A person I have met on several occasions, Lord Bassam supplied a couple of written questions this week to the House of Lords and on Wednesday the questions were responded by Baroness Scott of Bybrook who is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The response was very interesting as clearly whatever the role is due to include, that a payment of £144,000 is clearly very significant for most of us to consider and indeed it is our funding that will be used to pay for these roles. Here are the two questions from Steve Bassam

“To ask His Majesty’s Government how many Regional Levelling Up Directors have been appointed so far” and “what the annual pay rate will be for a Regional Director of Levelling Up.”

Now according to this Government website the principle of levelling up roles are

Levelling up is a broader mission that requires us to pull on all levers across society to, finally and irrevocably, end the postcode lottery in life prospects.

For too long, some of our proudest communities with the greatest potential have felt that the odds are stacked against them. The changes we’re proposing stack those odds back in their favour – in favour of everyone in the United Kingdom being able to make something of their lives in the places they love.

So here is the response from Jane Antoinette Scott

The Government is committed to delivering Levelling Up. The posts were advertised at salaries of up to £144,000 per annum. No appointments have yet been made. More details will be available in due course.