Levelling up must pass these key tests to avoid ‘fallowing up’ jibe – The Yorkshire Post says

Either Ministers are losing interest – the likelihood is this month’s intended publication date will be the latest target to be missed – or they are still unsure of the way forward.

After all, Levelling UP Secretary Michael Gove’s apparent advocacy for county mayors appears to be at odds with previous decisions to veto One Yorkshire because officials feared the election of a Labour candidate.

But what is clear, as the Social Mobility Commission ventures this weekend, is that rival regions will have different priorities when it comes to developing opportunities and attracting investment.

And levelling up can only have a viable future if Ministers are remotely serious about devolving powers, policies and pounds to different parts of the country – a fundamental point that remains subject to much conjecture.

As such, it is imperative that Ministers provides an update on their latest intentions and timescales. They also need to give a far clearer indication on the importance that they attach to education and skills when it comes to levelling up.

This issue is central to the North-South societal divides that Mr Johnson’s government had intended to tackle before Brexit and Covid – two issues that have exacerbated regional inequalities – intervened.

Yet, while Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi lauded an extra £4bn for schools when he briefed MPs this week, it is just a fraction of the £15bn recommended by the PM’s own school recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins last year before he resigned.

How the Government reconciles this contradiction, and many other outstanding issues, will reveal if Ministers can be taken seriously over levelling up – or whether their approach is little more than fallowing up.#

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