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Topic for February 2022 - Levelling Up White Paper
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On this occasion the plan is to discuss the recently published Levelling Up White Paper with a view to responding to it. The actual White Paper is at Levelling Up the United Kingdom - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) but is 332 pages, even the separate Executive Summary is 17 pages. Our agenda below gives an indication of the 5 Pillars and 12 Missions incorporated in it.
The proposed discussion agenda is:
- What are our overall views of the levelling-Up White Paper? Is it over-ambitious or not ambitious enough?
- What do we think of the first pillar and each of the 12 underlying missions for 2030?
Pillar 1. The UK Government is setting clear and ambitious medium‑term missions to provide consistency and clarity over levelling up policy objectives.
The missions are rolling decade-long endeavours and will be reviewed periodically by the UK Government. 2030 appears to be the target date for most.- Pay and Productivity
- R&D
- Transport
- Digital Connectivity
- Education
- Skills
- Health
- Well-being
- Pride in place
- Housing
- Crime
- Local leadership
- How practical are these to implement? Are there significant dependencies to achieving success? Are there things that could blow the plan off course?
- Are there any omissions? Are there changes we would make?
- What negative consequences, or unintended consequences could there be?
- What do we think of the other 4 pillars and the huge change of approach they entail?
Pillar 2. Central government decision‑making will be fundamentally reoriented to align policies with the levelling up agenda and hardwire spatial considerations across Whitehall.
Pillar 3. The UK Government will empower decision‑makers in local areas by providing leaders and businesses with the tools they need.
Pillar 4. The UK Government will transform its approach to data and evaluation to improve local decision-making.
Pillar 5. The UK Government will create a new regime to oversee its levelling up missions, establishing a statutory duty to publish an annual report analysing progress and a new external Levelling Up Advisory Council.
Over time, these five pillars acting in combination will improve the information and incentives facing decision-makers locally and nationally, and strengthen the institutions driving local transformation. And it is those shifts in the system of governance and government across the UK that will anchor success in meeting the medium-term levelling up missions.
This post was edited by # Probably42 at February 13, 2022 12:55 PM GMT -
The discussion output is now available at Levelling Up - A Response to the White Paper and has already been turned into a Considered Proposal.
As a result we have also produced a shorter version of 'Feedback and Recommendations on the White Paper' and sent this to Government.