On 19 September 2021, the Government announced that The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will become the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The move comes as part of the Government’s plan to deliver on its central mission to level up every part of the UK.
The Government has also announced that former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane has been appointed as the new Head of the Levelling Up Taskforce.
The taskforce has been jointly established by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove MP.
According to the Government, The Secretary of State will be responsible for cross-Whitehall efforts to deliver a programme of tangible improvements in every part of the UK.
The Government have added that ‘the Secretary of State will have responsibility for United Kingdom governance and elections. He will therefore also take on the additional title of Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, working closely with the Territorial Offices and leading coordination with the devolved administrations on the Prime Minister’s behalf.’
The video games industry is one of the sectors that the UK should aim to promote as part of its levelling-up agenda. The sector provides high skilled employment and supports economic growth in clusters throughout the UK. 80 per cent of the UK’s video games workforce is based outside of London[1].
[1] [1]TIGA, Making Games in the UK 2020, October 2020.