In its Autumn Budget, the UK Government made a commitment to transform the business rates over the parliament into a fairer system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century. Businesses have raised concerns that the business rates system disincentivises investment and is slow to respond to changing economic conditions. They have called for response.
'Levelling up' was a political policy intended to reduce the imbalances, primarily economic, between areas and social groups across the United Kingdom. The 2020 Treasury spending review announced a £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund for interim capital investment in local infrastructure. Local authorities were ranked into three tiers by need, and invited to submit project bids by June 2021. The first round focused on transport projects, town centre and high street regeneration, and cultural investment.
Spatial econometric data are critical for analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on business distribution and investment, and for support for post-pandemic reconstruction. Millions of people are working from home for the first time. Workplaces are, according to Google Mobility Trends, seeing 54% fewer people. The UK government was grappling with both the need for quarantine, and with the economic impact of that quarantine. They needed spatial economic insight.
