Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Levelling-up Bids: North Somerset

23 June 2021 · 2 other contributors · 4,446 words

Opened by John Penrose Con Weston-Super-Mare

Responding minister: Luke Hall

EconomyHousingLocal Government

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

John Penrose raised concerns about levelling-up bids: north somerset in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • John Penrose is concerned about North Somerset Council being designated as a priority 2 area for levelling-up funds despite higher levels of deprivation in Weston-super-Mare compared to neighbouring priority 1 areas.
  • Penrose asks the Minister to consider more detailed deprivation scores when evaluating levelling-up bids to ensure that areas with genuine need receive appropriate support.
  • The Minister highlights the levelling-up fund's aim to regenerate town centres, improve transport, and support cultural assets in areas like Weston-super-Mare.

Key requests to Government

Penrose asks the Minister to give strong weighting to more granular and detailed deprivation scores when assessing the bids, ensuring that genuine need is properly accounted for and not disallowed due to administrative postcode averages.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

John Penrose Con Weston-Super-Mare

John Penrose is concerned about the designation of North Somerset Council as a priority 2 area for levelling-up and community renewal funds, despite his constituency being more in need. He notes that Weston-super-Mare has higher proportions of people claiming benefits, lower healthy life expectancy, and worse average travel time to employment compared to neighbouring priority 1 areas, even though it does not qualify as a priority 1 area due to postcode averages. Two wards within his constituency have indices of multiple deprivation scores ranking them in the top 3-4% nationally.

Other contributors (2)
  • Liam Fox Con Wyre Forest

    Liam Fox supports the case made by John Penrose for Weston-super-Mare, highlighting the issue of data sensitivity in poverty representation. He notes that while his own constituency is more affluent, it does not qualify for levelling-up funds and has limited chances with community renewal funds. The unemployment rate in Weston-super-Mare is twice as high as in neighbouring areas and tourists favour Weston over other towns, underscoring the importance of improving services there.

  • Steve McCabe Lab Birmingham Selly Oak

    I remind hon. Members to clean their spaces before and after use, and to wear masks as recommended by Mr Speaker.

Government Response

Luke Hall

It is a pleasure to serve under the chairmanship for the first time. I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and speak about levelling up as a crucial part of the Government's agenda, aiming to unlock economic prosperity across all parts of the UK through bold policy interventions. The levelling-up fund aims to invest in communities like Weston-super-Mare by regenerating town centres, improving transport and supporting cultural assets. North Somerset has submitted its bid last week focusing on regeneration, town centre improvements, cultural assets and transport improvements; I thank them for their bids and note that the deadline for bids was last Friday. The bids will be assessed against criteria set out in the prospectus with an emphasis on tackling deprivation in Weston-super-Mare as noted by my hon. Friend's bid. We consider the Indices of Multiple Deprivation but find it does not represent a one-size-fits-all approach to measuring economic need, hence productivity is also key. The UK community renewal fund and other investment streams like the getting building fund are highlighted for their contributions. North Somerset has benefited from over £73 million in business support and £1.7 million in town centre investment under the getting building fund. Weston-super-Mare can anticipate the reopening of Portishead rail line after 50 years, alongside other major investments including state-of-the-art training centres at Weston College and support for the Food Works innovation centre.

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