To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference
to the Pride in Place Mission announced in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White
Paper, published on 2 February 2022, whether his Department plans to routinely collect
data for metrics measuring pride in place, including on (a) regeneration, (b) communities
and (c) culture, heritage and sport.
<p>Pride in place is connected to a number of variables including community engagement,
local heritage, engagement in cultural life, access and quality of local amenities,
and quality of town centres. Survey-based measures of pride in place are still in
their infancy. These measures are subjective and, in some cases, not yet developed
or designed to enable analysis at a spatial level. The Community Life Survey already
measures aspects such as ‘sense of belonging’ and think tanks such as Local Trust
have made progress in researching what matters for pride in place and local area satisfaction.</p><p>Engagement
with experts will continue after publication to develop metrics and information that
can support the implementation of the pride in place mission.</p>
<p>This Government is committed to levelling up. The SR announced a £4 billion Levelling
Up Fund that will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people
and their communities.</p><p>To help local areas prepare for the introduction of the
UKSPF, we will provide an additional £220 million in 20/21 for communities to pilot
programmes and new approaches, with total domestic UK-wide funding being ramped up
to at least match EU receipts, reaching around £1.5 billion a year</p><p>In the Hon
Member's region, the West Yorkshire devolution deal will bring close to £3 billion
public and private sector investment into the region, creating 26,000 jobs and adding
£2.1 billion a year to the economy by 2031.</p>
<p>We have a clear commitment to level up all areas of the country. The recent announcement
of our 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution to support green jobs, and
a forthcoming Industrial Strategy refresh, are a critical part of this.</p>