Levelling Up Fund claims dismissed

POLITICS: The Government has “no intention” of reviewing how money designed to support struggling areas has been allocated.

Communities Minister Eddie Hughes yesterday brushed off criticisms of the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, after affluent Tory-held seats were given priority over towns such as Barnsley.

THE GOVERNMENT has “no intention” of reviewing how money designed to support struggling areas has been allocated, as a Minister said the success of the levelling up agenda would be judged at the ballot box.

Communities Minister Eddie Hughes yesterday brushed off accusations of politically-driven decisions being made over the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, and he said it “represents a new approach to local investment”.

The Government has faced criticism after areas such as affluent Richmondshire, which contains the Chancellor’s North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond, came above places such as Barnsley in a priority list of locations which need funding.

Mr Hughes said: “Economic differences remain between places across the UK and these economic differences have real implications.

“They affect people’s lives through their pay, their work opportunities, their health and their life chances, tackling them and driving prosperity as part of levelling up the UK remains a priority for this Government.”

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Labour’s MP for Barnsley Central, and South Yorkshire metro mayor, Dan Jarvis, called for the Government to urgently review the situation.

He said: “If the Government’s formula says that the Chancellor’s Richmondshire constituency is in greater need of investment than Barnsley, the Government’s formula is wrong.”

But Mr Hughes said: “We have no intention of reviewing how the money is allocated. The criteria were determined by civil servants. There was no political influence, so we are still comfortable with the basis on which funds are being allocated.”

Pointing to Mr Jarvis’ recent announcement of £860m of investment in South Yorkshire, including £500m borrowed from the Treasury, he added: “I am a keen reader of The Yorkshire Post and I understand that it is (Mr Jarvis’) intention to borrow £500m to spend in the local region, so that area, for one, will not be short of money.”

The Labour MP for Sheffield South East, Clive Betts, urged Mr Hughes to set out criteria for the Government’s levelling up agenda, which is widely accepted to refer to fixing the country’s regional inequalities or the North/ South divide.

He said: “It is one thing to announce lots of policies and lots of money, but another to make sure the policies and the spending are successful. What indicators are going to be used to demonstrate the success of levelling up?

“Are the Government going to set targets so that we can all decide at the end of this Parliament whether those indicators have been achieved?”

But Mr Hughes did not set out specifics and instead suggested that “if we are going to determine the success of these projects, the British electorate will probably do that at the next general election. I look forward to seeing how that turns out”.

The Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake, meanwhile, sought assurances the funding would reach rural as well as urban areas.

He highlighted Ryedale, which he said “may look prosperous from the outside, but whose average earnings are below the regional average”.

He added: “The situation could be reversed if funds were provided to important projects such as the improvement of railway stations in Malton and in Thirsk.”

Mr Hughes said bids would be assessed and based on “deliverability, strategic fit and value for money”.

The criteria were determined by civil servants. Communities Minister Eddie Hughes on how money was allocated.