Andy Haldane returns to help level up

Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has been appointed as the chair of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council.

Haldane, currently chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, was a former economist for the Bank of England between 1989 and 2021. He was appointed as permanent secretary to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in September last year, but left the post after six months.

The previously announced Levelling Up Advisory Council will provide independent specialist advice on matters relating to the design and delivery of the levelling up missions. Sir Paul Collier, professor of economics and public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and director of the Oxford Martin Initiative on regional levelling-up, was appointed the the council back in February.

Haldane said:

"Levelling up is one of the signature economic and social challenges of our time, a challenge made all that much greater by the cost of living crisis. So I am delighted to be chairing the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council, with its deep pool of expertise and experience, to serve as challenge and support for the government on this crucial initiative as it is delivered on the ground, and revivifies the lives of people, right across the UK."

In 2014, Haldane was named by Time magazine as amongst the world's 100 most influential people. He is founder and trustee of Pro Bono Economics, a charity which brokers economists into charitable projects, and Vice-Chair of the charity National Numeracy.

In 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick.