Treasury bosses will rip up decades-old rules to allow more money to be spent in the North and Midlands
- Treasury ‘rewriting regulations that make it hard for investment to be approved’
- Part of Boris Johnson’s election promise to invest tens of billions in communities
- Advisor Dominic Cummings says existing rules favour London and south east
Treasury officials are to tear up decades-old rules to allow more money to be spent in the Midlands and north of England.
They are understood to be rewriting the regulations which critics say make it hard for government investment decisions to be approved in those areas.
Greater weight would be given to improving the wellbeing of people rather than simply focused on overall economic growth, The Times reported.
The change is seen as key to Prme Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to invest tens of billions of pounds in communities which backed the Tories for the first time at the election.
Treasury (London building pictured) officials are to tear up decades-old rules to allow more money to be spent in the Midlands and north of England
His most senior advisor, Dominic Cummings, has argued that the existing rules favour London and the south east because they have to maximise economic return.
They are used to evaluate everything from transport infrastructure to spending decisions on scientific research.
A senior Treasury official told The Times: ‘It is a very big thing. You have to think about all the outcomes you want to achieve and work it backwards.’
The proposal was also endorsed by Lord O’Donnell, the former Cabinet Secretary who said it was an ‘excellent idea’.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly said he wants to reduce the disparity between different parts of the country and ‘level up’ by spending on those which have been denied spending in the past.
The change is seen as key to Prme Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to invest tens of billions of pounds in communities which backed the Tories for the first time at the election