‘Levelling up’ could create ‘legacy of white elephants’

Government plans to ‘level up’ the economy could create a ‘legacy of white elephants’ unless local communities have a say, a group of MPs have warned.

A report by the public affairs and constitutional affairs select committee said if the government is serious about its levelling up agenda, it should consider how it takes into account local needs when determining infrastructure projects.

The report adds that it is clear ‘that locally-led infrastructure investment can – in some instances —respond better to local needs and contexts’.

But the report warns there are concerns about local capability and short-term funding mechanisms.

At present, it says the overall aims of ministerial plans for a significant boost in infrastructure spending ‘remain ill-defined’.

It adds the Government must clarify what it means by ‘levelling up’ and set out a coherent plan for co-ordinated infrastructure investment that will deliver defined long-term benefits at a local and national level.

And it says greater detail must also be provided on the data that will be used to assess performance, including how this will be recorded and published.

‘Developing grand infrastructure projects must not become an end in itself and we must move away from the short-term view that measures the value of major projects in terms of whether they are finished on time and at the expected cost,’ said committee chair, William Wragg.

‘As the nation embarks on a period of significant infrastructure spending we must focus on how much they deliver the benefits they set out to achieve and were the basis for being given the go ahead.

‘The government must clarify its overarching aims for this strategy – how infrastructure spending will support economic growth, what “levelling up” means in practice and how they will be achieved.

‘We must also see improvement in how projects are developed at a local level,’ added Mr Wragg.

‘It will be critical not just to get local support for infrastructure projects, but getting local input in identifying problems and developing solutions must be better supported and become a feature of programme development at a much earlier stage.

‘Investing time at the outset to make sure everyone is clear about the aims and proposed benefits, alongside a change in the culture of how major projects are developed and managed, should mean that this transformative change is achievable.’

Photo Credit – Didgeman (Pixabay)