On his first official visit as the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove toured towns across the North East to see first-hand how ambitious local plans are being put into action to help level up the region.
In Darlington, Mr Gove toured the National Horizons Centre, which is bringing together industry and academia in a world-class centre of excellence for biosciences.
The Secretary of State also visited Teesworks industrial zone in Redcar where he toured part of the 4,500-acre site and heard more about plans for a freeport, which will boost manufacturing, jobs and investment in the region.
Finally, he travelled to the town of Thornaby to see how £23.9m worth of government investment from the Towns Fund is being used to create more homes, improve local transport and generate new opportunities for local people.
Commenting, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove said:
“It’s been fantastic to see how our levelling up agenda is boosting opportunity, employment and pride right across the country.
“From Teesworks in the North East, creating thousands of jobs and the new town centre improvements in Thornaby, which will make it a more vibrant place to visit, today I’ve seen first-hand the excellent work that shows how we are building back better from the pandemic and making a real difference to people’s lives.”
The government said that across the country, levelling up is spreading opportunity, boosting living standards and improving public services.
According to the government, the Levelling Up White Paper, which will be published in the coming months, will help drive forward their central mission to level up every corner of the UK.
This will be backed by the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, which the government said will support and create jobs, boost skills and help improve the look and feel of towns and cities across the UK.
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