Levelling Up white paper: response from ADEPT
Mark Kemp, 1st Vice President of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport's (ADEPT) has commented on the Levelling Up white paper.
He said: "ADEPT has been calling on government to act across many of these areas to develop quality places, so we are pleased to see many of our asks have been recognised, including for our high streets and town centres. We also welcome the emphasis on local skills and the recognition of health inequalities and look forward to further details.
“ADEPT is pleased to see greater recognition given to the essential role of local government in achieving national aims. It is something we have long asked for. We are also pleased to see it recognised that as local place leaders, we are best able to respond to local need and we welcome the opportunity to access the resources, funding and powers needed to achieve real change for our communities. Simplified funding streams, with less of the competitive bidding that has long been a bugbear for local councils, will help us achieve our goals.
"The emphasis on funding for housing outside of the south east shouldn’t come at the expense of much needed social housing throughout the country and we hope that this will be addressed by government. Minimum standards for private rented accommodation are essential but we would have preferred to see a concrete commitment to investment in social housing and not just home ownership.
“The 12 missions recognise how true levelling up will require a cross-sector cross-government approach, cutting across departmental silos which, alongside strong local leadership, is something ADEPT has frequently raised with government. We are disappointed that the missions don’t appear to include protecting and improving the natural environment, and levelling up access to it for disadvantaged groups. With much detail, funding and resource yet to be announced, we welcome the government’s ambition but wait to see the detail”.