BBC reports that a new academic study by Northumbria University has claimed the government's levelling up programme is failing in the North East

The policy, aimed at tackling inequality in the UK, is still little more than "a slogan" it said.

The government said it was making progress with the region having the second highest grant rate in England, but of 12 missions for 2030, only reducing crime is "on track" while six are "off track" and five "too early to tell".

Report leaders, Professors Joyce Liddle and John Shutt from the university's Newcastle Business School, said it was "still not clear what levelling up means", three years after it was announced.

It found £100m had been granted to North East projects from the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, 6% of the £1.7bn allocated nationally.

However, applications could only be made for funding for construction projects which ruled out many other schemes which could have benefitted local communities.

The study concluded that "Despite Levelling Up being a focal point of the Conservative party's 2019 election campaign, it is evident that it has only just reached the stage of moving beyond a slogan.

The increasing inequity between the North East and the rest of the UK is widening.

The region is in danger of slipping further behind, as the economic and social positions continue to deteriorate at alarming rates."

The report said a "major review" should be held in 2023 with more input from North East authorities.

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The BBC - Levelling up failing in the North East, study finds