← Back to House of Commons Debates
Levelling-up Fund Round 2
19 January 2023
Lead MP
Lucy Frazer
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
EconomyForeign AffairsStandards & EthicsLocal Government
Other Contributors: 38
At a Glance
Lucy Frazer raised concerns about levelling-up fund round 2 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Lucy Frazer apologised for the initial communication of the announcement and detailed the Government's commitment to levelling up as part of their economic growth strategy. She outlined the second wave of funding from the levelling-up fund, allocating £2.1 billion across 111 bids that aim to stimulate local economies and regenerate underinvested areas. The minister highlighted the transparency in the selection process, where each bid is evaluated against published criteria, ensuring a fair spread of investment across the UK with consideration for geographic diversity and past investments. She also noted that nearly £4 billion has been allocated over two rounds of funding, benefiting more than 200 bids from various communities nationwide.
Alex Norris
Lab Co-op
Nottingham North
Question
The shadow raised serious questions about the Government's levelling-up strategy, questioning its fairness and effectiveness. He highlighted discrepancies in funding distribution, lack of allocation for several major cities, and criticised the overall approach as wasteful and inadequate.
Minister reply
Lucy Frazer clarified that Yorkshire and Humber received more per capita than London and the South-East across two rounds. She emphasised significant investment in the North via Metro Mayors and other funding pots. The minister defended successful bids in Prime Minister’s constituency by highlighting support for the infantry base there, and noted Labour constituencies also benefited from levelling-up funds.
Question
Inquiring about post-rejection dialogue between unsuccessful bidders and departmental officials to explore alternative funding avenues.
Minister reply
Lucy Frazer confirmed that feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants, helping them prepare for the next round. She acknowledged the disappointment in some areas but stressed £2 billion-worth of bids were successful.
Question
Suggesting Scotland's share is disproportionately low and questioning whether distribution criteria are needs-based or politically motivated, referencing disparity between affluent and economically challenged constituencies.
Minister reply
Lucy Frazer countered by stating that Scotland received £349 million across both rounds. She also highlighted that 45% of funding has been allocated to areas held by opposition parties.
Harriett Baldwin
Con
West Worcestershire
Question
Expressing satisfaction with Malvern Theatres receiving nearly £20 million and encouraging unsuccessful bidders to improve their bids for future rounds.
Minister reply
Lucy Frazer praised the cultural importance highlighted by Harriet Baldwin, expressing pleasure in levelling up opportunities across the West Midlands.
Clive Betts
Lab
Sheffield South East
Question
Why do we not stop the pretence that this has anything whatever to do with levelling up? Councils have to spend a lot of time bidding for one of about 300 pots of money. There is no real strategy at all and no joining up between the different bids. They look more like photo opportunities so that Ministers can go around the country announcing the successful results.
Minister reply
I am very sorry that the hon. Gentleman has not been successful. There is, of course, a round 3. There is co-ordinated action across Government to ensure that we support and level up.
Question
While I cannot hide my disappointment about today’s announcement with regard to Swindon, it is right to say that we have benefited to the tune of approximately £100 million from previous announcements. Will my right hon. and learned Friend work closely with me and Swindon Borough Council to ensure that we are able to be successful in round 3?
Minister reply
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend. I am sure it will be possible to discuss how Swindon can continue to grow. His area has indeed been successful in previous rounds.
Nadia Whittome
Lab
Nottingham East
Question
If we rank the 317 districts in England, Nottingham is the 11th most deprived. Despite our clear need, not one of our three levelling-up bids was successful, yet the Prime Minister’s own very wealthy constituency was awarded £19 million. When will the Government end this ridiculous charade of favouritism and truly level up places such as Nottingham by restoring the billions in funding that Conservative Governments have cut since 2010?
Minister reply
I am sorry the hon. Lady was not successful, but the area as a whole has been successful. As I mentioned, areas outside London and the south-east have received more per capita.
Question
Dover is a priority 1 area and we were unsuccessful in the first round. We engaged with officials who enabled us to put in a different, successful bid for £18 million for our new creative and digital hub. I would be grateful if my right hon. and learned Friend could encourage everyone who has been unsuccessful to take that guidance and keep going.
Minister reply
I am very grateful for my hon. Friend’s good advice, because those who were unsuccessful in round 1 have been successful in round 2.
