my hon. Friend the
Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (), but can he confirm whether
it means that in South Shields we are getting more or less money
now?
I am delighted to be able to give the hon. Lady the good news for
South Shields today, building on the future high streets fund,
which I know she is aware of, in her constituency. The money we
announced today for South Shields—£20 million—will be given to
South Shields to spend on the bids it outlined. There will not be
additional funding coming in on top of that, but the project
adjustment request allows the council in her constituency to move
money around within the bid to account for inflation and other
things. I am delighted that we are able to be levelling up in
South Shields, with £20 million today on top of the future high
streets fund that we have already given to her constituency.
(Bolton North East) (Con)
Today is a very happy day for Bolton, with £20 million going to
the Bolton town centre north regeneration project. That means
that Bolton, across all its three constituencies held by both
Tory and Labour MPs, has had almost £100 million since 2019. May
I extend an invitation to the Minister to visit Bolton when he
goes next door to Chorley, as part of his visit to the north?
Today is a very happy day for levelling up. The shadow Minister,
the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (), of whom I am very fond,
spoke about giving up, but I say that today is a day for us all
to cheer up.
I quite agree with my hon. Friend. He is a fantastic champion for
his constituents in Bolton, and I am delighted that he has been
able to get this funding for them today. I would be delighted to
visit Bolton at the earliest opportunity to see him in action in
his community.
(Wythenshawe and Sale East)
(Lab)
The £20 million announced for Wythenshawe town centre today is
testament to the hard-working leadership team at Manchester City
Council. However, my personal thanks goes to Gavin Taylor from
the Far East Consortium, who helped me kickstart this project
just over two years ago. My thanks also go to the Minister. The
money unlocks, with all the other things, the potential for 2,000
much-needed homes. Without sounding like Oliver Twist, may I ask
the Minister to talk to his colleagues at the Department of
Health and Social Care and request that they look again at the
exciting plans at Wythenshawe Hospital just up the road, which
could deliver an extra 1,000 homes on top?
I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has been successful. He is
quite right to praise his council officials, because his bid was
one of the highest scoring bids that we have been able to afford
money to in this round. I am pleased to be able to grant it, and
I am happy to work with him on how we can level up further in
Wythenshawe and elsewhere across Manchester.
(Darlington) (Con)
I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement, with the investment for
Billingham in the Tees Valley and the extension to our freeports.
However, Darlington narrowly missed out in rounds one, two and
three of the levelling-up fund. The Minister, who is from the
north-east himself, will be familiar with the phrase “shy
bairns”. What advice can he give me in respect of the Darlington
projects that still need funding?
My hon. Friend is an amazing champion for Darlington. Without
him, the great work that we are doing in levelling up in
Darlington would not be happening. That includes: the investment
that we are making into Darlington rail station; the investment
that the Treasury has made, bringing new civil service jobs to
Darlington; the buying back of Teesside airport by Tees Valley
Mayor ; and the Darlington town deal.
All those things are dependent on my hon. Friend, who is a
fantastic champion for Darlington, and his former council leader,
Councillor Jonathan Dulston, who has done an amazing job. I will
continue to work with him and others to level up across the Tees
Valley.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Lab)
My first correspondence to the Government since being elected was
to ask the Secretary of State to look again at the levelling-up
bid for Shawfield in my constituency. I am delighted that, after
only a month in this place, he has awarded £14 million to that
project. It will be a challenge to keep that up, I suspect. This
is a really important project, which not only unlocks huge
investment in my constituency but clears up a toxic legacy where,
in the 19th century, the world’s largest chemical factory once
was. It will make a huge difference to my constituency.
The Minister has been asked a number of times to reflect on the
costs for local authorities in coming up with these bids, and I
do not think that we have had an answer yet. As part of his
review, will he look at those significant costs? I know that
organisations in my constituency such as Clyde Gateway and South
Lanarkshire Council spent huge amounts of time, expertise and
money pulling together bids, which they then thought were dead;
now they realise that the project has a second chance. Will he
think about the total costs involved and reimburse local
authorities for them?
I am grateful to the hon. Member for welcoming this funding. I am
sure his letter to the Secretary of State had a key
decision-making role in that. We are making capacity funding
available within the Department to help local authorities where
they come up against further challenges in the delivery of these
projects. As he has rightly identified, these projects were
submitted some time ago, so adjustments will need to be made. I
cannot give refunds, unfortunately, but our funding
simplification programme is all about ensuring that we step
forward to a simpler version of funding that meets councils’
needs, rather than asking councils to meet the needs of various
funding streams.
(Stockton South) (Con)
I am delighted to see Billingham awarded £20 million of
levelling-up money, which comes on the back of £16.5 million for
Stockton, £20 million for Yarm and Eaglescliffe and £23.9 million
for Thornaby. For years, Stockton’s Labour council said that it
did not have the money to sort out the eyesore that is the Golden
Eagle Hotel in Thornaby, but for three years it has had the
Government money to sort it out and it has made no progress
whatsoever. Does the Minister agree that it needs to pull its
finger out, and will he meet me to see if there is any way we can
make that happen?
What an amazing champion for the people of Stockton my hon.
