Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he will take to prioritise investment for communities with areas of severe deprivation.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The United Kingdom is one of the greatest countries in the world, but not everyone shares in its success. Pockets of deprivation exist and the Government’s central task is to level up the UK by spreading opportunity more equally across the country, addressing inequality and deprivation in those areas that have been left behind.
The Government’s Levelling Up Fund, of which we expect to launch a second round in spring, has focused on areas most in need of economic recovery, particularly where there is lower productivity, higher unemployment and a higher proportion of people without formal qualifications. Alongside the White Paper, we also set out how communities will be empowered through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will invest in local priorities in places in need to help build pride in place and increase life chances.
The Levelling Up White Paper has also built on this: the missions and measures on schools and communities it announced, including Education Investment Areas and major investment in youth provision, will target areas of highest need, while the missions and actions to make neighbourhoods safer and ensure decent homes, including in the private rented sector, will address key barriers which contribute to and entrench deprivation.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government's Levelling Up White Paper, what assessment his Department has made of the need to tackle poverty as part of that strategy.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The United Kingdom is one of the greatest countries in the world, but not everyone shares in its success. Pockets of inequality and deprivation exist, with differentials both within and between regions. The Government’s central task is to level up the UK by spreading opportunity more equally across the country, addressing inequality and deprivation in those areas that have been left behind.
The Government’s levelling up missions will spread economic opportunity through investment in R&D, skills, connectivity and business finance. The missions and measures on schools and communities announced in the White Paper, including Education Investment Areas and major investment in youth provision, will target areas of highest need, while the missions and actions to make neighbourhoods safer and ensure decent homes, including in the private rented sector, will address key barriers which contribute to and entrench poverty.