Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Levelling-up Fund: Benefits to Scotland

Wednesday 2 February 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Eight projects in Scotland have received more than 170 million from the first round of the levelling-up fund.
  • Round 2 of the levelling-up fund is due to open in spring of the same year.
  • Engagement with Scottish local authorities is ongoing to ensure the levelling-up exercise benefits the whole of the United Kingdom.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Suzanne Webb
Economy Scotland
Context

The MP is assessing the economic impact of the Levelling Up Fund on Scotland.

Question

What assessment has been made of the potential economic benefits to Scotland of the Levelling Up Fund?

Answer from Alister Jack

Eight projects in Scotland have received a share of more than £170 million from round 1 of the levelling-up fund. Those projects will create new jobs, boost training, grow productivity and deliver tremendous economic benefit to Scotland.

Answered
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Q2 Suzanne Webb
Economy Scotland Local Government
Context

The MP is seeking an update on the progress towards the second round of the Levelling Up Fund, particularly for Scotland.

Question

With all the news on the levelling-up White Paper today, will my right hon. Friend update the House on progress towards the fund's second round? There will be as many bidders in Scotland as there will be in my constituency, where we are keen to move forward with a bid to regenerate Lye.

Answer from Alister Jack

Unsuccessful applicants who have passed the gateway stage will be offered feedback to support future bids. They will also be encouraged to reapply. Round 2 of the levelling-up fund is due to open in spring this year, and more information will be shared in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Unsuccessful applicants' feedback and encouragement for reapplication without providing concrete timeline or details about Scotland-specific progress

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Q3 Alex Davies-Jones Lab Pontypridd
Scotland Wales
Context

The MP is concerned about the Government's record on spending for devolved nations, particularly regarding the replacement of EU funds and the impact on Wales.

Question

I feel for the Secretary of State having to come to the Dispatch Box to defend his Government's appalling record on spending for the devolved nations. Their broken promises on fully replacing EU funds look to set Wales back more than £1 billion over the next few years. Will he confirm exactly how the Government plan on plugging that gap? The shared prosperity fund will see all the devolved nations lose out on vital funding and is simply not good enough.

Answer from Alister Jack

To be absolutely clear, regarding funding to the devolved Administrations, the first comment I would make to the hon. Lady is that the settlement for Scotland this year of £41.6 billion is an increase of £4 billion and is the highest settlement that the Scottish Government have received since 1998, so since devolution began. Regarding the UK shared prosperity fund, the European regional development fund and the European social fund are absolutely being replaced with no reduction whatever, as per our manifesto commitment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Details on how to plug the funding gap for Wales without providing concrete specifics

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Q4 David Duguid Con
Scotland Local Government
Context

The MP is seeking information about the engagement between UK Departments and the Scottish Government, particularly concerning local authorities in Scotland.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend inform the House of what engagement he has had—or other UK Departments have had—with the Scottish Government and, in particular, with local authorities in Scotland to ensure that levelling up is truly a levelling-up exercise across the whole of the United Kingdom?

Answer from Alister Jack

As my hon. Friend knows from when he was in the Scotland Office with me, we have had a lot of engagement with Scottish local authorities. We have been very clear that we will deliver the levelling-up money and work with those local authorities to practice real devolution.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific details on the nature or extent of the engagement

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