Friend is. In Stockton, we are delivering towns funding in
Thornaby, future high streets funding in Stockton High Street and
levelling-up funding in Yarm and Eaglescliffe, and today we have
confirmed levelling-up funding in Billingham. There is no place
in this country that is receiving such love and attention from
this Government, and it is thanks to the hard work of my hon.
Friend, as well as people such as the Tees Valley Mayor, , and local councillors in
Stockton such as Councillor Niall Innes, who I know was
particularly keen on seeing this bid delivered. I shall be happy
to work with my hon. Friend to ensure that the Golden Eagle Hotel
is sorted out as soon as possible and to deliver on his
priorities through the town deal.
(Arfon) (PC)
It would help the House to come to a judgment on the funding
simplification plan and the funding simplification doctrine if we
understood the complexity of the current system of assessments of
need. Try as I might, and I have looked at the White Paper and
various other documents, I cannot find a single concise
explanation. Could the Minister write to me, and perhaps place a
copy of his reply in the Library, to explain how the current
system has got us to this position?
I would be happy to do that, but we currently operate more than
70 different local growth funds across 17 different Departments.
I think that demonstrates the complexity that local authorities
and other stakeholders, community groups and so on must navigate
to try to get cash for their area. That is why we are embarking
on this funding simplification plan, and I am happy to work with
him to ensure that it meets the needs of his constituents.
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con)
Today’s announcement of nearly £20 million for the Vale of Clwyd
through the levelling-up fund is fantastic news for redevelopment
projects in Rhyl, Prestatyn, Denbigh and elsewhere, and I look
forward to working with the local authority on that. By my
calculation, Denbighshire is set to receive £63.7 million through
local growth funds. Will my hon. Friend visit the area, as I
think he hopes to do, and will he provide an update on
levelling-up partnerships in Wales?
On levelling-up partnerships in Wales, I would ask my hon. Friend
to watch this space, but he is a fantastic champion for his
constituents in Denbighshire. I visited Rhyl earlier this year
for the wedding of another Member, but I would be delighted to
visit again to see the work that my hon. Friend is doing and to
see how we can ensure his constituents feel levelled up.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for his enthusiasm in his answers to
questions. Ards and North Down Borough Council has a project
about mining in Conlig, which goes back to the early 19th
century; it also has the Somme centre, which commemorates and
runs a programme about the first world war; and part of another
project was to do something on the second world war. The Minister
has kindly indicated that moneys that would have been going to
Northern Ireland will be ringfenced or kept aside. Can he give me
and other Members from Northern Ireland a direction for what we
should do to ensure that the chief executive of Ards and North
Down Borough Council, Stephen Reid, can pursue, and get the
moneys for, this tourism project?
I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the
project further. I would say to him and his colleagues in
Northern Ireland that the key thing is that the UK Government
and, I think, everyone in this House want to see the Northern
Ireland Executive restored. When they are restored, we can
discuss how best to implement levelling up in his constituency
and across Northern Ireland.
(Blackpool South) (Ind)
I thank the Minister for the further funding award for Blackpool,
meaning that we have now received well over £400 million of
additional Government investment since 2019. The Minister will be
aware of the partnership work between Blackpool Council and his
Department to deliver a levelling-up project in Revoe and Bond
Street in my constituency. Is he able to meet me to see how we
can get this project over the line and delivered for those
communities?
I am delighted to confirm that more than £15 million of
investment is coming into Blackpool from round 3 of the
levelling-up fund, announced today. That builds on the other
investments we are making in Blackpool, which my hon. Friend
mentioned. I will work with him on the projects he has outlined,
to see what can be done to ensure they are delivered in a timely
manner.
(Dewsbury) (Con)
I echo my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (), who said that today is a
positive day. Like him, I thank David Shepherd of Kirklees
Council.
After campaigning for an upgrade since 2018, the £48 million for
the Penistone line is fantastic news for me and my constituents.
This is on top of the £44.8 million secured for Dewsbury town
centre and the £318,000 for Shelley football club. Will my hon.
Friend agree to come to visit the Penistone line user groups, the
Dewsbury town board and the team at Shelley FC to celebrate these
amazing levelling-up successes?
What an amazing champion for the people of Dewsbury— I am not
sure that any Member of Parliament for Dewsbury has ever
delivered as much investment as my hon. Friend. I would be
delighted to visit his constituency to see some of those
projects, and I will do so as soon as I am available.
Mr (Delyn) (Ind)
Greenfield, around which the Delyn constituency bid was
structured, is in the top 10% of areas of deprivation in Wales.
As the constituency bid has again been unsuccessful, making a
total of seven unsuccessful bids across both Delyn and Alyn and
Deeside, which together make up my county council area of
Flintshire, can the Minister explain to the people of Greenfield
and Flintshire why, just like the Welsh Government, the UK
Government do not seem to care about their future prosperity? If
they do, will he at least take this opportunity to approve the
joint Flintshire and Wrexham investment zone bid?
As I said in my statement, we have delivered more than £1 billion
of funding in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland across all
three rounds of the levelling-up fund. I am disappointed to hear
my hon. Friend’s question, as he knows all too well that this
Conservative Government care about the people of Wales.
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