Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Levelling-up Fund

Wednesday 12 October 2022 · 3 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government invested 172 million in Scotland from the first round of the levelling-up fund.
  • Monitoring and evaluation strategy for the levelling-up fund was published in March.
  • Local authorities in Scotland are engaging with the UK Government on levelling-up projects.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Caroline Ansell Con
Scotland
Context

The MP is seeking details on the impact of levelling-up funds allocated to Scotland, which is a part of the broader programme aimed at reducing regional disparities.

Question

What recent assessment have the Government made of the effect of the levelling-up fund in Scotland?

Answer from Alister Jack

We have invested £172 million in Scotland in round 1 of the levelling-up fund, which is around 10% of the total UK funding. In March, we published a monitoring and evaluation strategy for the levelling-up fund. Further updates on the strategy will be published in due course, and results of round 2 will be announced later this year.

Answered
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Q2 Caroline Ansell Con
Economy Local Government
Context

The MP is interested in how the levelling-up fund has been used to support tourism and visitor economies, especially after noting an example of investment in Eastbourne.

Question

In my beautiful constituency of Eastbourne, we are busy working to ensure that £20 million of Government levelling-up funding is energising and growing the visitor economy. My question is: how is the levelling-up fund doing the same in Scotland to ensure that all parts of the United Kingdom can capitalise on and consolidate the staycation market?

Answer from Alister Jack

Levelling-up measures are all about delivering local priorities and pride in place, which go hand in hand towards creating a sustainable tourist economy. The £150 million community ownership fund is allowing us to put cultural and heritage assets back in the hands of local people across the whole United Kingdom.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific details on how levelling-up funds are directly supporting tourism in Scotland's staycation market.

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Q3 Pete Wishart SNP Perth and Kinross-shire
Economy Scotland
Context

The MP is questioning the government's advice to the Scottish Government regarding potential tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals, suggesting it could negatively impact levelling-up projects in Scotland.

Question

What would the impact have been on levelling-up projects if the Scottish Government had followed the advice of the Scottish Conservatives to give these unfunded and catastrophic tax cuts to the wealthiest in our society? Will the Secretary of State now apologise to the Scottish Government for insisting that they follow this disastrous and reckless course of action?

Answer from Alister Jack

The hon. Member is conflating two issues. The reality is that the levelling-up funds, of which there are £200 million in the current round, are being well received across Scotland. That is real devolution in practice. All local authorities are engaging with the UK Government—and guess what? They are enthusiastic when it comes to applying for money to help local projects.

Not addressed: The answer does not address the specific impact of tax cuts on levelling-up projects or apologize for any advice given.

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