Business and political leaders from across the North West have responded to the government's levelling up white paper, with one of its strongest critics branding it "thin gruel".
Michael Gove set out some of the plans outlined in the proposed legislation unveiled by the government.
The strategy will take until 2030 and aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport.
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Mr Gove told MPs the policy paper proposes a "strategy to make the country more equal and shift wealth and power decisively towards working people.
He added: "We need to get this country moving at top speed again. We need faster growth, quicker public services and higher wages."
Read more about what was included in the white paper here.
Responding to the white paper, mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram said: "Despite having the best part of two and half years to define 'levelling up', this document is severely lacking in fresh ideas and, crucially, new funding to help make anything happen.
"If 'levelling up' was supposed to be the Prime Minister’s defining mission then I am sorry to say that it is going to be Mission Impossible with this thin gruel on offer.
"Although there were a few encouraging elements, it is largely a rehashing of things we have already heard before. On the whole, though, it reads like a recipe cooked up during Veganuary – something severely lacking in meat.
"It is clear that devolution is here to stay and, I hope, grow and expand across all our regions – otherwise we risk exacerbating problems between areas with a two-tier approach.
"We have shown time and again that real levelling up is delivered by local leaders who understand our communities and can act more quickly than the Whitehall machine.
"It is disappointing then that this document seems to have been drawn up more in consultation with people in the Westminster bubble than with leaders across the North. Meaningful levelling up doesn’t happen from the top down.
"Levelling up has to deal with the embedded structural inequalities that exist between regions of the UK. The White Paper seems to accept that principle but offers no plan or new resource to get there.
"We need good jobs, decent wages, genuinely affordable housing, action to deal with the unfolding cost of living crisis and real opportunities for our young people so they can put down roots in their local areas and no longer have to get out to get on."
However, some business leaders in the North West highlighted what they saw as some of the positives from the announcement.
Chris Oglesby, CEO, Bruntwood and chair of Innovation Greater Manchester, said: "One of the most eye-catching positives in today’s levelling-up white paper is the commitment to increase R&D spending outside of London and the South East. The current imbalance here mirrors the regional inequalities that are at the heart of levelling up.
"Investing in the innovative capacity of our places through increased R&D spending outside of London and the South East is key to long-term prosperity. For us, this is the real major opportunity presented by the new levelling up strategy to drive growth in city regions.
"Through Innovation Greater Manchester we have promoted the idea of place- based innovation deals that will make a transformational impact on our towns and cities - helping direct investment and align with complementary skills and infrastructure strategies.
"It is great to see that government supports our approach and will invest in Innovation Accelerators as part of its strategy to increase the proportion of R&D funding outside London and the South East.
"It’s a fantastic outcome for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands to be identified as new Innovation Accelerators zones along with Glasgow City Region.
"Both regions have long been the engines of growth for their wider local economies and so supporting their success makes sense if we’re to level-up the towns and communities they connect with.
"We now need to work quickly to use this momentum opportunity to create to turn our R&D strengths into more jobs and opportunities across our city regions, attracting long-term investment from the private sector and setting the course for new high productivity industries across the North and Midlands.
"These will build on the success of existing high growth clusters and connect them with the towns and conurbations surrounding them to spread their benefits as far as possible.
"The levelling-up White Paper and its R&D investment strategy must be seen as the start point, not the end. Levelling up needs to become a bipartisan issue that lasts longer than one parliament and truly addresses the stark spatial imbalances within the UK; quite simply, because things will take much longer than that to fix.
"The focus now needs to shift onto the private sector and its local partners getting geared up to deliver, with the backing of this strategy. But they will need further government intervention and deep, and sustainable long-term investment from the Treasury."
Warren Middleton, office senior partner for KPMG in Manchester, said: "There is much for business in the North West to welcome. Skills and innovation are the heartbeat of business growth so announcements on skills and driving R&D spend in the regions should support the efforts of entrepreneurs and business leaders to create more opportunities and prosperity throughout more of the UK.
"The announcement of a Stanford-Silicon Valley style innovation accelerator in Greater Manchester is fantastic news and solidifies our position as one of the world’s leading tech hubs.
"I was also pleased to see the commitment to improving local transport aiming for closer to the standard of London’s, I am looking forward to seeing more detail.
"But with little new money, all tiers of government and private investment are going to have to work even harder to deliver the promise of the strategy."
Sara Prowse, CEO at University Academy (UA92) in Manchester, said: "While I am pleased that the white paper recognises the broad educational inequalities across the UK, I’m disappointed that there is no mention of supporting students into higher education in the levelling lp strategy.
"Affordability remains a massive barrier to continuing into higher education and qualifications remain vital to employment and ultimately, life chances.
"We need nationwide support for students from all backgrounds so that they can attend higher education and have the same chances as those from affluent backgrounds.
"In Greater Manchester, young people from poorer households are increasingly less likely than their more affluent peers to attend University and only one in five pupils eligible for free school meals entered higher education in 2020, well below the national average.
"The fact that 95% of the Education Investment Areas are outside London and the South East is telling of the lack of investment outside of the 'London bubble’ over the past decade, and a clear indication that young people in the North West are being left behind.
"Children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds should be encouraged and supported to continue education to the highest levels possible, no matter where they live, but without the support enabling them to do so, we remain a long way from truly levelling up."
Ed Dwan, partner and head of BDO in the North West, said: "Following a disruptive end to 2021 – a year that saw medium-sized businesses rethink operations and quickly adapt to stay afloat – it’s clear just how important levelling up policies are to organisations across the North West.
