Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory duty for combined authorities to form working groups on tackling disadvantage.

Combined Authorities are already doing positive work to tackle all forms of disadvantage in their areas. The Government is committed to empowering local leadership of local issues and is not looking to enforce particular internal ways of working.