Rishi Sunak grilled by Robert Peston on ‘levelling up’

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Levelling up, a cornerstone of the Conservative Party’s 2019 General Election pledges — is intended to improve opportunities across all parts of the country, particularly those perceived to have been forgotten or left behind in recent years. Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that: “On a wide variety of measures, regional disparities in the UK are greater than in most comparable countries.”

In an attempt to honour this pledge, Michael Gove published a 332-page white paper titled Levelling Up the United Kingdom, outlining Government plans to address the issue.

The strategy is designed to take effect by 2030, and aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport. 

Alongside the white paper, the Office for National Statistics published an analysis of 25 indicators used to measure the ‘levelled up’ status of different parts of the UK. 

The barometers used include success in schools, smoking rates, childhood and adult obesity, employment levels, broadband speed and overall happiness.

Overall, the 10 regions which scored the highest are Richmond upon Thames, Runnymede, Woking, Buckinghamshire, Elmbridge, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hart, Basingstoke and Deane, Bromley and Wandsworth. 

Middlesbrough, Blackpool and Rochdale rank lowest, largely because of poor pupil achievement and low healthy life expectancy — Men in Blackpool enjoy just 54 years of healthy life.

The Government’s aim is to close the gap between the neglected northern regions and the likes of Richmond, Runnymede and Woking. 

Looking at Richmond’s statistics, it’s not hard to see why. 

The median salary is £36,400 a year and it has some of the best education in the country: nearly 95 percent of five-year-olds are at the expected level in communication.

Men enjoy 71 years of healthy life, the most in the country, thanks to low smoking and obesity rates.

Reducing wealth inequality and improving connectivity is a crucial part of the Government’s levelling-up strategy.

On Wednesday, Michael Gove called the UK an “unparalleled success story” but likened it to a jet firing on only one engine. 

He said: “As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that levelling-up was “the defining mission” of his Government.

He said: “It is a vision for the future that will see public spending on R&D increased in every part of the country; transport connectivity improving; faster broadband in every community; life expectancies rising; violent crime falling; schools improving; and private sector investment being unleashed.”

However, responses to the details of the paper have been mixed, with many saying the concrete plans are not robust enough. 

Some have accused Mr Gove of not including any concrete plans, while others have welcomed it as a good start to the issues faced, though most agree it doesn’t go far enough. 

A cornerstone of Mr Gove’s white paper is the plan to create more regional mayors. 

Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region’s mayor, voiced support for the plan, but said the strategy still didn’t go far enough to close the gap between rich and poor. 

He said: “I think most people would rather have more decision-making at a local level rather than Whitehall mandarins from Westminster deciding what’s in the best interests of their areas.”

He said there was “latent potential” in areas that had “endured the deep cuts of Tory austerity”.

He added: “If we were really genuine about levelling up, the strategy would be about addressing regional inequalities such as health conditions, life expectancy, educational attainment, skills levels, job opportunities and certainly transport connectivity. That’s not what this paper does.”

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On education, the white paper promises that, by 2030, “illiteracy and innumeracy in primary school leavers [will be] effectively eliminated.”

But industry members have voiced concern that the plans are insufficient, particularly when it comes to timescale: the white paper sets out eight years for the plans, while pandemic-era children will need immediate support. 

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Sharon Davies, CEO of the education charity Young Enterprise, said: “The levelling up report unveiled by Michael Gove…is a welcomed step in the right direction.”

But she said there was “still much more that can be done to improve key educational services.”

She added: “It is crucial that the Government also takes proactive steps in the short term to address the notable inequalities in educational opportunities and attainment in different regions of the UK.”

Ms Davies added that “social mobility” was the key to levelling up education across the nation.

She noted: “This means making applied learning part of the curriculum, supporting those most vulnerable with the practical skills they need to enter and succeed in the workforce and working within local communities, which in turn will boost the region’s infrastructure.

“Ensuring that members of the future workforce are ‘workplace ready’ as school leavers will make sure that regions of the UK truly ‘level up’.”

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the Government’s plans were a “blueprint for putting skills, schools and families at the heart of levelling up”.

He added: “It focuses on putting great schools in every part of the country, training that sets you up for success in a high-skilled, well-paid career and ensuring no one misses out on opportunities simply because of where they live or their family background.”

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