11.08.2022

Levelling Up: Missions and Metrics - Analysis of Mission 1

Local Authority levelling up Levelling Up Analysis

Levelling Up: Missions and Metrics

“The Levelling Up White Paper sets out twelve missions that support key levelling up objectives. These outline the medium-term ambition for the UK Government and act as an anchor for the expectations and plans of the private sector and civil society.”

The Rural Services Network has explored the missions and metrics and as part of their membership offer, has created an analysis for each local authority in SPARSE membership of RSN. This shows their position compared to other rural local authorities and the England Average. This enables the council to see their performance for each of the measures that the Government says it will be focusing on.

Mission 1: By 2030, pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK, with each containing a globally competitive city, with the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.

Principal objectives:

Boosting productivity, pay, jobs, and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging

How does this mission relate to spatial disparities?

In all areas of the UK, improving economic outcomes is fundamental to improving living standards. Improvements in productivity should help lift wages and provide high quality jobs across all parts of the country. Similarly, driving higher rates of employment should contribute to increasing household incomes and living standards. This mission is directed at closing the significant and persistent spatial disparities in productivity, wages and employment across all regions and nations of the UK.

Metrics considered within the analysis:

Gross Value Added (GVA) per hour worked
Gross median weekly pay (£) Full-time
Employment rate for 16–64 year-olds
Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per head of population, 2019
Proportion of jobs that are low paid
Participation rate (substituted with economic inactivity rate of 16 to 64 year olds)
Disability employment rate gap
Proportion of children in workless households, per cent, 2020
Proportion of employed people in skilled employment (SOC 1-3, 5)