Levelling up agenda must not ‘short change’ regions

The Public Services Committee has warned the Prime Minister that ‘left behind’ places will be ‘short-changed’ if ‘levelling up’ plans are not better targeted.

The Lords committee has made several recommendations ahead of the forthcoming government White Paper on the ‘Levelling up’ strategy. In their paper, the committee has urged ministers to refocus their strategy to improve health, employment and skills and better prepare children for school if it wants more jobs, productivity and pay in deprived communities.

The Public Services Committee found that the government’s strategy fails to recognise high levels of deprivation in many parts of the country including parts of London, and warned that if ‘levelling up’ investment neglects social infrastructure – such as community centres and childcare – and public services it will not help the most deprived areas.

It calls on the government to work with local service providers and users to set targets to improve, for example, life expectancy, employment, literacy and numeracy of children starting school and the number of entrants to higher education.

Baroness Armstrong, committee chair, said: “Not only places but the people who live in them should be at the heart of ‘levelling up’. Social infrastructure and support provided by public services is at least as critical to communities as investment in roads and bridges. Lack of funding for preventative health services, vocational education and for better literacy and numeracy among disadvantaged children has undermined the resilience of our poorest communities and further entrenched inequality.

“Successfully ‘levelling up’ will require a more holistic approach. A White Paper – which should be published urgently - is welcome but it’s unclear exactly what the government wants to level up, how much its strategy will cost, how long it will take and how it plans to achieve its goals. The strategy will require a major change of direction if it is to achieve its admirable ambition for people in ‘left-behind’ areas to have the same opportunities as elsewhere in the country.”