Richard Burgon
Lab
Leeds East
Question
This has been another kick in the teeth for the people of Leeds from this Conservative Government. After cuts totalling £2 billion to Leeds City Council’s funding since 2010, a bid to redevelop Fearnville sports centre in my constituency has been rejected yet again. All six bids from Leeds were rejected. There are zero pounds for Leeds.
Minister reply
As someone who grew up in Leeds, I think it is a great area. It has had significant regeneration over the years, which I have seen at first hand.
Question
I warmly welcome the funding that has been secured for transport projects in Staffordshire, including in Cannock, which will support the regeneration of Cannock town centre. May I invite my right hon. and learned Friend to Cannock to show her what our plans are and how this is going to make a real difference to my constituents?
Minister reply
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her successful bid, and of course I would be happy to visit to see progressive work in action.
Chris Elmore
Lab
Bridgend
Question
My levelling-up bid for a closure and redevelopment in Pencoed was rejected despite Department for Transport Ministers saying that this was the only way in which the level crossing issues could be resolved, and despite the Welsh Secretary and the Transport Secretary announcing increased services on this line.
Minister reply
I wish to clarify that the bidding process was transparent and clear. It will be published, as was done for round 1.
Question
I thank the Minister for her statement today and for her notification to me last night.
Minister reply
The Department is keen to ensure that those areas that have not received round 1 or round 2 funding understand why that was the case and how they can improve their prospects in the future.
Alistair Carmichael
Lib Dem
Orkney and Shetland
Question
Whatever concerns there may be about the process as a whole, I can only welcome in the warmest possible terms the announcement of funding for the new Fair Isle ferry. Will she assure me that if Orkney Islands Council now comes back for a second time of asking with its also very worthy project, it will be given the same help and support?
Minister reply
I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s comments because they show that not only is funding being spread across the country and across parties.
Question
Dudley was the birthplace of the industrial revolution, so industry, heavy industry and manufacturing have been the story of Dudley over many decades. For the very same reasons, however, for many decades, it has also been one of the areas of the country with low investment.
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for those points.
Emma Lewell
Lab
South Shields
Question
In her letter rejecting our bid, the Under-Secretary of State said that she knew how much time and effort were spent on our ambitions for South Shields town centre. With respect, she doesn’t. It is an absolute insult.
Minister reply
I am sorry that the hon. Member has been unsuccessful.
Question
Blackpool’s successful bid for £40 million from the fund will deliver a new multiversity skills complex, which will help to deliver skills for the jobs of the future.
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for his campaigning work to improve the area of Blackpool.
Hilary Benn
Lab
Leeds South
Question
There is bitter disappointment that the Holbeck bid—one of the most deprived parts of Leeds, which is the 18th most deprived in the country—has received nothing. Huge efforts were put into the bids and hopes raised, only to be dashed when they were unsuccessful. The MP asks if it's time to devolve money to local areas so that they can determine their own priorities.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the disappointment and points out that of £8 billion in funding, only £2.1 billion could be allocated this round. She emphasises the Government's efforts in devolving powers to Mayors across the country and confirms a continual review of how to further devolve power.
Question
Stroud District Council worked hard on its levelling-up fund bid but was unsuccessful. The MP wants assurance that she can meet with Government officials to improve the application and involve local enterprise partnerships.
Minister reply
The Minister confirms willingness to work with Stroud District Council to ensure a successful bid in future rounds.
Judith Cummins
Lab
Bradford South
Question
Does the Minister believe that Bradford, identified as the UK’s No. 1 levelling-up opportunity, will think this outcome is fair when none of its bids were successful in this round?
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the importance of the area and mentions that £8 billion was available but only £2.1 billion could be allocated. She assures there are further funds and a third round planned.
Robbie Moore
Con
Keighley and Ilkley
Question
Disappointed about Keighley's unsuccessful bid for additional levelling-up fund money, the MP asks if the Minister will meet him to discuss this and ask officials to write to Bradford Council explaining how to enhance their bids.
Minister reply
The Minister agrees to provide more feedback on areas that need improvement in order to secure funding.
Question
Critics the distribution as benefiting Tory-voting areas, noting only £177 million for Scotland and no funds for Coatbridge or Glasgow. The MP accuses this of being pork-barrel politics.
