the times | Thursday February 3 2022 11
News
1 living standards
By 2030 pay, employment and produc-
tivity will have risen in every area of the
UK, with each of them having a globally
competitive city. The gap between top-
performing and other areas will have
closed.
This mission exemplifies how level-
ling up ranges far beyond Michael
Gove’s department. The government is
setting itself a clear economic test: that
living standards will have improved by
the time ten years have passed since
Boris Johnson took office.
The ambition to narrow the gap
between London and other areas re-
quires a rebalancing of the economy
away from the south. To measure its
success, the government will not use
GDP per capita, the traditional metric
to assess living standards, because it be-
lieves this can obscure disparities. In-
stead it will use gross value added per
hour, a measure of labour productivity,
median pay and employment rates.2 research and development
Domestic public investment in re-
search and development outside the
southeast will increase by at least 40 per
cent, and at least 33 per cent of that over
the spending review period, with that
extra government funding seeking to
leverage at least twice as much private-
sector investment over the long term to
stimulate innovation and productivity.
The regional targets for R&D spend-
ing amount to a significant change in
spending priorities. In three years’ time
more than half of all R&D spending will
be outside London and the southeast,
something the government hopes will
encourage further private-sector
investment in the north and Midlands.
The target will apply across govern-
ment. The Department for Health and
Social Care, for instance, will increase
medical research investment outside
London, Oxford and Cambridge.3 infrastructure
Local public transport connectivity
across the country will be significantly
closer to London standards with im-
proved services, simpler fares and inte-
grated ticketing.
After years of focus on transport con-
nections to and from big cities, the gov-
ernment is focusing on transport links
in local areas. Integrated ticketing
means Oyster-style cards allowing
people to travel on all buses in one area
rather than paying multiple fares.4 digital connectivity
The UK will have nationwide gigabit-
capable broadband and 4G coverage,
with 5G coverage for most of the popu-
lation.
The white paper’s statement that
there are “spatial disparities in digital
infrastructure provision” is an accept-
ance that in many parts of the country
internet access is not good enough.5 education
The number of primary school children
achieving the expected standard in
reading, writing and maths will have
significantly increased. In England this
will mean 90 per cent will achieve the
expected standard and the percentage
of children meeting the standard in the
worst-performing areas will have
increased by more than a third.
Gove has handed Nadhim Zahawi,
the education secretary, a significant
target. The measure will be assessed atMinisters have abandoned their insist-
ence that schools should ban mobile
phones, saying the problem is now a
matter for head teachers.
Gavin Williamson, who was then the
education secretary, said last summer
that schools in England would become
mobile-phone free zones.
But yesterday, as part of the govern-
ment’s levelling-up plans, the Depart-
ment for Education said revised gui-
dance on behaviour would make clear
that “head teachers are best placed to
make decisions on whether mobile
phones should be in classrooms”, con-
sidering the needs of their pupils.
Head teachers welcomed the change
in rhetoric but voiced irritation at the
continued pressure from the depart-
ment for improvements to behaviour
in schools.
Levelling-up plans include changes
to the school rebuilding programme,
which will involve 300 schools ear-
marked for refurbishment.
Baroness Barran, the schools minis-
ter, told The Times that there was a “real
and pressing” need to improve the con-
dition of some schools. Those identified
would be able to avoid wasting money
on repairs, she said.
Local authorities and academy trusts
would be able to nominate the schools
for the first time, she said, and added:
“It’s significant. We’re giving more local
Ban on phones in schools dropped
Nicola Woolcock Education Editor of School and College Leaders, said:
“School and college leaders will be as-
tonished that the government thinks it
knows best how to create calm, orderly,
safe and supportive environments for
children and young people to thrive in,
as this is what they and their staff work
incredibly hard every single day to
achieve.”
The government’s white paper on
levelling up also said it wanted all
schools to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award scheme to pupils and that a new
online UK National Academy would be
established to stretch pupils.
It said the academy would “support
pupils from all backgrounds and areas
to succeed at the very highest levels”,
adding: “Just as the UK pioneered
the world’s first national broadcasting
service and established the Open
University to bring higher education
to all across the UK, the new UK
National Academy will harness
cutting-edge technology to ensure
that geography or income is no
barrier to being academically
stretched beyond the curriculum.”
The government said that its
“national youth guarantee” would
be supported by ensuring the Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award was offered
to every state secondary in En-
gland and by eliminating
waiting lists for teenagers for
uniformed youth groups
such as cadets.
discretion to identify schools in great-
est need. The environment in which
they learn makes a massive difference
to pupils.”
A consultation on school behaviour
is being announced today by the gov-
ernment, which said it would provide
greater support for head teachers to
create “calm, orderly, safe and suppor-
tive environments” and advice on how
to respond to online incidents.
However, Paul Whiteman, general
secretary of the National Association
of Head Teachers, said: “In the vast
majority of schools there are no major
issues when it comes to behaviour,
and schools already have strong
systems in place for supporting good
behaviour.
“The government’s current obses-
sion with being seen to ‘talk tough’ on
behaviour is frankly unhelpful. There is
little need for much in the way of addi-
tional guidance at this point in time,
as schools are already highly
skilled in this work.”
The union said it was
pleased to see acknowledge-
ment that decisions about
mobile phones should be left
to head teachers.
Geoff Barton, general sec-
retary of the AssociationHead teachers will
now decide whether
to ban phonesNews
The promised land
of 2030: 12 missions
for a fairer society
Henry Zeffman the end of key stage 2, when children
leave primary school, because reading,
writing and maths skills at that stage
are seen as a good indicator of future
success.6 skills
The number of people completing
high-quality skills training will have
significantly increased in all areas. In
England this will lead to 200,000 more
people completing skills training annu-
ally, driven by 80,000 more people
completing courses in the lowest
skilled areas.
This mission is targeted at those who
have left education but struggle to find
high-quality work. Low training rates
over the past decade mean there is a
group of low-skilled workers who could
be retrained or upskilled.7 health
The gap in healthy life expectancy —
the average number of years a person
will live in very good or good health —
between areas where it is highest and
lowest will have narrowed, and by 2035
it will have risen by five years for people
born that year.
To achieve this, the government will
have to rapidly reverse the impact of
Covid-19 on people’s health, and tackle
obesity.8 wellbeing
Wellbeing will have improved in every
area, with the gap between top-per-
forming and other areas closing.
The government will monitor how
people respond when asked how satis-
fied they are with life, whether they feel
the things they do are worthwhile and
whether they are happy or anxious.9 pride in place
People’s satisfaction with their town
centre and engagement in local culture
and community will have risen in every
area, with the gap between the top-
performing and other areas closing.
Surveys suggest that a large number
of Britons are not happy with the
area in which they live, wanting
improved amenities, better-main-
tained town centres and greater cul-
tural opportunities.10 housing
Renters will have a path to ownership,
with the number of first-time buyers
increasing. The government’s ambition
is for the number of non-decent rented
homes to have halved.
Private landlords will be required to
bring their properties up to a set of
national standards.11 crime
Homicide, serious violence and neigh-
bourhood crime will have fallen, with
prevention focused on the worst-
affected areas. As well as the obvious
crime statistics, the government will
judge itself against the number of hos-
pital admissions for assault with a sharp
object among the under-25s.12 devolution
Every part of England that wants a dev-
olution deal will have one, with powers
at or approaching the highest level of
devolution and a simplified, long-term
funding settlement.
The Times revealed in December that
devolution would be at the heart of
Gove’s white paper. He wants a new
wave of powerful local leaders, includ-
ing mayor equivalents for rural areas
who could be called governors.DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES