Government’s levelling up agenda ‘does little for Haringey’

The government’s plans to “level up” the UK will do “very little” for Haringey, according to council leader Peray Ahmet.

Cllr Ahmet, who last year urged the prime minister to help level up Tottenham, dismissed the government’s new Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper as “largely a rehash of funding” and called for new investment to tackle rising poverty and inequality.

Published last week, the white paper describes the government’s flagship domestic policy as being “about the success of the whole country: realising the potential of every place and every person across the UK”.

Parts of Haringey are among the most deprived areas of England, according to figures published by the government in 2019. The borough has recently secured £10million of government funding to regenerate Tottenham High Road and £3.9m to build homes on two brownfield sites in Tottenham, both of which are referenced in the white paper.

But the council leader said the policies set out in the document “do very little for the people of our borough who have been hit hard by a decade of government cuts and the economic fallout from the pandemic”.

Cllr Ahmet added: “The facts speak for themselves, and it is alarming that 34% of the population living in Haringey were in poverty in 2020. This is only going to increase with the news that the average household’s yearly energy bill will increase by £693 in April. How is that possibly sustainable for families living in our borough?”

According to recent analysis by The Guardian, of the £4.7billion allocated under government levelling up funds so far, some of the poorest areas of the country – many of which are in London – are receiving less money than wealthier areas.

Hackney is set to receive £0.16 of funding per head, according to the analysis. In comparison, Bromsgrove in Worcestershire will get £148.33 per head.

Haringey Council has raised several concerns with the white paper, warning that it fails to address the need to reduce unemployment and does not adequately focus on raising living standards for the least well-off.

In addition, with the local authority having faced cuts of almost 60% in its government-funded spending power since 2010, it warned that austerity had “significantly weakened the capacity of the council and will limit our ability to deliver local growth and help disadvantaged communities”.

Despite claims that the white paper will benefit all parts of the country, Cllr Ahmet raised concerns over the decision to scrap a funding formula designed to ensure 80% of government funding for housing supply goes to the least affordable areas.

She said: “Instead of the ‘bold new interventions’ promised, what we get is largely a rehash of funding, things we have heard before and housing funds being diverted out of London. If the prime minister is really committed to levelling up, he needs to address the rising poverty and inequalities faced by our residents.

“I’m committed to taking Haringey forwards by listening to our residents and co-producing solutions with them. What we need from the government is additional investment which will enable us to do so much more to support the people who need it the most.”

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 2nd February, secretary of state Michael Gove said levelling up was “not about dampening down the success of London or overlooking the needs of disadvantaged communities in London”.

The white paper focuses on twevle “missions” to level up the UK by 2030, including boosting pay, employment and productivity in all parts of the country; narrowing the gap in healthy life expectancy between the areas where it is highest and lowest; and ensuring 90% of primary school children in England achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described levelling up as “a vision for the future that will see public spending on R&D [research and development] increased in every part of the country; transport connectivity improving; faster broadband in every community; life expectancies rising; violent crime falling; schools improving; and private sector investment being unleashed”.