The Secretary of State visited Grimsby on January 31.
Article and images courtesy of Grimsby MP Lia Nici’s website – www.lianici.org.uk
He visited local business owners Liz Parry, of PAL restaurant/bar, and Chris Cadle, from the Bike Stable. He discussed the renovation of St. James’s House with Mark Webb, the MD of eFactor. Mr Gove also walked around Grimsby town centre, through Freshney Place, to Riverhead Square.
Mr Gove also visited the Grimsby Port to hear about the role of the Humber Ports as a hub for offshore wind operation and maintenance as well as to get an update on the Humber Freeport which is due to open in the near future. In Cleethorpes, Mr Gove walked the North Promenade and discussed numerous planned coastal regeneration projects and also visited the refurbished Knoll, the War Memorial and the pier.
The White Paper will set out a complete ‘system change’ of how government works that will be implemented to Level Up the UK.
At the heart of this new way of making and implementing policy will be 12 bold, national missions – all quantifiable and to be achieved by 2030.
These missions will be cross-government, cross-society efforts. The first mission, for instance, will see pay, employment, and productivity grow everywhere, and the disparities between the top and worst performing areas narrow. This is the first time a government has placed narrowing spatial economic disparities at the heart of its agenda before.
Other missions will see: hundreds of thousands more people completing high quality skills training every year, gross disparities in healthy life expectancy narrowed, the number of poor quality rented homes halved, the most run down town centres and communities across the country rejuvenated, a significant decrease in serious crime in the most blighted areas, and every part of England getting a ‘London-style’ devolution deal if they wish to.
Great Grimsby Member of Parliament Lia Nici said:
“It is no coincidence that Grimsby was chosen by the Levelling Up Secretary to launch the White Paper in his visit on Monday 31 January.
I welcome its contents as this is the first time in generations that a Government has focused on areas like Grimsby. This is about making Grimsby a place not just to grow up, but to gain worthwhile employment and to live a fulfilling life.”
Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said: “Under this Government, North East Lincolnshire is going from strength to strength. We are benefiting from numerous funds including the Local Growth Fund, Coastal Communities Fund, and Future High Streets Fund. We were also the first area to benefit from a Town Deal.
The Humber Freeport will also be a pivotal element of the levelling-up agenda. When it opens, the freeport will drive new investment into the area, create jobs and create additional funding to help the local area regenerate.
The Government’s levelling up agenda is a serious plan to ensure that areas like Grimsby and Cleethorpes are never again left behind but actually at the forefront of the country’s successful future.”
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.
“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.
“Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.
“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”
Article and images from Great Grimsby MP Lia Nici’s website – www.lianici.org.uk
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