Yorkshire business ‘keeps the faith’ on Levelling Up agenda

The new Prime Minister’s inbox may well overflow with priorities, but Yorkshire’s business community has once again shown its faith in Levelling Up.

The policy agenda, the most recent take on decades of debate about how to rebalance the UK economy away from an overheated London and South East, had been a major focus of the outgoing leader Boris Johnson.

New research from Grant Thornton UK LLP’s latest Business Outlook Tracker shows his successor that the vast majority of mid-sized businesses in Yorkshire and the North East believe that the Levelling Up agenda will be beneficial to local business (67 per cent) – in line with the national average of 73 per cent.

The results also show recognition that the Levelling Up agenda cannot be delivered by one sector alone and that UK Plc has a key role to play in its success. Over three quarters (78 per cent) of Yorkshire and North East based respondents see companies like theirs playing an important role in the Levelling Up agenda, higher than the national average (73 per cent).

The results also reflect which of the government’s 12 Levelling Up missions are most important to local businesses. Each mission was identified as one of the top three priorities in a region, at least once, demonstrating the differing issues needing to be addressed across the UK.

Yorkshire and North East respondents identified the following as the top priorities in their region:

• Improve digital connectivity (32 per cent)
• Provide better quality housing (28 per cent)
• Improve public transport connectivity (24 per cent) and invest in the provision of high-quality skills training (24 per cent)

Andy Wood, managing partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP in Yorkshire, said: “Despite the challenges the last couple of years have thrown at us all, I think Yorkshire is more dynamic, out-ward facing, innovative and resilient than ever and the Levelling Up agenda is already supporting this with our region benefitting from a number of landmark ‘wins’ such as Channel 4 and the Bank of England choosing Leeds as their Northern hubs.

“That’s why it’s encouraging to see that Yorkshire business leaders clearly believe in what the government is trying to deliver and can see the opportunities it brings to the region.

There continues to be a clear willingness from the business community to be involved in Levelling Up and in tackling the most pressing issues in society, with impressive progress being made here recently in low carbon innovation.

“Our research shows though that there is clear room for improvement and that the region’s businesses prioritise focus in a number of areas, including digital connectivity, providing better quality housing and of course upgrading public transport connectivity.

“Addressing these will help us build on the strong foundations of enterprise, graft and innovation which are already here in spades.”