Supporting local economic growth

Successive governments have tried to address regional economic disparities and raise productivity through a range of interventions, such as the £12 billion government committed to the Local Growth Fund between 2015-16 and 2020-21. In the 2020 Spending Review, and 2021 Budget, government reiterated its intention to “level up opportunity across all regions of the UK” … Show more

Successive governments have tried to address regional economic disparities and raise productivity through a range of interventions, such as the £12 billion government committed to the Local Growth Fund between 2015-16 and 2020-21. In the 2020 Spending Review, and 2021 Budget, government reiterated its intention to “level up opportunity across all regions of the UK” through a series of measures for supporting local economic growth. These include the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (which will replace EU funding for economic development), the creation of eight new Freeports in England, and the continuation of the Towns Fund. The government has also announced its ambition to “build back better” from the COVID-19 pandemic, and create growth throughout the UK, with no region left behind. The Committee will question senior officials at DLUHC, HM Treasury, BEIS and DfT on what government has learned and applied from previous local growth programmes . It will examine: whether government understands what has been effective in supporting local economic growth; whether current plans for supporting local economic recovery apply lessons learned from previous programmes; and whether government is putting in place effective plans for monitoring, overseeing and evaluating its new local growth interventions. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by Wednesday 23 February 2022 18:00. Show less