Levelling Up News: 5 February
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NEWS OF THE WEEK
The Government published the Skills White Paper. It includes proposals to bring employers and colleges together to develop Local Skills Improvement Plans and an offer for all adults to achieve a Level 3 qualification under the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. (gov.uk)
The Government has published its new State Aid regime, following the UK’s departure from the EU. The proposals create a bespoke subsidy regime that will allow local areas and devolved governments to tailor their incentives for business according to local need. (gov.uk)
Onward’s Director, Will Tanner, was quoted in the Telegraph on how to level up the tax system: “Council tax is actively working against levelling up: as a share of disposable income, Londoners pay half as much in council tax as households in the North East.” (Telegraph)
Plans were approved for a new major logistics hub in Farrington, Lancashire. The project is set to add 1,000 new jobs and produce £67m in economic output each year. (BusinessLive)
VIEW OF THE WEEK
Nick Fletcher MP
Everyone by now knows that 'Levelling Up' and 'Build Back Better' are straplines of this new and ambitious Conservative Government. In my eyes, this Government is still a 'new' one even after 13 months, because it only had three months to focus on its manifesto commitments before it had to face up to the worst health and financial crisis for a hundred years.
Unfortunately, I believe that we are slightly behind in these two areas, although that is not the fault of the Government. Even during the pandemic, neither myself nor my northern colleagues have stopped asking questions and lobbying the Government to keep to its election promises. Due to this sustained effort and the answers I have received from ministers, I remain confident that we can achieve lasting change in the North.
When I ask members of the public and other MPs, it is apparent that when they initially think of 'levelling up', they believe this solely involves spending vast amounts of taxpayers' money in the North. I am not afraid to admit that I once thought the same. I still believe that infrastructure projects can genuinely transform my borough, which is why since becoming the MP for Don Valley I have campaigned for a new hospital, a rail link to Doncaster Sheffield Airport and improved flood defences.
These projects will create jobs and lots of them. They will also put a spotlight on Doncaster, and when you shine a light on a place, people look. When people look and like what they see, they invest too.
So is that it? By investing lots of money and building back better, could we consider ‘levelling up’ complete? I am not so sure for two reasons.
Firstly, due to the pandemic, the Government has spent money which it never intended to. While I have been assured that the levelling up agenda is still very much at the forefront of the Government's plan, the purse strings have inevitably been tightened a little. Secondly, and more importantly, whenever I pressed a little deeper with my constituents and peers, it became apparent that people were more concerned with the feeling of being ‘left behind’.
They are right. In the previous century, the North was the country's industrial heartland, a hive of business. While wages and standards were lower than now, people were busy, needed and valued. Following the closure of the mills, mines and factories, automation and the digital revolution left the North behind.
This has not continued everywhere in the North, as some places have done extremely well. The AMRC in Sheffield is a world-leading research centre with more than 120 Industrial partners; including Rolls Royce, Boeing and McLaren to name just a few. Turning around the North's prospects is possible. We just need more ambition but not just in the cities.
It was wonderful that Leeds became one of the financial capitals of the UK following the introduction of broadband, but again this did not bring investment to towns like Edlington and Thorne in Doncaster. However, it is proof that if you invest in the North, its people will rise to the challenge.
So what is levelling up? It's an awakening of the North's people. With a little help from the Treasury, a renewed 'can do' attitude, and political leadership from a new intake of forward-looking, inspiring Conservative leaders, the sky's the limit.
I'm ready for this challenge, are you?
MAP OF THE WEEK
Proportion of properties in Council Tax Band A
STATS OF THE WEEK
A study from Finland shows that vocational education boosts income over the long term. (VoxEU)
Students who enrolled on the vocational track had earnings 6% higher in their mid-thirties than those students who just missed out on admission and instead pursued general education.
For those with a preference for vocational education, failing to gain admission reduced employment by around 20% in their mid-thirties.
Also, pursuing vocation education did not increase the likelihood of working in jobs at risk from automation or offshoring.
ABOUT US
The Taskforce is made up of more than 60 (and growing!) Conservative MPs from constituencies right across the country.
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