ADD2560 GLA grant funding of the Levelling Up programme

1.1. Levelling Up and Greater London is a programme of work that the Centre for London will undertake on behalf of various London stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Following on from the publication of the Government’s white paper in February 2022, the focus of the work will be to respond to the white paper, demonstrating London’s own challenges and the role that London can play in assisting the national economy. More information about the proposal is set out in Appendix 1.

1.2. This decision form request approval for expenditure of £15,000 of grant funding in 2021/2022 to Centre for London towards the delivery of a major strategic review of the Government’s Levelling Up programme.

2.1. The main outcomes that the Centre for London hopes to achieve through this work include a new narrative on why London’ success matters to the rest of the country and a more persuasive argument for the levelling up needs within the capital. It is hard to quantify the impact if this approach ‘succeeds’, but even modest achievements could yield millions more in pounds of grant and other types of funding coming to London as well as a clearer sense and more widespread understanding of the levelling up challenges that need to be tackled within the city.

3.1. The review will be looking at various aspects of the inequalities that exist in the city, highlighting those in the context of the measures of ‘levelling up’ that the Government has started to outline in the white paper.

Key risks and issues

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1. The Levelling Up agenda affects many of the Mayor’s strategies and priorities, including but not limited to the London Plan and Economic Development, Transport, Environment and Culture strategies, the Recovery Programme, the adult education budget and affordable housing programme.

Consultations and impact assessments

4.2. A range of London stakeholders, including from the business, policy and research communities, alongside representatives from the voluntary and community sector, and Londoners will be engaged in the levelling up work, including at the London conference which is expected to be held in November 2022. The work will include arranging seminars and other forms of engagement.

4.3. The Centre for London’s chief executive, Nick Bowes, was previously the GLA’s Mayoral Director of Policy. The GLA is confident this does not present a conflict of interest. Nick Bowes has had no direct involvement in agreeing the terms of the grant agreement including the detailed proposal and the amount of grant. This proposal is part of a long-term working relationship between the GLA and the Centre for London and relates to a Government policy – Levelling Up – that is of undoubted strategic importance to London and the GLA.

5.1 Approval is sought for the GLA to contribute £15,000 to Centre for London (CfL) for delivery of a major strategic review of the Government’s Levelling Up programme that is to be undertaken by the Centre for London (CfL).

5.2 This contribution is expected to be paid to CfL by March 2022 and will be funded from the 2021-22 City Intelligence Assistant Director’s budget held within the City Intelligence Unit that is part of Strategy & Communications Directorate.

• Appendix 1: Centre for London, Levelling Up and Greater London, Sponsorship Proposal