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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Institute for Public Policy Research report State of the North 2024: Charting the Course for a Decade of Renewal, published in March, what steps they are taking to address the widening gap in employment between London and the rest of England.

This Government has made significant progress in creating jobs across the whole of England, and we are taking further steps to reduce regional disparities in employment. The Living Standards mission in the Levelling Up White Paper commits to increasing pay, employment and productivity in every region of the UK by 2030.

The refocussed Investment Zones programme covers eight places across the North and Midlands, providing more jobs in places and levelling up the economy. Additionally, all eight English Freeports are open for business, unlocking investment into port communities and their hinterlands and bringing jobs to these areas.

Following trailblazer deals agreed with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in March 2023, further trailblazing provisions have been agreed with the North East, enabling local leaders to drive growth in key sectors and tailor local employment support approaches and initiatives that address needs in the area.