"Through our Rethinking the Economy survey of 500 mid-sized companies, business leaders have been very clear about their priorities and what true ‘levelling-up’ means to them.
"The top four priorities for regional businesses include tax cuts and Government subsidies, with a third ranking this as the most important area of focus, investment to develop new infrastructure (27%), the creation of jobs within the North West (23%), together with ensuring the provision of quality housing to rent and buy (23%).
"From our research, only a small percentage of businesses (7%) believe they will not benefit from the Government’s pledge to level up the UK but are confident they will be successful regardless of this.
"In fact, a third of businesses in the region feel that levelling up is critical to the success of their business, with a further 50% believing it will help to some extent by improving the region as a place to live and work.
"Regional investment in R&D is a huge positive and Government funding to leverage at least twice as much public sector investment could be the key to stimulating innovation and productivity growth.
"The North West is well placed to take advantage of this given its entrepreneurial spirit, combined with the sectors and talent in the region, as well as a number of universities and institutions such as The Productivity Institute based here.
"Against a backdrop, in which 93% of North West companies will be impacted by the Government’s announcement to eliminate reliefs for overseas R&D from April 2023, North West business leaders will need to rethink their tax and innovation strategies and consider how they can bring this into the UK.
"Medium-sized businesses are the engine of the economy, accounting for more than £1tn or revenues and their future growth will be crucial to the overall economic recovery of the UK.
"We know there isn’t a one size fits all solution, but the Government’s ambitious levelling up whitepaper should be received positively by business.
"As companies across the region plan for a brighter year ahead, all eyes will be on the UK Government to listen to what they truly need and deliver against these priorities. The proof will come from whether the necessary funding, focus and implementation follows and brings this whitepaper to life."
Gavin Taylor, executive director at Far East Consortium, said: "Whether new funding or existing, support for brownfield regeneration should be welcomed as an integral part of any strategy to level up regional communities and address long-term housing issues.
"Brownfield development remains complex though, and those local authorities benefitting from today’s announcements face a series of challenges ahead to assemble and unlock potentially piecemeal landbanks in a cost-efficient way that aligns to their strategic regeneration plan.
"The end goals of the initiatives set out today are potentially a decade away but, done right, have the potential to be transformative in addressing social inequality and set a standard for sustainable low carbon communities."
Ron Emerson, former founding chair of the British Business Bank and current chair of Bank North in Manchester, said: "The last thing we need from government is a template – one size fits all.
"The White Paper goes some way in recognising this by encouraging more local mayoralties with the promise of more devolved powers.
"All of the UK regions are different; they have different histories and cultures and therefore different challenges and opportunities, so only they can define what is needed from government and what they can and need to do for themselves by taking control of their agendas.
"A largely 19th , early 20th century distribution system for consumer banking through an expensive bricks and mortar system was never going to survive the digital age.
"And it was never relevant to large corporates. But it was entirely relevant to SMEs in their ability to access finance. With the closure of local branches, the centralisation of these approval processes has largely not worked.
"The Industrial Revolution came out of the regions, not government, and was supported by local banks and local stock exchanges. In time, all of that was centralised in London."
John Downes, CEO of Langtree and Chairman of Sci-Tech Daresbury, said: "If the government is to achieve its levelling up agenda, it’s essential a geographically targeted approach is taken with the increase in R&D investment as outlined in last year’s budget and reiterated in this long awaited levelling up white paper.
"We therefore welcome the announcement that greater powers in spending and investment will be handed to local mayors, and we applaud the plan to use research and innovation to drive clusters of emerging opportunities.
"Similarly, the decentralising of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will empower local leaders to use regional strengths in order to harness local hubs of innovation.
"Indeed, the Innovation Accelerator model the white paper has outlined could be pivotal in helping turbocharge the science and technology ecosystem within the three regions it will be rolled out to.
"Yet it needs to go further, and we hope to work with government to explore how our businesses, academic and public sector organisations can help to unlock the potential in our region, allowing us to address the inequalities that the pandemic has magnified.
"While the whole country has taken an unprecedented hit, areas such as our own Liverpool City Region have suffered disproportionately."
Stephen Church, EY’s North markets leader and Manchester office managing partner, said: "The levelling-up white paper sets out the UK government’s ambition to narrow the North-South divide and drive economic prosperity to the North of England.
"Today’s commitment of further devolution to numerous areas of England is warmly welcomed. Bringing decision-making closer to the people is central to this agenda, ensuring the right action to combat inequality is focused locally, and further devolution will enable other regions to follow in the footsteps of strong mayoral leaders.
"Funding announced to support towns and cities across the North, such as the plans for bus improvements in Warrington announced today, are fundamental to supporting regeneration, which will be key to driving a balanced pandemic recovery in the places that need it most.
"The announcement of a new Innovation Accelerator to be based in Greater Manchester, will enable local businesses and researchers to accelerate local growth backed by new government funding, enhancing the creation of a well-connected, skilled labour market to fuel employment for the future.
"However, our latest Regional Economic Forecast report shows that while the economic bounce of a post-pandemic recovery will help, London is on course to pull ahead once again after 2025, together with their working-age population set to grow whilst the North’s is forecast to shrink. If the North is to keep up with the capital in the long-term, these promises must be actioned now.
"Despite the hopeful bounce-back predicted across the North, there must be an even spread of growth across the region: while our cities are major hubs of activity, decision-makers need to ensure towns also benefit and aren’t left behind.
"Long-term commitment and action are needed to create good jobs with decent wages, which will in-turn flow back into the local economy.
"Only with action will the maximum economic impact for the North be unlocked, and close the persistent productivity gap between north and south."
