Since the launch of the Levelling Up White Paper in February, the Trowers & Hamlins team have been undertaking roundtables, seminars and podcasts with those across the public and private sectors to garner their views on the agenda.
These views have been mixed - as has the assessment of the likelihood of success of the ambitions set out in the paper. Advocates and critics however agree on one thing - the concept of Levelling Up is here to stay, even if the agenda itself morphs over time.
In this Levelling Up thematic deep dive, our expert team have undertaken a sector by sector analysis into the ambitions set out in the white paper. With increasing activity across Whitehall on the agenda, the publication sets out a helpful summary of what to expect over the coming months and years.
Redressing the public transport imbalance
The Levelling Up White Paper identifies transport as being a 'current and future driver of geographical disparity' and sets out several key investments which the Government hopes will try to redress the transport imbalance across the UK. The promised funds are eye-catching and include an integrated rail plan, motorway improvements and revolutionising city transport networks.
In this article as we take a deep-dive look at the promises made in the white paper and how transport will give cities, towns and communities the physical connectivity they need to thrive.
Is Levelling Up using LGPS funds just a romantic notion?
In pages 162 and 163 of the levelling Up White Paper, the government recognises the important roles that Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) funds can play in order to unlock the investment needed to support the panacea of infrastructure and housing projects. But is it really aligned with the key investment responsibilities of LGPS administering authorities?
In this article we question whether Levelling Up using LGPS funds is a realistic prospect?
Is big data the key to unlocking the Government's Levelling Up plans?
The Levelling Up White Paper identifies that data can be central to decision-making to achieve the ambitious aims and objectives of the Government. Such reporting could reveal the scale of the levelling up challenge and it is the Government's intention to use data as a benchmark to assess the success of the policy. However, the risk here is that a conclusion could be drawn that the scale is too great; stifling innovation. This article explores this in more depth.
Levelling Up health and well-being
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Levelling Up White Paper has health and life expectancy at the heart of its levelling up ambitions, given the stark visibility of health inequalities during the last two years across the UK. It is difficult to look at levelling up in silo as all of the themes are so closely linked and health is a prominent and reoccurring issue, interwoven throughout the White Paper.
This article looks at the proposals and what challenges may lie ahead.
Local government's central role
Looking at the key areas such as education, wellbeing, transport and housing, the effect of Levelling Up will be palpable on local government decision making as Central Government seeks to draw on the relationships that councils hold with local residents and key stakeholders. This article takes a look at some of the key areas.
Levelling Up and social value
The Levelling Up White Paper sets out the Government's long-term plans to move to a more equal society. In this article we examine these plans and the crucial role that social value will play in helping to achieve this target.
Public sector's role in regeneration
In this article we discuss whether the Government's Levelling Up White Paper is new hope or the same old rope and explore this latest policy in the context of the vital role the public sector already has in delivering regeneration and renewal.
Levelling Up and Net Zero
The Paper defines twelve "missions" that outline the Government's medium-term goals for levelling up the country. It is clear that there is scope and opportunity for these missions to be achieved alongside the Net Zero policies. This article focusses on three of the missions set out in the Paper and their interface with the wider Net Zero target.
