How can different levels of government work together to deliver levelling up? Hybrid event

The government’s Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper contained ambitious proposals to deliver a devolution deal to every area of England that wants one by 2030, but the proliferation of regional authorities and directly elected mayors across England alongside different arrangements in the devolved nations can make co-operation and co-ordination difficult. This event will consider what structures and ways of working could help support cross-government action on levelling up.

How well have mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) worked with central government? Do mayoral combined authorities need a single point of contact in Whitehall or is it better to work directly with different departments? Have MCAs successfully encouraged cross-council working on levelling up? How can the UK government work more effectively with the devolved nations?

To explore these questions, the IfG has bought together an expert panel including:

• Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council
• Professor Francesca Gains, Professor of Public Policy at The University of Manchester
• James Grundy MP, Member of Parliament for Leigh (Greater Manchester)
• Joe Rossiter, Policy and External Affairs Manager at the Institute of Welsh Affairs

The event will be chaired by Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.

Follow us on Twitter @ifgevents and join the conversation using #IfGlevellingup.

This event is kindly supported by Policy@Manchester, The University of Manchester’s policy engagement unit.