Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan has asked the Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to set out when his department will finally invest in the constituency following the government’s decision last month to reject the city’s Levelling Up funding bid.
Mr Morgan is yet to receive a response from Mr Gove since the decision was made to reject the bid and to find out what action the government will be taking to unlock investment and boost the local economy.
During departmental questions in the House of Commons on Monday 20 January Mr Morgan took the opportunity again to keep the pressure up on Ministers to secure funding and help make Portsmouth’s city centre a place that local people can be proud of once again.
Mr Gove replied that the government would work with the city council and others to ensure the next bid is successful.
Last week, Stephen Morgan said the government had ‘moved the goalposts’ after it was confirmed that Ministers decided after the submission of bids to exclude local authorities successful in Round 1 from being awarded funding in Round 2.
Mr Morgan said affected local authorities including Portsmouth are justifiably angry that it now appears they never stood a chance of winning in Round 2 and their time and money was wasted.
An estimated £15 billion has been cut from council budgets by the Government since 2010 and the Government have handed back just £2.8bn with the Levelling Up Fund. It was also recently been reported that consultancy firms have raked in £26 million from cash-strapped councils doing their utmost to prepare high-quality levelling up fund bids.
Following exchange, the city MP has written to the Secretary of State and called on Mr Gove to visit Portsmouth to see first-hand the challenges the city faces and why support is so desperately needed – inviting the Minister for a walkabout with him around Portsmouth’s city centre.
Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“The government continues to avoid giving a clear answer on whether it will invest in Portsmouth after neglecting it for so many years.
“The Portsmouth South Levelling Up bid, and my back the bid campaign brought together local people, small businesses, university and cultural organisations, showing the strength of feeling of Portsmouth people on the desperate need to put the heart back into our city centre.
“That is why I asked the Secretary of State today to set out the government’s plans to invest in communities like ours, and invited him to come to Portsmouth to see first-hand the challenges our city centre faces.”
Mr Morgan has vowed to continue to campaign for investment in the city centre and to secure the funding Portsmouth deserves.
