“To be successful and sustainable, levelling up must reflect local needs and circumstances - it can't be something that is 'done to people', with decisions over investment and priorities made by Whitehall, or indeed the town hall, and simply imposed on communities."
It was an honour to introduce the latest report of the APPG for Left Behind Neighbourhoods in Parliament today.
The report is clear, to be successful and sustainable, levelling up must:
🆙 Be led by local people – the experts best placed to know what needs to be done to improve local outcomes
🆙 Reflect local needs and circumstances – not follow a national template
🆙 Entrust decision-making – including funding – to communities, not Whitehall or the town hall
🆙 Invest long-term in communities – to build capacity, social infrastructure, opportunity and resilience.
