The UK government has unveiled its Levelling Up strategy, which aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport.
Every part of England will have access to ‘London-style’ powers and a mayor if they want it, according to the Levelling Up strategy. The plans will bring all existing initiatives together into 12 ‘national missions’ and set up a system for measuring progress.
Among the 12 missions are promises to increase pay, employment and productivity in all areas of the UK, with each one containing a ‘globally competitive city’.
The Levelling Up strategy also pledges to raise public investment in research and development outside the south-east of England by 40%.
Matthew Fell, Chief Policy Director at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: ‘The Levelling Up White Paper is a serious assessment of the regional inequalities which have hamstrung the UK’s economic potential for generations.
‘It offers a blueprint for how government can be rewired and an encouraging basis for how the private sector can bring the investment and innovation to start overcoming those deep-rooted challenges, and power long term prosperity for every community, wherever they live.’