Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote local economic growth in (a) West Sussex and (b) England.

We are promoting local economic growth in West Sussex through:

• Over £16 million from the Getting Building Fund via the Coast to Capital LEP.
• Awarding the Coast to Capital LEP with £292 million over six years through the Local Growth Fund to drive regional development.
• Selecting Crawley as one of 101 places to develop a Town Deal with Government.

Across England, the Government is supporting local partners to deliver local economic growth through:

• A new £4 billion Levelling Up Fund for England. This will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery, with £600 million available in 2021/22.
• Providing £220 million additional UK funding to help local areas prepare over 2021/22 for introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches.
• 101 prospective Town Deals across England as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund to level up towns and regions across England.
• Allocating £1 billion of the Towns Fund to support the Future High Streets Fund competition, which aims to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that drives growth and ensures future sustainability.
• Delivering a minimum of 10 Freeports. Successful bidders will be announced in Spring 2021 and the first Freeports will be designated in late 2021.