Landmark 'Levelling Up' White Paper to be published this year

The Government will publish a landmark Levelling Up White Paper later this year, articulating how new policy interventions can improve opportunity and boost livelihoods across the country following the pandemic.

Despite the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, levelling up and ensuring that the whole UK can benefit from the same access to opportunities remains core to the Government’s vision.

The White Paper will focus on challenges including improving living standards, growing the private sector and increasing and spreading opportunity, and will be led by the Prime Minister.

It accompanies work being undertaken to repair the damage done by Covid to public services, with backlogs in hospitals and courts prioritised alongside school catch ups and jobs.

A new No10 – Cabinet Office Unit will be set up to drive through work on the White Paper and the Prime Minister has also appointed Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, as his Levelling Up Adviser.

"Levelling up has been a real passion of mine for many years, and I’m incredibly excited by the Prime Minister’s agenda," said O'Brien. "There has never been a better time to unite and level up the country. It’s absolutely crucial that we bring opportunity to every single part of the UK by making sure our spending, tax, investment and regeneration priorities bring about meaningful change."

Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, welcomed the news, and commented that it added credibility to the Government's ambitions.

"The appointment of O’Brien, a genuine policy expert, has been seen as evidence that the Government is taking this seriously," he said.