The much-heralded white paper on levelling up is long – 332 pages – and rich in detail, if not necessarily in specific policy solutions. Here are the basics of what it contains.
The diagnosis
The UK is very unequal
The first 120-plus pages of the report is a thorough and arguably damning description of how different areas of the UK are often vastly different, by metrics including productivity, pay and health, which are often wider than in many equivalent nations. Some are particularly glaring, for example that men and women in certain areas can expect 12 fewer healthy years of life on average than those in the best-performing.
London dominates – but it’s more complex
It stresses that the UK’s “second tier” cities tend to underperform by international standards. However, it also notes that differences within regions and cities are often bigger than those between regions, and that many of London’s advantages diminish when housing costs are accounted for.
It’s not just about money
The report also highlights very glaring differences in life satisfaction, and that in some cases, better-off places score very low for this.
These differences matter
Geographical disparities have a high “stickiness” in terms of life chances, and a disadvantaged background tends to spell worse prospects, it says. Geographical disparities for life chances can be very big – a child on free school meals in London has over twice the chance of going to university than one outside London, for example.
There are many reasons for this
One is huge differences in private funding – London, the south-east, the east and the north-west have 55% of the UK’s private business but get 86% of investment. But while London and the south-east have the most transport funding and housing wealth, they also face the biggest pressures on both. The UK is also much more centralised than the OECD average.
It’s partly about austerity
The problems set out are very long term, and while the white paper does not say this, it is well known that many disparities have got worse since the Conservative-led spending cuts imposed since 2010.
The benefits
While this is largely speculative, the white paper estimates a successful levelling-up programme could see a permanent GDP rise of £50bn a year, or about 2% of the total.
The suggested solutions
The framework
The section on possible policies is simultaneously very detailed in parts, but underpinned by an almost philosophical framework, based around five “pillars”. These are: a “mission-oriented” approach to policy, with the US moon landings and the Covid vaccines cited as examples; a reorientation of central decision-making; greater local empowerment; more regional data and transparency; and greater overall accountability. It also calls for a long-term approach, saying UK policy in this area in the past has been “characterised by endemic policy churn”.
The specific policy suggestions
Below the five “pillars” sit 12 “missions”, all of which are specific (if at times vaguely phrased) targets to be achieved by 2030. They are:
• Increase pay, employment and productivity across the UK, and reduce regional gaps.
• Domestic public investment in R&D outside south-east to rise by at least 40%.
• London-style public transport connectivity across UK, eg integrated ticketing.
• Nationwide gigabit broadband and 4G, with 5G for “majority” of population.
• Gains in primary-age reading, writing and maths, with smaller regional gaps.
• Big increase numbers for skills training, particularly in the lowest skilled areas.
• Narrowing healthy life expectancy gap, with a UK-wide rise of five years by 2035.
• Overall rise in perceived wellbeing; reduction in disparities.
• Increase in overall “pride in place”, and fewer disparities.
• Rise in overall number of first-time homebuyers.
• Overall fall in many crimes, focused on worst-affected areas.
• Devolution deal for “every part of England that wants one”.
Next steps
The white paper promises “a structured process of visits” by ministers to discuss how levelling up can happen in that area, plus local advisory panels. It also commits to the government publishing an annual report on progress for the targets, and strengthening devolution legislation in England.
Other points
There is not much new money – yet
It is notable that much of what is described has funding reference to earlier spending reviews and the like. To an extent this would be the expectation for a white paper, which are a first stage in the process. However, it does highlight the apparent reluctance of the Treasury to commit new money to what meant to be the government’s headline policy.
Ministers do not want it to be “levelling down”
In his foreword to the white paper, Boris Johnson has these reassuring words for people who live in advantaged areas: “The answer to it lies not in cutting down the tall poppies, or attempting to hobble the areas that are doing well.”
