Levelling up agenda mustn't 'short change' regions

The Public Services Committee has warned the best Minister that ‘left behind’ places will be ‘short-changed’ if ‘levelling up’ plans aren't better targeted.

The Lords committee makes several recommendations in front 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 prepare children for college if it wants more jobs, productivity and pay in deprived communities.

The Public Services Committee discovered that the government’s strategy does not recognise high amounts of deprivation in lots of areas including areas of London, and warned when ‘levelling up’ investment neglects social infrastructure – for example community centres and childcare – and public services it won't help the most deprived areas.

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

Baroness Armstrong, committee chair, said: “Not only places however the people who live in them should be at the heart of ‘levelling up’. Social infrastructure and support supplied 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 as well as 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 far more holistic approach. A White Paper – which should be published urgently – is welcome but it’s unclear just what the government wants to gain levels, just how much its strategy will cost, how long it will take and just how it plans to achieve its goals. The process will need a significant change of direction if it's to attain its admirable ambition for people in ‘left-behind’ areas to achieve the same opportunities as elsewhere in the united states.”