Dehenna Davison has called for elements of the Civil Service to move to County Durham to help level up opportunities.
In an urgent question on Tuesday, Dehenna Davison, MP for Bishop Auckland, called for elements of the civil service to be moved out of London and into Country Durham. Her question to the Cabinet Secretary, Michael Gove, followed an announcement about levelling up investment and opportunity across the UK by the Prime Minister earlier that day.
The Prime Minister announced his plans for Britain to bounce back and continue to level up the country as we come out of lockdown. He outlined a “New Deal” for Britain that is said to deliver jobs, skills and infrastructure for our country in this unprecedented time. This announcement follows on from the plans made in Budget made earlier this year. The Government will invest more than £600 billion in our future prosperity and bring forward £5 billion of capital investment projects, supporting jobs and the economic recovery.
From this announcement, St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College in Bishop Auckland and Staindrop Academy will benefit from its share of the £434 million investment to expand classrooms, upgrade facilities and improve the education of children across the whole country.
This funding will ensure schools have well-maintained facilities to provide students with safe environments that support a high-quality education. It is part of the £1.4 billion of capital funding for 2020-21 announced in April and is provided through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
Commenting Dehenna said:
“It was great to hear the Prime Minister talk today about levelling up opportunity for all. Talent in this country is spread, but opportunity is not and for many in Bishop Auckland and the North East, they don’t see the Civil Service as an achievable place to work. I want to change that.
“I strongly welcome too, the announcement that two schools in our constituency will benefit from this extra funding. Levelling up education here in the North East will ensure all children have the very best possible schools and education, enabling them to gain all the knowledge and skills they need for success
“I’ll be the first to say that there is great talent in Bishop Auckland and across the North East, if not the best in the country. I welcome the comments from the Secretary of State about opening up regional diversity in a career that is at the heart of our Government - and will keep pushing for some elements of our civil service to come to County Durham!”