Some £576 million of ‘levelling up’ funding has been ‘lost’ due to spiralling inflation, figures have revealed.
Labour ’s Lisa Nandy accused the Tories of a “catalogue of failure”, which had left the party’s promises “in tatters.”
Inflation is reducing the real-terms value of cash awarded to communities and projects by funds under Boris Johnson ’s flagship policy - meaning it’s worth hundreds of millions less than when it was awarded.
These funds finance projects such as new leisure centres, town centre regeneration, new social and business spaces, and road repairs.
It comes after Levelling Up minister Dehenna Davison announced she was standing down after just three years as an MP.
Just 5% of levelling up funding has been spent so far, with the second round of announcements behind schedule due to months of political turmoil.
Ms Nandy said: “Almost three years since the Conservatives were elected to ‘level up’ the UK, they have utterly failed to deliver and their promises to our communities are in tatters.
“We have a Prime Minister who boasted about moving money away from deprived areas, too weak to stand up to his own backbenchers when they block the government’s flagship levelling up legislation. Vital projects are delayed and now many face being downsized or scrapped because Tory MPs voted against their own promises.”
She added: “This catalogue of failure exposes that the Tory approach to Levelling Up is simply not working. Pots of money handed out from Whitehall with strings attached, while not disturbing the model of trying to power the economy using just a handful of people in one small corner of the country, is not going to cut it. We must be far more ambitious.
“That’s why Labour has laid out plans to invest in every part of the UK and give real power and resources back to communities, supporting every part of our country to make its full contribution. Our only route out of this crisis is to back all people and all places and get Britain’s economy firing on all cylinders.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “The government remains firmly committed to all levelling up projects and is working closely with councils to ensure they can be delivered.
“At the Autumn Statement, the government announced at least £1.7 billion for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund, which will be allocated before the end of the year.”
