Recommendation 28

HM Government Accepted

The Levelling Up White Paper set out our ambition to deliver effective investment and maximise benefits for citizens, businesses and communities in all parts of the UK. This is a goal we know we share with devolved administrations. We noted in the White Paper that we want to work closely with the devolved administrations on their use of devolved levers, as well as local authorities and wider partners to deliver on Levelling Up missions. People across the UK rightly want and expect all levels of governments to work together, dedicating their attention and resources on the issues that matter to them, their families and communities. We are working closely with the devolved administrations on Levelling Up in a number of areas. In January of this year, DLUHC announced two Green Freeports in Scotland (Firth of Forth and Cromarty & Inverness) jointly with the Scottish Government. This has been followed with the announcement in March 2023 of two Freeports in Wales (Celtic and Anglesey) jointly with the Welsh Government. We are committed to extending the benefits of our Freeports programme to Northern Ireland and continue to work with stakeholders from sectors and places across Northern Ireland on how best to do so. The Chancellor has agreed to four Investment Zones across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland with at least one in each. We are committed to delivering the investment zone policy in Scotland and Wales in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments respectively. On 30 June, we identified, jointly with the Scottish Government, Glasgow City and North East of Scotland as the two Regional Economic Partnerships with the most potential to host investment zones in Scotland. We continue to work with the Welsh Government to identify jointly investment zones in Wales. The Scottish and Welsh Government will continue to play an equal role in co-design and overseeing the delivery of Investment Zones in their respective nations. The lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive has, of course, limited the scope and nature of engagement in Northern Ireland on Investment Zones. Officials from Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service continue to work closely together to explore developing the IZ policy in Northern Ireland. In the event of a restoration of the Executive, we anticipate that an Investment Zone could be taken forward rapidly. Specific Levelling Up funds, including the UKSPF, Community Ownership Fund and Levelling Fund, are being delivered by Government using the Financial Assistance Power outlined in s.50 of the UK Internal Market Act 2020. Over the first and second round of Levelling Up Fund, we have provided £349 million of total allocations to Scotland, £330 million to Wales, and £120 million to Northern Ireland, which exceed the public commitments of 9% in Scotland, 5% in Wales and 3% in Northern Ireland. This funding has been delivered to and through local authorities in Scotland and Wales and working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive, in line with our Levelling Up vision of empowering local leaders and communities. The accountability of the Financial Assistance Power enables Government to deliver UK-wide investment to respond to shared opportunities and challenges, while working with devolved administrations and other stakeholders to ensure that funding complements support given by the devolved administrations and delivers the greatest impact for citizens. Many of the initiatives funded through this mechanism are aligned with the policy priorities of the devolved administrations. For example, we have used the Financial Assistance Power to fund aspects of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in Scotland and Wales, delivered jointly with the Scottish and Welsh Governments. While delivering funds through local authorities in Scotland and Wales we have engaged with the devolved administrations at various points of designing and delivering the Levelling Up Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Community Ownership Fund. On the Levelling Up Fund specifically, the Department sought advice from the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive. They were also each invited to input into our assessments of projects in their areas and input views on the shortlist of bids to inform decision making. On the UKSPF, alongside engagement as set out in response to recommendations 23 and 24, DLUHC engaged with the devolved administrations to agree bespoke interventions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. DLUHC has also worked with officials in the Northern Ireland Civil Service to maximise alignment and impact of the fund with Northern Ireland priorities. Alongside this, we have worked with business organisations, higher education, and the voluntary and community sector, through the UKSPF Northern Ireland Partnership Group, to ensure the Investment Plan for Northern Ireland reflects Northern Ireland’s specific needs and opportunities. We are working closely with th