Title

PLANNING

Clark told levelling up is little more than a 'slogan'

MPs have criticised the Government’s flagship levelling up Bill for a lack of clarity and funding commitments.

MPs have criticised the Government's flagship levelling up Bill for a lack of clarity and funding commitments.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee warned the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill contained little to ensure improvement in key areas such as transport, skills training or digital connectivity.

MPs also warned the Government had ‘yet to commit to the spending that is necessary to level up the country'.

In a letter to levelling up secretary Greg Clark, the committee expressed concern about the Bill's lack of detail on planning amid fears of a move to a more centralised approach to decisions.

The committee called on the Government to provide more clarity on how it was going to deliver 300,000 homes each year.

Committee chair Clive Betts said: ‘In its current form, the Bill does little to reassure that levelling up will prove to be more than just a slogan and that we will have meaningful change in local communities across the country.

'In key areas, it is unclear how the Government intends to drive change.'

Chief executive officer at the Centre for Cities think-tank, Andrew Carter, said progress on levelling up had been 'slow' as he warned economic divisions across the UK were 'widening at an alarming rate'.

PLANNING

How data and community voice are shaping Luton's climate future

By Leonie Taylor | 03 August 2026

Senior researcher Leonie Taylor shares her experiences of The Young Foundation’s work with Luton BC, mapping a fair path to net zero.

PLANNING

Calling for coterminosity

By Stephen Moir | 03 August 2026

Stephen Moir makes the case for taking a more radical approach to place

PLANNING

EXCLUSIVE: Public rebuffed over reorganisation plans

By Paul Marinko | 30 July 2026

Ministers have gone against the public’s preferred reorganisation option in the majority of areas, The MJ can reveal.

PLANNING

A mayor's journey shows why councils are essential partners in government

By Shabnum Mustapha | 30 July 2026

Shabnum Mustapha says Burnham’s mayoral experience highlights councils’ vital role in delivering national priorities.

Popular articles by William Eichler