The government’s long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper represents “a missed opportunity” to address the ingrained social and economic regional disparities across the UK, says the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP).
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove announced it would “shift both money and power into the hands of working people.”
However, the SVP said that limited consultation has taken place with groups best able to inform the conversation on regional inequalities. SVP chief executive Elizabeth Palmer welcomed the “ambitious aims” but added: “Without listening to the voices of people who are directly and indirectly affected by regional inequalities the government cannot hope to direct funding where it is most needed.”
The SVP has enormous practical experience, operating nine St Vincent's community support centres and hundreds of local groups.
Since the start of the pandemic, requests for support have increased by 75 per cent for food, 50 per cent for clothing, and 140 per cent for support with paying bills and money advice. This signals a worrying trend in deprived regions, including Liverpool and surrounding areas, Birmingham, Essex, and parts of Yorkshire.
A view from the inside of St Vincent’s Centre in Southend. Pic: Ruth Gledhill.
The SVP said that the majority of funding so far has been spent on infrastructure, but “a robust social infrastructure” is needed too to bind communities together.
The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund is aimed at helping people access opportunity in places in need, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities, and for people in disadvantaged groups across the UK. However, there is a lack of detail about how the fund will be allocated, said the SVP, adding that there is insufficient mention of quality or secure employment.
High streets and deprived areas can only thrive if the people living there have access to good quality jobs, along with fit for purpose education and affordable housing, said the SVP.
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