Reducing regional disparities is a longstanding challenge. Levelling up is the latest iteration in terminology used in the UK to describe the moral, social and economic programme needed to address it. So, what does it take for levelling up to be achieved?
CIPFA’s report on Investing in Regional Equality: Four English Examples, produced with the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) at the University of Birmingham, identifies 10 factors in addressing spatial inequalities in Dudley, Enfield, South Yorkshire and Tees Valley. Nine were highlighted in previous work on four international city-regions, and were evident in England, too. The 10th – transferable learning and knowledge exchange – emerged from the English experience.
Skills
Colleges in the West Midlands are a strong example of partnership working, despite competition for students. In 2017, 17 colleges formed the Colleges West Midlands partnership to respond to opportunities provided by devolution of the adult skills budget to the West Midlands Combined Authority. This partnership is shaping a shared vision for skills in the region.
Yet partnership working in other policy domains can be stymied by the way funding flows operate. Experiences in Dudley and the Black Country show how providing devolution funding to combined authorities while targeting levelling-up funding at local authorities can create tensions and undermine joint working efforts to create a holistic plan.
But Dudley Council has worked well with partners, particularly anchor institutions, on bold and creative schemes, using land transactions and an insurance-backed procurement model to collaboratively develop capital projects.
Dudley College is a key player in the local economy, supporting around 12,000 learners studying A-Levels, T-Levels, apprenticeships and university-level courses. The college has a strong reputation for academic excellence, and is one of the country’s largest apprenticeship providers. It has played a key role in driving city-centre redevelopment and responding to employer needs. The college has invested £60m in the Dudley Learning Quarter, catalysing the regeneration of Dudley centre. But, since 2022, colleges have been reclassified by the Office for National Statistics as central government entities, and associated changes to borrowing rules have severely restricted the ability of Dudley College to access funding for regeneration in the same way as it could in the past.
Legacy assets
In terms of creating a clear strategy and vision, stakeholders in Dudley have taken a creative approach to repurposing legacy assets. This is exemplified by the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre, operated by the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation, using a decommissioned rail track to pilot the construction of a very light rail system. Dudley council collaborated with other partners to repurpose the site, which now offers a range of facilities, including a test site, engineering laboratories and meeting and event spaces.
Having insights into positive ways forward is valuable. Yet there is only so much that local areas can do with the levers they have, making multi-level collaboration and partnership working vital. But short-term and insufficient funding is a specific challenge. Funding needs to be simpler and more flexible – a single-pot model would offer this.
Levelling Up
Success factors
- Shared political will and partnerships
- Clear strategy and vision
- Investing for the long term
- Local knowledge
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Adapting national frameworks to meet local needs
- Diversification
- Key players
- Adequate and responsive funding
- Transferable learning and knowledge exchange
