Bradford MPs condemn Levelling Up plan as 'providing district nothing'

Secretary of State Michael Gove revealed the long-awaited proposals, which he said will “end historic injustice and call time on the postcode lottery”.

The Levelling Up programme comprises of a dozen “missions” aiming to boost jobs, infrastructure, investment, education and training, life expectancy, connectivity, wellbeing, civic pride and housing, while cutting crime and closing the gap between the most successful and poorest performing areas.

However, Labour slammed the announcement, with shadow secretary of state Lisa Nandy labelling the 300-page document “a shopping list of recycled policies and fiddled the figures”.

She said “good jobs, decent wages, genuinely affordable housing and action to deal with the unfolding cost of living crisis” are needed to “allow people to have money in their pockets and high streets to thrive”.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove. Pic: PA

Speaking in the debate, Bradford West MP Naz Shah said the district has been “given crumbs” and has been “failed time and time again with Northern Powerhouse Rail and nothing in this statement”.

Mr Gove said he will work with Ms Shah, Mayor Tracy Brabin and Bradford Council on the district’s issues.

So, what does the document contain for the Bradford district? Well, it is a mix of old funding packages already announced, and some new ones.

The new one is an Education Investment Area for Bradford, with the Government saying it will “drive further school improvement in these areas through funding to intervene in underperforming schools, supporting growth of strong trusts, and retaining high quality teachers” with the delivery of extra cash.

Dixons Academies Trust is singled out in the document, praised for the outcomes it achieves for students in disadvantaged areas.

An extra £251 million is also promised for Yorkshire schools, working out at an extra 5.8p in every pound spent per pupil.

Another goal of the plan is to increase life expectancy by five years by 2035 and narrow the gap between areas.

Imran Hussain heavily criticised the Levelling Up plans

Also included in the plans are aims to improve the connectivity of the country, aiming to get total 4G coverage and most communities covered by 5G by 2030.

A number of the announcements in the plans, however, are regurgitated, funding allocations or decisions announced weeks and months ago.

Levelling Up Fund money for a £20m wellbeing and enterprise centre was announced last October, while Towns Fund cash, £25m for Shipley and £33m for Keighley, was confirmed last summer.

A Community Renewal Fund for West Yorkshire - including the Building our Future project and Buck Wood Community Woodland in Bradford - was announced in November, as was the £225,000 Community Ownership Fund for the Jubilee Centre.

Bradford is also getting £2m from the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme which began in 2020.

The White Paper also includes £830m spread over five years for sustainable public transport in West Yorkshire announced last year and to develop a mess-transit system, along with £317m of Transforming Cities Fund for West Yorkshire, also announced last year.

It also includes Local Growth Deals worth £1.3 billion for Yorkshire - a project that began in 2014, and says that the annual £30m gainshare investment in the Leeds City Region will continue.

A key tranche of the levelling up mission is giving combined authority areas devolution deals to put power and decision making into the places where they are made; West Yorkshire’s devolution deal was signed into law over a year ago and we have had a Mayor - Tracy Brabin - for several months.

Naz Shah said: “Today’s offer provides nothing for Bradford; some support for schools is welcome, but we cannot neglect why are in this situation in the first place.

“Over the last 12 years we have seen huge cuts to education; Bradford schools had a £51.9M shortfall in 2021-22, which is a loss of £620 per pupil.

“We are trying to fix a crisis the Conservatives have themselves created.”

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East, added: “This White Paper exposes the levelling up mantra for the lie it is.

“The proposals don’t provide any new money for the north, and far from investing in our communities, will see spending remain below 2010 levels.

“Our economy needs a fundamental rebalancing in favour of working people and their families, not crumbs off the table that fail to touch the sides of the crises facing our communities.”

Shipley's Conservative MP Philip Davies was contacted for comment, but we received no response.