Levelling-up Fund 2022-10-17
2022-10-17
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the delay in announcing the successful bids under levelling-up fund round 2.
I am concerned that round 1 of the levelling-up fund has seen a total £1.7 billion awarded to 85 lead applicants across 105 bids from the UK, and my Department has awarded £1.24 billion with £187 million paid out to date. I ask what his planned timetable is for (a) announcing successful bids under levelling-up fund round 2 and (b) disbursing that funding.
We expect to announce the outcome of round 2 by the end of this year, with funding decisions based on the framework set out in our levelling-up fund guidance.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide a specific timeline for disbursing funds after announcing them
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP seeks maximum co-operation between the UK Government and Inverclyde Council to ensure successful levelling-up funding bid.
Inverclyde has a very strong bid in, but we need maximum co-operation between this UK Government and my Inverclyde Council to ensure that we can line up all the ducks at our end and therefore get a maximum return on the investment. I heard the Minister saying that this would be announced at the end of the year, but last week I was being told that it would be at the end of November, so things seem to be slipping there, which concerns me.
I will deliver it by the end of the year. However, I cannot give him the money directly.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not specify the exact amount of funding Inverclyde would receive
Response accuracy
Q3
Direct Answer
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The MP wants to confirm that levelling up is based on need rather than geography.
I welcome my right hon. Friend's answer, but can he confirm that levelling up is about need and not about geography, because while Essex as a whole may be seen as prosperous, there are pockets of deprivation that would greatly benefit from levelling-up funding?
Levelling up is all about pockets of need wherever they occur in this country. It is vital to get the message out across the House that levelling up is a Union-wide concept with benefits for every corner of the country.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is advocating for the Dover Beacon bid project and seeks a decision confirmation.
Dover District Council has developed the exciting Dover Beacon bid project, which would deliver £90 million-worth of economic benefit to the town and up to 60 skilled jobs. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is an excellent proposal from Dover District Council, and can he confirm when a decision will be made?
My hon. Friend is a fantastic advocate for Dover on so many issues, but I cannot comment on the merits of specific bids while we are evaluating them.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not confirm if the project is an excellent proposal or provide decision timeline
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP seeks a meeting with the Minister to discuss his £20 million levelling up bid.
Eastwood is famous for two things: D. H. Lawrence and a whole list of lazy Labour MPs who have not brought one penny of investment into the forgotten town of Nottinghamshire. We have just put in a £20 million levelling-up bid, which will help the most deprived town in Nottinghamshire. Will my right hon. Friend please meet me to discuss my ideas to make sure that we get this money in the bank as soon as possible?
I am always happy to talk about issues affecting places such as Eastwood, but I cannot comment on specific bids while they are being evaluated.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not confirm if a meeting will be held or provide evaluation timeline for the bid
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the delay in announcing round 2 of the levelling-up funding.
Please could I remind the right hon. Gentleman that levelling-up funding was a pivotal part of this Government's general election manifesto in 2019? Could I also remind him that round 2 of the levelling-up funding was expected by now, and we are now in mid-October. When might my constituents see an answer on round 2 so they can fund the Cullompton relief road?
My colleagues and I were elected in 2019, and we will bring forward our answers on round 2 by the end of this year.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide a specific timeline for when funding would be disbursed after announcement
Response accuracy
Q7
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP is concerned about the loss in funding for large parts of the country under the shared prosperity fund.
How can the Minister claim to be levelling up when his Government have presided over a net loss in funding for large parts of the country, such as the north-west, which will lose out by £206 million under the shared prosperity fund?
I can defend our record on levelling up. There is a £4.8 billion levelling-up fund transforming opportunities across this country.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address the net loss in funding for large parts of the country or provide justification
Response accuracy
Q8
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP seeks the Minister's conclusions on the disparity between rhetoric and reality regarding SNP MPs wanting benefits from the levelling-up fund.
When the Secretary of State launched the levelling-up fund, it was denounced by the Scottish nationalist Government in Holyrood as a “power grab.” Now, of course, SNP MPs and SNP councils are only too eager to apply to benefit from the levelling-up fund. What conclusions does my right hon. Friend draw from the vast divergence between the rhetoric of Nicola Sturgeon and the reality of SNP MPs wanting all the financial benefits of being in the United Kingdom?
My right hon. Friend is a fantastic champion of not only levelling up but also the Union as well, particularly highlighting the strength it offers to communities across Scotland.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not provide any specific conclusions on the disparity between rhetoric and reality regarding SNP MPs
Response accuracy
Q9
Partial Answer
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The project for closing the level crossing at Pencoed costs over £20 million and is a major transport project in Wales.
