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<p><del class="ministerial">We will be publishing updated departmental organograms
in due course. </del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">As of 28 April 2023, there are
over 700 FTE staff working in the Department’s Levelling Up Group. </ins></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">To drive delivery of the levelling up agenda, a Director General
led group was established under Will Garton, Director General for Levelling Up. The
group includes director led units working on strategy and policy, place, delivery,
spatial data, funds and area teams based around the country. The group are responsible
for work including, but not limited to Investment Zones, Levelling Up Partnerships,
Freeports, the devolution agenda in England including the recent Trailblazer agreements
secured with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, the department’s role on Anti-Social
Behaviour, the Levelling Up Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Community Ownership
Fund, legacy funds as well as servicing the Levelling Up Inter Ministerial Group and
wider cross-cutting Levelling Up priorities (including the Levelling Up Missions).
This activity is support by the Spatial Data Unit and the department’s analytical
capability. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Other portfolios within the department’s
wider senior leadership team also ensure that Levelling Up is the central mission
of the department. There are currently Groups covering Local Government, Resilience
and Communities; Building Safety, Grenfell and Net Zero; Regeneration (specifically
Housing); Finance; and the Union. Further details will be set out in the department’s
organogram which will be updated and published in due course on gov.uk </ins></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">In early 2022, prior to the establishment of the Levelling Up
group and the wider departmental reorganisation, the former Second Permanent Secretary
led an external recruitment process for Levelling Up Directors. There were over 500
applicants, but – given the wider departmental changes - Ministers have decided not
to proceed with the appointment of the directors. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This
renewed and significant senior departmental capacity, combined with the progress of
the English devolution agenda, means that we believe that we are best placed to deliver
levelling up by working directly with Mayoral Combined Authorities, local government,
and the devolved administrations. We will continue to co-ordinate government policy
via means of specific, targeted placed based interventions. We are grateful for all
those who showed an interest in the roles, and for the work of the Civil Service Commissioner
who supported this recruitment. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The department
will continue to keep under review its staffing dedicated to its priorities including
work driving Levelling Up across the whole of the UK.</ins></p>
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