Presidential Roundtable summary: what's the role of infrastructure in ensuring success for levelling up?

How levelling up is defined and measured will determine how infrastructure investment is prioritised in the coming years.

The government published its Levelling Up White Paper earlier this year.

In it, it promised legislation to integrate the 12 levelling up missions in law. It also promised to establish a duty to report annually on progress.

It’s vital to have clarity on the outcomes targeted by levelling up in different places.

Without this, any potential infrastructure investment could be wasted.

In June 2022, ICE released a policy position statement, which makes recommendations for defining clear outcomes from levelling up.

Given the many competing priorities for infrastructure investment, it’s important to get this right.

The roundtable was chaired by ICE President Ed McCann. Alex Norris MP, shadow minister for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government also attended.

At this roundtable, attendees discussed:

• the paper’s recommendations,
• whether the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill offers enough clarity on outcomes, and
• what role the infrastructure system can play in achieving these.