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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help local authorities support the economy in the North of England.

We want local authorities to focus their energies on driving growth in their areas, working in partnership with Local Enterprise Partnerships. That is why we are devolving more powers to councils to ensure the right decisions are made by local people who know their own communities best.