Let's Level with Everyone: How Do We Identify Regional Inequalities in the UK?

There have been various policy initiatives announced by the UK Government in recent months to try to further their ambition to “Level Up” the country.

These recognise that there are huge regional inequalities across the UK, which have only been increasing over the last couple of decades. To a certain extent, the UK Government is also looking to fill a gap left by the absence of EU funding to further similar aims in the past.

We discuss the Levelling Up Fund in this paper, focussing on how different areas have been categorised through the Levelling Up prioritisation index. We also discuss the areas flagged for priority funding through the Community Renewal Fund, and compare and contrast the methodology used for both funds.