House of Commons · Westminster Hall
15 March 2023 · 2 other contributors · 3,732 words
Opened by Shaun Bailey Con West Bromwich West
Responding minister: Felicity Buchan
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Shaun Bailey raised concerns about levelling up fund: tipton and wednesbury in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
Shaun Bailey urges the government to ensure that communities like Tipton and Wednesbury do not miss out on levelling-up funding due to bureaucratic failures or political apathy. He requests that applications for funds take into account previous successful bids, such as those from the towns fund, without diminishing the overall impact of the levelling-up bid.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Shaun Bailey is concerned about the persistent economic challenges in Tipton and Wednesbury, including high unemployment rates, lower wages compared to national averages, and educational underperformance. He points out that Sandwell's labour market profile shows higher levels of economic inactivity, while median gross weekly wages are significantly lower than the UK average. The area is also ranked as one of the most deprived upper-tier local authority areas nationally.
She commends Shaun Bailey's work on levelling up and welcomes Government investment in Wolverhampton. She also asks the Minister to consider the remaining levelling-up bid in Wolverhampton North East, which focuses on green innovation and job creation.
The hon. Member supports the motion and highlights the importance of levelling up across all constituencies in the west midlands, praising local councillors and the West Midlands Mayor for securing a devolution deal. We have not touched on the regeneration of brownfield sites. The Minister is asked whether, particularly in the broader west midlands and Black Country, the levelling-up fund's use of regeneration funds for brownfield remediation and regeneration is crucial so that we can protect our green belt and build the precious homes that are needed.
Government Response
Felicity BuchanIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Elliott. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich West on securing this important debate on Tipton, Wednesbury and the levelling-up fund. Local leadership matters: that is what the levelling-up fund, at its core, is all about. Round 2 was exceptionally competitive, with just under £9 billion of bids submitted for £2.1 billion of funding. That meant we had a lot of high-quality shortlisted bids that we were unable to fund, including Sandwell's Tipton town centre regeneration bid. The Government are investing a lot more funding in West Bromwich, specifically in Tipton and Wednesbury. For example, the Black Country region benefited from over £217 million of local growth funding between 2014 and 2021. Today, funding was announced for the £20 million Tipton town centre regeneration project, which will be a huge boost to the town. We recognise the need to improve connectivity in West Bromwich and the wider Black Country, and the £54 million for the reopening of two train stations at Darlaston and Willenhall will do just that. The Government are committed to our levelling-up mission on local leadership, transferring more control and influence over the levers of economic growth and levelling up to local, empowered and accountable leaders, such as our Mayor Andy Street.