Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Institution of Civil Engineers' policy position statement entitled Defining the outcomes from levelling up, published on 16 June 2022, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill of that statement’s position that there should be clearer alignment between levelling up and net zero.

We welcome the Institution of Civil Engineer's engagement on these two vital Government priorities. As highlighted in the Levelling Up White Paper, the largest industrial emitting sectors are in some of the least prosperous areas in the UK, where investment in the transition to Net Zero can potentially yield significant benefits for businesses and communities.

We are keen to harness the opportunity that the Net Zero transition presents to level up the UK. That is why we have established a Green Jobs Delivery Group in collaboration with industry and energy leaders, to support the delivery of 480,000 new green jobs by 2030. The Group will help ensure the UK has the skilled workforce it needs to build clean industries, whilst making sure that workers, businesses and local areas are supported throughout the transition. The Government also looks forward to responding to the Skidmore Review, which sets out recommendations on the interaction between Net Zero, levelling up and local leadership.