London’s councils call for share of £2.6bn levelling up fund
London’s councils are calling for a slice of the £2.6bn fund earmarked for the government’s levelling up agenda to also be given to the capital in Rishi Sunak’s spring economic statement tomorrow.
London Councils, an association representing all 32 of the capital’s councils, has urged Sunak to ensure that London receives from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) “at least the same amount as under previous EU funding”.
The £2.6bn fund is in effect a replacement for the £2bn that was given to the UK by the EU each year pre-Brexit for regional development.
The UKSPF – which the government says will be used to “reduce inequalities between communities” – will be allocated as a part of Sunak’s mini-budget.
London Councils said London’s disproportionately high unemployment rate, 5 per cent compared to the national figure of 3.9 per cent, shows there are deep seated economic inequalities in the capital.
Nesil Caliskan, Enfield councillor and London Councils’ executive member for skills and employment, said: “London is a city of staggering inequalities. As well as growing cost-of-living pressures on low-income Londoners, we’re suffering from some of the highest unemployment rates in the country – especially among young people.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “UK-wide funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – worth over £2.6 billion – will ramp up to at least match receipts from EU structural funds, which on average reached around £1.5 billion per year.
“Alongside commitments to support regional finance funds across the UK via the British Business Bank, this exceeds the UK Government’s commitment to matching EU structural fund receipts for each nation.”