My Lords, this group of amendments addresses issues impacting rural and coastal communities across the United Kingdom. Amendment 3, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, considers the reduction of disparities between predominantly urban and predominantly rural areas. Amendment 5, tabled by my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering, puts forward a new mission to a similar effect, reducing the disparities between rural and urban areas in the provision of public services.
The framework set out in this Bill provides ample opportunity to scrutinise the substance of missions against a range of government policies, including levelling up in rural areas and improving people’s access to
green and blue spaces. I can reassure noble Lords that the Government are committed to spreading the benefits of levelling up to rural communities and that spending by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs helps to support the levelling-up agenda.
The Government are already committed to delivering an annual report on rural-proofing, led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and examining how government policy considers rural issues. I hope this reassures noble Lords that such work is going on by this Government. I will say more about rural-proofing in a minute.
I agree with the sentiments of Amendments 11 and 12, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Foster. More granular spatial data is crucial to ensure that policy fully recognises the different characteristics, opportunities and challenges of different places, including between large cities, small towns, and rural and coastal areas. Many people have talked about data. It is important to have the data, both historically and moving forward, in order for us to make the metrics correct for what we are trying to deliver.
I will give a little more information, which is a bit technical—well, it seems technical to me; it may not to noble Lords—on what is happening within government to better identify these geographical disparities. To tackle these data gaps and harness the potential of new data visualisation and experimentation techniques in support of levelling up, the UK Government are putting in place a transformative data analysis strategy at subnational level. The strategy has four elements: first, producing and disseminating more timely, granular and harmonised subnational statistics through the Government Statistical Service’s subnational data strategy; secondly, making granular data publicly available through a number of tools, including a new ONS interactive subnational data explorer; thirdly, harnessing data visualisation techniques and building capacity within the ONS to help decision-makers better understand and compare outcomes; and, lastly, increasing incentives to evaluate, monitor and experiment in levelling-up policies and programmes. From that, I think noble Lords can see that we agree that data is important in delivering what we want to deliver in this levelling-up legislation.
To complement the strategy I have just explained, we are establishing a new spatial data unit to drive forward the data transformation required in central government. The spatial data unit will support the delivery of levelling up by transforming the way the UK Government gather, store and manipulate subnational data so that it underpins transparent and open policy-making and delivery decisions. This will include improving how we collate and report on the UK Government’s spend and outcomes, including building strong capabilities on data visualisation and insights. To me, it is really important that, first, we always know what is being delivered and what we want to deliver and that we have all the metrics to do that.
The spatial data unit will also consider the differences between geographical areas, such as regions, counties, councils, and even down to council wards, according to the needs and objectives of specific missions or policy areas. This will be extremely important, particularly when we are talking about small rural areas.
There was a lot of discussion about transport, an area in which it is important to have the data before decisions are made. As a council leader, I had to make some very difficult decisions about bus services. Some of them were never used, so why keep them? You need the data in order to make sound decisions.
The LURB introduces a series of powers to enable the introduction of the infrastructure levy, which will be able to account for the needs of those living in rural as well as urban areas, helping to support the provision of infrastructure that the areas need most. The Bill also requires local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure through the spending of levy proceeds. They will create a more transparent process, so that local people know how the funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered to support development. The Government have also just announced £3 billion for local bus and cycle links, because we understand that local transport is important to people. We will work with local leaders to ensure that they can use their powers to improve the services in their area, set the fares and make transport far more accessible for their local communities.
Amendment 33, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, would require that annual reporting on the levelling-up missions include an assessment of how each mission has met the principles of the rural-proofing policy. Amendment 36, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, states that reporting on missions must include the Minister’s assessment in relation to rural areas. Amendment 53, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Stevenage, asks for a report assessing whether new legislation should be produced to establish new metrics for rural and coastal communities. Finally, Amendment 488, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, suggests the publication of the assessment of infrastructure levels in coastal and rural communities.
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A key part of the levelling-up White Paper was the recognition that policy needs to be tailored to the needs of different places around the UK. The White Paper trailed the publication of a second annual report on rural proofing, Delivering for Rural England, which was published in September 2022. Taking the levelling-up missions as its framework, the publication set out specific considerations for levelling up in rural areas and how government departments are seeking to address these—through targeted approaches where needed as well as broader measures to strengthen the rural economy, develop rural infrastructure, deliver rural services and ensure good management of the natural environment.
Noble Lords can see from this that it is not just about Defra; it is all of government looking at the effects of those services on rural communities. The report also announced the launch of the £110 million rural England prosperity fund to enable local authorities to provide small capital grants to support rural businesses and community infrastructure. This is replacing funding previously provided by the EU through the LEADER and Growth elements of the England Rural Development Programme, and is a rural top-up to the UK shared prosperity fund.
At its heart, the levelling-up agenda recognises that different places have different opportunities and challenges and need different tools in order to address these. Rather than applying standardised, national or aggregate measures, therefore, the missions are supported by a range of clear metrics used to measure them at the appropriate level of geography. These metrics take account of a wider range of inputs, outputs and outcomes needed to drive progress in the overall mission. They cover a wide range of policy issues, but all are clearly linked to drivers of spatial disparities.
The appropriate unit of comparison will vary depending on the mission or policy area. To help us tailor analysis and policy to the UK’s complex economic geography, timely and robust spatial data has been made a foundational pillar of the new policy regime for levelling up.
I want to reassure noble Lords that we are committed to supporting coastal communities to flourish, strengthening their appeal as places to live, work and visit. Through our coastal communities fund, we supported a huge number of projects in communities across the country, with a total investment of £187 million. We recently published the evaluation, which showed how it stimulated job growth and prosperity in those areas. That aligns with the goals of the mission of the levelling-up White Paper to increase living standards.
Coastal communities continue to receive investment from our funding programmes, including 22 places that are receiving town deals collectively worth £673 million. The levelling-up fund offers investment opportunities for coastal communities to promote regeneration and build vital infrastructure. The £2.6 billion UK shared prosperity fund—of which growing the private sector in localities is a core objective—is being delivered through an allocative process that reaches every part of the UK. Seven out of the eight English freeports are in coastal areas, and the Government have also undertaken deep dives in Blackpool and Grimsby, which have led to tangible improvements and investment in these areas and helped deepen our understanding of the challenges faced by different coastal communities.
In light of these efforts and commitments, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.