Failed Submission by Bassetlaw District Council
I am shocked, disappointed and outraged for the people of Worksop after discovering that the Government did not receive a Levelling Up Fund bid from Bassetlaw District Council and therefore missed out on £20 million in funding to regenerate our town centre.
This is highly embarrassing for our district, not least following the behaviour of the Leader of the Council on social media and in the press, who publicly criticised the Government on numerous occasions for not awarding us funding and made similar comments prior to this. We now know that the real reason for not receiving funding is that a bid was not submitted. Following my written question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the answer we have received states that they have still received no bid.
I have since spoken to councillors who have asked to see a copy of the bid, but have had their requests refused. A successful bid would have helped transform our town and now serious questions need to be answered by the council leadership. Hopefully this will be something better than “the dog ate it”. Following the outbursts over funding we need to know whether the public were misled by the council leadership, or whether they simply do not know what is going on with their own council.
When the Levelling Up Fund was announced, Worksop was given Category 1 status, meaning it was identified as a deprived area and a priority for investment. Bearing in mind the additional difficulties faced by Category 1 areas, the Government provided Bassetlaw District Council with £125,000 of capacity funding to help develop a bid.
I have been working with councillors to secure funding to deal with flooding in the town, including meetings with the relevant authorities and also the Floods Minister. A great deal of this investment is reliant on us securing Levelling Up Funding for the town centre, as it will require cross-departmental working. Missing out on the Levelling Up Fund now puts this at risk.
Throughout this process I have indicated my willingness to work with the council to provide support with obtaining funds from the Government. I have spoken on several occasions in Westminster and met with numerous Minsters to fight our corner. However, I have had no involvement at all in key areas, such as the Worksop Masterplan.
Prior to the deadline for the Levelling Up Fund bid I was asked to write two letters of endorsement, which were sent to me by the council to sign. This was without having had any sight of the bid whatsoever. Nobody in any sphere of public or private sector life would sign an endorsement of something they hadn’t even seen. One of the letters was also addressed to the wrong Secretary of State (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).
Following this I then later received a version of a bid, which was clearly unfinished, less than an hour before the submission deadline. Whilst having the opportunity to see and discuss the bid beforehand would have been something basic I expected, I nonetheless did my best to write a supportive letter and support the principle of the bid. Bearing in mind the tight deadline, it was difficult to comment on many of the specifics, which I also had a number of concerns over.
Following news that our bid had not been successful, and my later discovery that no bid had been submitted, I sought an urgent meeting with the Department and also met Levelling Up Minister Neil O’Brien. I have been given assurances that when the Government receives a bid that they will be able to provide feedback and that we will then be able to modify the bid if necessary. We have also been given one final opportunity to bid for Levelling Up Fund cash in the Spring.
The people of Worksop deserve better and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure we receive this funding.
END
Background
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-11-16/76018/
Brendan Clarke-Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether a Levelling Up Fund bid for Worksop was submitted by Bassetlaw District Council on time and with the correct documentation provided; and if he will provide feedback on that bid.
Neil O’Brien
25 November 2021
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) did not receive a Levelling Up Fund application from Bassetlaw District Council by the application deadline. Following the round 1 Levelling Up Fund announcement of 105 successful bids on the 27 October, Bassetlaw District Council was invited to share its Levelling Up Fund application form with DLUHC. DLUHC has offered to review that application when it is received and will provide appropriate feedback.
Media and Social Media
Video criticising Budget
https://twitter.com/simon__greaves/status/1453390462727991308?s=21
Previous comments on Levelling Up Fund bid
https://twitter.com/simon__greaves/status/1453284110433140748?s=21
https://twitter.com/Simon__Greaves/status/1446216282521604098?s=20
https://twitter.com/Simon__Greaves/status/1446228375660605442?s=20