Ring-fence funding for 'social plumbing' to level up UK

The Bennett Institute for Public Policy has required 25 per cent of both the Levelling Up and Towns funds to become earmarked for ‘social infrastructure’.

In a brand new report, the University of Cambridge experts reason that the government should invest a minimum of one fourth of its proposed funding for ‘levelling up’ in the spaces and facilities that bring people together, which it says are simply as essential to local economies and civic pride as headline-grabbing upgrades to rail, road and broadband.

In fact, the report shows that the prosperity of flagship physical infrastructure schemes, whether HS2 or even the 5G rollout, will rely on the and productivity of the towns and regions they aim to connect – and, as a result, this ‘social plumbing’ requires equal investment.

The report, area of the Institute’s Townscapes project, highlights the truth that social infrastructure-related services, from cafes and cinemas to museums and leisure centres, employ around 2.3 million people across the UK, and account for nearly half the jobs in some so-called ‘left behind’ towns – particularly those around the coast.  

The researchers point out these sectors really are a vital supply of work and career development for individuals who can otherwise struggle to obtain a foothold within the labour market.

Michael Kenny, report co-author and Director from the Bennett Institute at Cambridge, said: “Once the local pub is shuttered, the park is unkempt and also the high street has been useless, the pride of the once close-knit community can provide way to pessimism and disenchantment. There is an ingrained bias in government towards large-scale infrastructure projects, but interventions that aim to restore dilapidated town centres or support local initiatives might be far more socially and economically beneficial than many policy-makers appreciate.”