Yorkshire saw lowest share of levelling up money approved by Government

Yorkshire lost out on more levelling up money than any other region in the UK, new analysis has found.

Data from the latest round of the Levelling Up Fund shows that only 13 per cent of bids and funding was accepted by the Government, the lowest of anywhere in the country.

Yorkshire councils bidded for £940 million across 46 projects, with only £121 million accepted over 6 different bids including the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's constituency.

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London, the South West and the East of England all had a third of their bids accepted.

15th November 2022
Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit 2022
Pictured Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire
Picture Gerard Binks15th November 2022
Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit 2022
Pictured Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire
Picture Gerard Binks
15th November 2022 Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit 2022 Pictured Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire Picture Gerard Binks

Oliver Coppard, the Mayor of South Yorkshire, said last night that he is “sick to the back teeth” of the region being held back by the Government.

“This seems to prove what we’ve always known - levelling-up is a fiction,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

“These figures are just more evidence that far from helping us overcome the differences in incomes, life chances or transport between South Yorkshire and the rest of the country, this government is actually widening the gap.

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“While we get £1.50 for every £10 we bid for, London, the East of England and the South West get £3. It can’t be right that better off parts of our country get literally double the money we do.

“Like most people, I’m sick to the back teeth of us being held back by this zombie government, who claim to be ‘levelling-up’ the country while throwing money at their mates and ignoring the very real needs of our communities.”

Labour analysis also suggested that between £800,000 and £1.2 million was wasted by Yorkshire councils on rejected bids, according to previous estimates of the cost of the competitive bidding process.

Nationally almost £21 million has been spent by councils bidding for investment zones and the second round of the levelling up fund, according to the party.

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Lisa Nandy, Labour’s Shadow Levelling Up Secretary, said: “It takes an extraordinary arrogance to expect us to be grateful for a partial refund on the money they have stripped out of our communities, which has decimated vital local services like childcare, buses and social care.

“It is time to end this Hunger Games-style contest where communities are pitted against one another and Whitehall ministers pick winners and losers.”

It comes after Yorkshire was given half the funding of the South East of England in the second round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, prompting calls that Boris Johnson’s flagship project was no longer delivering its aims.

Henri Murison, Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership said: “It's clear that with some of the places in the North including here in Yorkshire that are the most disadvantaged, like Bradford, receiving nothing this time around, that not only were the sums of money too little to make a significant difference on their own but they have often been sent by Ministers to places less in need.

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“Michael Gove claimed at the Convention of the North that these competitions drive innovation, but in practice all this torrid treatment of the North did was make the case for more control to sit here.”

Zoë Billingham, Director of the IPPR North think-tank, said: “Levelling up funding decisions must be transparent and reflect need to change our country’s fortunes.

“The Government’s current approach is lacking on both fronts. It’s not surprising places that have had bids rejected are left wondering why.”

A government spokesperson said: “The Levelling Up Fund is investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, spreading opportunity to historically overlooked areas.

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“Six projects across Yorkshire and the Humber benefited from a share of £120 million in this round, with a further round announced providing more opportunity to level up places across the UK.

“Two thirds of levelling up funding is going to areas in greatest need and across both rounds, London and the South East have received the least funding of any UK regions per capita.”