Minister reply
The Minister asserts significant funding going to Scotland and highlights specific projects such as developing cultural assets in Aberdeenshire’s coastal towns.
Question
Acknowledging strategic investments in Wolverhampton, the MP asks for a guarantee that the Department will work with her and the city council to refine any unsuccessful bids for future success.
Minister reply
The Minister confirms willingness to provide assistance. She mentions significant Government funds already allocated to Wolverhampton, including £25 million from the towns deal.
Luke Pollard
Lab Co-op
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Question
Critiques the rejection of Stonehouse’s bid despite it being in the bottom 0.2% economically, questioning how levelling up can occur when other areas are richer.
Minister reply
The Minister notes previous funding allocations to the area and expresses understanding but reiterates plans for a third round.
Question
Disappointed with Gedling’s unsuccessful bid, the MP requests a meeting to review history of its funding bids to better understand where things went wrong.
Minister reply
The Minister agrees to meet and review the history of previous funding bids.
Question
Asks what the Minister has to say about Billingham’s unsuccessful bid given successful rich areas, questioning motives behind allocation decisions.
Minister reply
The Minister counters that 45% of funding went to Opposition areas and notes recent £16 million future high streets fund awarded to his area.
Question
Disappointed with Doncaster’s unsuccessful round 2 bid for Edlington, the MP asks for a meeting to start another campaign for funding in the next tranche.
Minister reply
The Minister agrees to meet and encourages persistence.
Andrew Gwynne
Ind
Gorton and Denton
Question
Critiques repeated rejections of bids from Reddish and Denton, suggesting wasted efforts on further bids.
Minister reply
The Minister notes that unsuccessful round 1 bidders were successful in round 2 after feedback. She emphasises the over-subscription of funds.
Rachel Hopkins
Lab
Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Question
Highlights cuts to council budgets under this Government since 2010, impacting children’s centres, bus routes, and social care. The MP questions the sincerity of additional funding.
Minister reply
The Minister counters with details on recent additional social care funding and cost-of-living support announced by her right hon. Friend.
Andrew Western
Lab
Stretford and Urmston
Question
As someone who, until earlier this month, was a local authority leader and the place-based regeneration lead for Greater Manchester, I know better than most just how much time and resource local authorities up and down the country have invested in this process. What assessment has the Minister made of the costs incurred by local authorities in doing so, and does she agree that they would do better spending that money on frontline services? Does she agree that this process should be scrapped in favour of allocating levelling-up funding based on need?
Minister reply
I do not believe the UKSPF funding was allocated like that. Greater Manchester got £98 million. Of course it is important that the areas that need it are assessed, which is the basis on which we assessed the £2 billion-worth of funding we announced this morning.
Barnsley South
Question
Barnsley East has been rejected for funding again, yet the Prime Minister’s wealthy constituency received funding in both rounds. Will the Minister stop pretending that levelling-up funding is about helping areas that need it most and accept that there are serious questions to answer about how and where it is allocated?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady should look at the technical note, which will be published in due course, to see how the assessments were made.
Diana R. Johnson
Lab
Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham
Question
I thank the Minister and her Department for writing to me at 11.30 pm last night, an hour after the information was released to the press, to tell me that Hull City Council’s transport bid had been rejected. The bid was about Hull being the third most congested city in the country, with people waiting, on average, 73 hours a year in traffic jams. Hull has poor air quality and worse traffic than Bangkok and São Paulo. Will she admit for once that, having rejected Hull for the towns fund, the Government have absolutely no interest in levelling up Hull?
Minister reply
The Government are very interested in levelling up Hull. There were more than 500 bids, more than we had in the first round, asking for £8 billion to be spent. Unfortunately, we did not have those funds, so only £2 billion could be allocated.
Alex Sobel
Lab Co-op
Leeds Central and Headingley
Question
I woke up this morning to the news that the “Rishi Riches” of Richmond have received funding for a second time—having their mouths stuffed with gold. The right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak) flew into my constituency in a private jet and drove in a limousine past cold council houses and past the Minister’s former school site, which is now dilapidated. The six bids from the people of Leeds got no money. In the third round, the money should be devolved to the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin. The people of Leeds have heard the Government loud and clear, and in the next general election they will be consigning the Government to the dustbin of history.
