Stephen Morgan MP has blasted the government after it “moved the goalposts” long after the bidding process had closed for Round 2 Levelling Up funding creating a clear and significant disadvantage to certain local authorities including Portsmouth.
During an evidence session with the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee last week, the Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison MP, clarified that the process that was used by Ministers and the Department to award funding for Round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund.
The Minister confirmed that a decision was taken following shortlisting to exclude local authorities who had been successful in Round 1 from being allocated funding in Round 2.
Portsmouth South was among those excluded after the north of the city received funding in Round 1 of the Levelling Up fund.
Mr Morgan has been working with the city council to submit a £40m proposal to the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 which would have revitalised key sites across the city centre, often ignored or forgotten for investment over the last decade.
The bid was supported by local businesses and hundreds of constituents through the city MP’s ‘Back the Bid’ campaign.
Last month the government announced that communities across the country were allocated funding but Portsmouth South missed out yet again.
Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“It is now clear the government moved the goalposts long after Portsmouth submitted its bid for much-needed funding.
“Investment in our city centre would have revitalised Portsmouth. The city put so much time, energy and money into the bid which the Minister has now admitted we had no chance of winning.
“Portsmouth people will rightly be outraged after so much of the community was involved in the process in good faith, only to now find out that we have been misled by Ministers.
“The failure of investment by Government and the failure of leadership on the council is holding Portsmouth’s economy back, and letting our communities down.
I will continue to do what I can to make sure our city centre is a place to be proud of once again”.
Writing to the Levelling Up Minister, Shadow Levelling Up Minister Alex Norris MP has asked the government to address the following questions:
- Was this change in the selection process communicated too local authorities and if so, when did this occur?
- Will the Department take steps to compensate those local authorities who have suffered financially by the Department’s decision to exclude their bids from the final selection?
- Can you confirm if the impacted local authorities will be given feedback on their bids?
- Finally, can you confirm whether a decision has been taken as to whether successful local authorities from Round 1 and 2 will be barred from Round 3 and if not, when a decision will be taken?
Stephen Morgan MP has vowed to continue to lobby Ministers so that Portsmouth gets the investment it deserves, asking why the area was once again overlooked for ‘levelling up’ funding, and taking a range of further actions to secure Government support for Portsmouth. The city MP is hosting local businesses today to agree a way forward.
