The Government is being urged to step up for the North by a leading Cumbrian business body.
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce said Whitehall must come up with a coherent long-term plan for the North, with measurable goals, if it is serious about its levelling up agenda.
Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said: “There is no one ‘magic button’ to deliver levelling up for the North of England. It’s quite clear that action is required across a broad front.”
The chamber’s call comes after it attended the Parliamentary launch of the Plan for the North, a report by Prof Steve Fothergill and Prof Tony Gore, of Sheffield Hallam University, which said there was a lack of investment coming into the region.
The chamber said the following needs to happen for a true ‘levelling up’:
- Devolved powers as well as added investment from the Government as part of a coherent long-term plan
- A locally adapted strategy for each county and unitary authority area including Cumbria and across all northern areas.
- A substantial diversion of government R&D spending to the North. There needs to be more emphasis on practical support for product development and the improvement of production processes across the wide range of industries that make up the bulk of the regional economy.
- Action across a broad front. Investment in rail infrastructure is critical, and alongside needs to be used alongside road, bus services and active travel to improve connectivity particularly within the North itself.
- A requirement for more investment in a much wider range of local improvements.
- More of a focus on less prosperous places, for example full fibre broadband across the whole of the North. Towns and smaller communities in Cumbria such as Alston or Millom should not be left behind, as has so often been the case with digital connectivity.
- Long-term, reliable and genuinely transformative spending, either through existing or new initiatives;
- Support for business, education, skills and public services from the government is vital.
- Less of a reliance on competitive bidding for existing government funding, where northern areas are fighting against others in the South of England, the devolved nations and others.
Mrs Caldwell added: “Last week’s discussion, and the document itself, highlight some glaring problems and serious window dressing by the Government in recent years rather than real positive changes for both businesses and wider communities alike.
“In reality, the Government’s proposed Shared Prosperity Fund is worth almost exactly what the UK received from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund.
“The Levelling Up Fund is not new money but a successor to the Local Growth Fund which similarly allocated competitive bidding between 2014 and 2020.
“Yet the Levelling Up Fund is worth £0.5bn less over a lifetime so represents a reduction in spending to its predecessor.”
More than key representatives, including the chamber’s business engagement manager Luke Jarmyn, alongside MPs, council leaders, mayors, peers, academics and business figures from across the region were brought together to discuss the new research last week.
At the launch event, hosted by Dan Jarvis, South Yorkshire mayor and Barnsley Central MP, Prof Fothergill said: “There is no silver bullet or magical decision, to deliver the levelling up that’s really needed includes devolution.
“Devolution is an important part of the process so key decisions can be made here rather than in Whitehall but it is only a part of it. We’ve seen regional policy making as long ago as before World War Two so it’s nothing new.”
Mrs Caldwell added: “Levelling up does need a long-term commitment as it isn’t easy and the North’s prosperity has lagged behind for decades, largely beyond the control of key stakeholders in the North.
“Businesses and communities need to know that the government is focused on them through providing much needed investment. Crucially we’re hampered in attracting new businesses and entrepreneurs to Cumbria without public transport seeing consistent investment.
“What we’re targeting, like other interested parties, is the much awaited Levelling Up White Paper and the Spending Review later this year where we will get a clearer picture of the Government’s priorities.”