Minister reply
As I mentioned earlier, we are regenerating Catterick, the area of Richmond where the infantry are based. It is important that the people who serve our country are looked after. Ukrainian troops were also based in the area while they were training.
Mary Glindon
Lab
Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
Question
The unsuccessful bids of North Shields and Wallsend were capped at 80% by the Government, who deemed our area not to be a priority, yet the Prime Minister’s leafy constituency and many marginal Tory seats were deemed a priority. Will the Government urgently commit to a review of the levelling-up fund’s allocation criteria to ensure that money goes to areas where it is really needed, such as North Tyneside?
Minister reply
As I mentioned, the criteria will be published in due course. Forty-five per cent. of the funding has been allocated to Opposition areas.
Question
Further to your point at the start of proceedings, Mr Speaker, I am led to believe that Conservative list MSPs were also told well before the MPs who sponsored the project applications. Some of the most deprived areas of the country are in my constituency, which also missed out on its green freeport bid, which went to the much wealthier east. The fraudulently titled levelling-up fund is meant to replace EU funding previously allocated to deprived areas. How is it possible that areas of multiple deprivation missed out while the Prime Minister’s constituency, one of the wealthiest in the UK, nabbed £19 million, and while £45 million went to help fix the mess of the roads in Dover caused by the Government’s kamikaze Brexit? Is the Minister not utterly ashamed at some of these announcements? If not, why not?
Minister reply
Well, I hope the hon. Gentleman is very pleased with his very successful first-round bid of £38 million for improvements related to the advanced manufacturing innovation district Scotland.
Richard Foord
Lib Dem
Honiton and Sidmouth
Question
The promise of levelling-up funding rings hollow in many areas. The Government’s decision to overlook local projects in Axminster and Seaton in Devon, where I live, and also in Gloucestershire and Shropshire reminds people in these counties that they continue to be taken for granted. I know that Army personnel at Catterick garrison in the Prime Minister’s constituency would prefer to have homes fit for heroes rather than funding for a new glass pavilion in that town. What assurances can the Minister give the House that the Government’s method for assessing rural bids was objective?
Minister reply
It is very important that we level up in Devon. We absolutely do not take it for granted. I know that the hon. Gentleman’s constituency recently received funding for a new school in Tiverton and that East Devon secured £15 million through this fund.
Question
I am happy for all colleagues who were successful in round 2. I was disappointed to see that the bid to remediate Shawfield in my constituency was unsuccessful. The team at Clyde Gateway delivering the project have worked incredibly hard and have a proven track record. Can the Minister confirm how detailed the feedback will be for unsuccessful bids so that it can inform potential future bids from constituencies and give them the best chance of success in round 3?
Minister reply
Feedback will be provided. If the hon. Member has further questions in relation to that feedback, she can raise them, and they will be answered.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
I thank the Minister for her time. I am expressly thankful for the levelling-up funding received in the last tranche, but I am concerned that Northern Ireland is not receiving its share in this round. Can the Minister outline what has been allocated to Northern Ireland and, particularly, to my constituency of Strangford, which is in desperate need of levelling-up funding for shovel-ready projects such as the Whitespots environmental scheme, which is ready to go and will create jobs and be a real boost for the Northern Ireland economy?
Minister reply
This was a fund that covered the UK. Northern Ireland got £71 million in this round, which totals £120 million over the two funds together. I am very pleased that the Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union has previously received £5 million.
Shadow Comment
Alex Norris
Shadow Comment
Alex Norris criticised the Government's levelling-up fund as a failure, noting inadequate allocation in certain regions and cities. He pointed out that while £15 billion was cut from local government budgets over a decade, today’s announcement only returns £2.1 billion. The shadow argued that even successful bids would not recover what they lost, highlighting the lack of substantial improvement for economically challenged communities like Stonehouse in Plymouth. Norris also questioned the fairness and transparency behind the allocation decisions and proposed sustained investment targeting actual need rather than competitive bidding.
▸
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy
About House of Commons Debates
House of Commons debates take place in the main chamber of the House of Commons. These debates cover a wide range of topics including government policy, legislation, and current affairs. MPs from all parties can participate, question ministers, and hold the government accountable for its decisions.