Since the general election in December 2019, the term “levelling up” has become used regularly by politicians in addressing the economic and social inequalities that exist across the 海角视频.
While the Covid-19 pandemic clearly interrupted any plans for developing policies to deal with this issue, it has returned as a central theme of the programme for government as set out in the Queen’s Speech earlier this year.
But what does the 海角视频 Government mean by levelling up and what will the policy aim to achieve over the next three years? That very question was at the heart of a recent report published by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee at the House of Commons.
Unfortunately, the 11 MPs on the committee concluded that while it is something that is brought up constantly by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and other politicians as being the central purpose and mission of the 海角视频 Government, there remains a lack of clarity about what it means beyond the aim of “improving everyday life and life chances”.
This opaqueness means that not only is there currently little understanding of how this will translate into policies and strategies, there is a danger that it will have little real impact, especially given the difficulties in assessing its impact on individuals, businesses and localities.
This is not to say that the concept is unimportant, as there have been considerable regional imbalances in the 海角视频 for many years and the economic differences between the more prosperous and poorest parts of the country have been growing.
Certainly, there is a consensus that dealing with such inequalities must be an integral part of any post-pandemic recovery, especially as it is clear that a number of areas in the 海角视频 have suffered disproportionately as a result of the pandemic.
Yet according to the evidence in the report, it would seem there is no clear strategy to address this. Instead there is a patchwork of policies which have little relation or relevance to each other, and range from developing an approach to combat obesity to plans for the creation of Freeports.
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This cannot be allowed to continue. The development of a coherent strategy must be a priority over the next few months if resources are to be maximised in addressing the levelling-up agenda in a detailed and relevant way.
However, a major concern of politicians across the 海角视频 previously in receipt of both 海角视频 and EU financial support is whether any future support will be as generous as those pots of money. Indeed, there have been fears raised in Wales recently as to whether the new Shared Prosperity Fund to be introduced in 2021 will be as generous as that received from Europe since 2000. Certainly, with the 海角视频 Government having already spent many billions of pounds of public money in combating the pandemic, there are some who question whether there is enough funding left in the Treasury to realistically address the clear ambitions of the 海角视频 Government in closing the gap between 海角视频 regions.
One way to address this would be for every 海角视频 Government department to examine its budget in the context of the levelling-up agenda once a coherent strategy has been developed, and to have this at the heart of any decisions on funding going forward, especially in ensuring that the poorest parts of the 海角视频 have access to the resources needed.
More importantly, there is a need for all stakeholders to understand who is doing what in terms of the levelling-up agenda. If this is to be at the heart of Government policy, then there not only needs to be better co-ordination and delivery across 海角视频 Government departments but also greater co-operation with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Finally, as any businessperson would tell you, any strategy must have a vision for what it wants to achieve and there needs to be a clear message from the 海角视频 Government as to what a “levelled-up” nation would look like.
In particular, will the 海角视频 Government have the courage to establish clear targets for what it wants levelling up to achieve over a set period of time (as it has done so with its net zero strategy) or will there be obfuscation in terms of the economic and social metrics that will measure any progress going forward?
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There are few who would disagree with the concept of levelling up, but as we recover from the worst economic downturn in more than three centuries, this must turn from a slogan that can be bandied around by politicians into a clear strategy that will finally begin to ensure that the less prosperous parts of the 海角视频 are given the resources and tools to close a prosperity gap that has existed for far too long.