We were told that major transport projects would be secured as part of the Government's commitment to levelling up. There is no bigger major transport project in Wales than closing the level crossing at Pencoed in my Ogmore constituency, which opens up the gateway down to Swansea and Pembrokeshire. The project costs in excess of £20 million. If the Secretary of State wants to commit to the people of Wales, he should fund the level crossing closure, improve the area around Pencoed and ensure my constituency gets the money it was promised.
The hon. Gentleman makes a passionate case for this project, which obviously needs to be considered in the round, including by my colleagues in the Department for Transport. We have certainly heard him today. There is no doubt that accelerating infrastructure that unlocks growth is a key priority for this Government.
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Assessment & feedback
Funding commitment and specific timeline not addressed
Response accuracy
Q10
Partial Answer
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Context
Concern in rural parts of Shropshire and the semi-rural borough of Telford and Wrekin about potential overlooking by the Government.
Although I support the Government's levelling-up agenda and funding, there is concern in rural parts of Shropshire and the semi-rural borough of Telford and Wrekin that some areas of the west midlands are perhaps being overlooked. Can the Secretary of State reassure my constituents that the bids from Telford and Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council for electric buses and the regeneration of Wellington will not be overlooked in the second round?
I can certainly give my right hon. Friend that assurance. Not least thanks to his efforts, there will never be any chance of his part of the world being ignored.
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Assessment & feedback
No specifics on funding or timeline provided
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Q11
Partial Answer
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The Government have been paying for positive coverage in local newspapers, which has led to the Advertising Standards Authority banning these ads.
The Government's levelling-up plans have made so little impact that they have had to resort to paying local newspapers to carry positive stories. That is right: they are paying for positive coverage. These ads breach Advertising Standards Authority rules and have subsequently been banned. This is a risible episode. Will the Secretary of State come clean that the only conclusion to be drawn is that levelling up is a sham?
I am afraid I will neither do that nor accept the premise. With regard to these seven adverts, we have apologised. They all bore the HMG logo very clearly and were marked as advertorials. We accept the ASA's decision, but we fundamentally believe it was appropriate for us to try to spread the message that levelling up has applicability across this country and is doing real good.
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Assessment & feedback
Rejected question premise entirely without addressing effectiveness of plans
Response accuracy
Q12
Partial Answer
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Context
Local authorities have received £431 per head in funding but only £31 per head from the levelling-up fund. Concern about downgrading bids due to economic issues.
I am grateful for that answer, but the reality is that the Government have taken £431 per head in funding from local authorities. Now, through the programme that the Secretary of State trumpets, they will be handing back just £31 per head from the levelling-up fund. Even the winners lose. Those who have been promised money are now concerned that Downing Street's economic crisis and soaring inflation will mean their bids are no longer affordable. Will the Secretary of State commit that no bid either submitted or approved will have to be downgraded to accommodate the mess the Government have made of the economy?
The hon. Gentleman has to understand the situation we are in with regard to inflation. It is absolutely the case that, owing to the consequences of Putin's war, prices are rising—[Interruption.] I will accept many things at the Government's door, but I will not accept inflation as a consequence of Putin's war. There is a clear read through to the costs of many issues, and this affects economies across the west. Neither central Government nor local government can expect to buck inflation, or to accommodate the cost of inflation in our settlements. There is therefore a mechanism within the levelling-up fund to allow bids to be resized for inflation.
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Assessment & feedback
No commitment on downgrading bids
Putin'S War
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Q13
Partial Answer
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Context
Child poverty rates in Scotland, particularly in the questioner's constituency at 25%, are high and expected to increase.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) has raised his concerns about levelling-up funds reaching his constituency, but if levelling up is to mean anything, it should ultimately be about reducing child poverty. In Scotland, the Scottish Government are doing what they can to deal with child poverty, but in my constituency it stands at a shocking 25%, and that figure is set to increase thanks to the decisions made by the UK Government. So will the Secretary of State explain what reduction in these shocking levels of child poverty he believes will be achieved as a result of the levelling-up agenda?
The levelling-up agenda is broad and wide, but it does not take account of the levers that sit with the hon. Lady's parent Government in Holyrood. Whether on welfare, drugs or education, so many of the things that will make a difference to children's lives sit within the responsibility of the Scottish Government. They need to work those levers.
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Assessment & feedback
Shifting blame to the Scottish Government without addressing child poverty reduction
Response accuracy