The government launched its long-awaited "levelling up" plans, promising to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the country
The document set targets to improve education, broadband and transport by 2030
Labour said the Conservatives had only offered "slogans and strategies, with few new ideas"
Boris Johnson earlier faced pressure over No 10 parties from opposition MPs during Prime Minister's Questions
Anthony Mangall is the latest Conservative MP to publicly reveal he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson
Ministers insist Johnson has the support of the majority of his party, and is "getting on with the job"
We are bringing this live page to a close now so we can hunker down with a cup of tea and read all 332 pages of the whitepaper.
Your writers today were Joshua Nevett, Paul Seddon, Becky Morton, Jen Meierhans, Chris Giles, Malu Cursino and Dulcie Lee.
Your editors were Jennifer Scott, Brian Wheeler and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman.
Thanks for joining us!
Our live coverage of the government's levelling up announcement will be coming to a close soon.
Here's a recap of what we've learned today:
Fiona Trott
BBC North of England Correspondent in Middlesborough
Elaine Collins is skeptical about the impact the government's levelling up plan will have in Middlesborough
Michael Gove once said if you want to see levelling up in action, come to Teesside. But while he was unveiling more about what that actually means for the people living here, one proud Middlesbrough woman laughed it off.
"I wouldn't trust the government as far as I could throw them - and that's not far," says Elaine Collins, 59.
Outside the university, Shakeel Crowe, 19, is walking to his psychology lecture.
Today's pledge on restoring pride in local areas is important to him: "We need nicer streets in Middlesbrough, more green spaces.
"The whole town needs a facelift."
But is he confident the government will deliver on that promise?
"You can't see what's actually going on with levelling up," he says with a degree of scepticism. "It's smoke and mirrors."
Shakeel Crowe would like to see money spent on restoring pride in his local area
James Vincent
Political Editor BBC Look North
From "Northern Powerhouse" to "levelling up" - big sounding slogans have helped the Conservatives win seats around here for the first time in their history.
This is the document, external that is supposed to back those promises up, evening things up for the North.
The problem is the north isn’t just one thing. It’s not a land far away. It’s a lot of little communities and big cities each with their own identities, pride and problems.
Many here feel like Westminster is a long way away and that those on the benches of power don’t really understand what it’s like to grow up in Castleford, Scarborough or Maltby.
They might need some persuasion that systemic problems that have been around for generations can actually be solved.
One of the criticisms of the government's policy since 2019 was that it was too vague and had no targets. This whitepaper has some that can be measured and the government says it wants to be held to account on it.
Ten years after the Northern Powerhouse was first mentioned, the general election in 2024 will be a very public measurement on whether voters think it is working.
Levelling up is about 'turbo charging' UK potential - Gove
Earlier, the levelling up secretary made his pitch to the Commons, while his Labour shadow gave her reaction to the new whitepaper.
Michael Gove said the gap between much of the south east and other parts of the country in productivity, health outcomes, wages, school results and job opportunities must be closed.But Lisa Nandy said she was not surprised the prime minister is "too embarrassed" to turn up for the debate.
Lisa Nandy asks Michael Gove: "Seriously, is this it?"
Wales’ missing £1bn has been brought up again, this time by Labour MP Beth Winter.
If you missed it, this figure is how much the Welsh government estimates it will lose by 2024 because of Brexit, external.
“The secretary talks about shifting power and resources to communities, but I think he made one mention of Wales,” Winter says.
Winter says Gove’s levelling up plans “ride roughshod over devolution” and “short change us to the tune of £1bn by 2024”.
The MP for Cynon Valley urges Gove to “respect devolution and restore the missing £1bn to Wales”.
Responding, Gove says he disagrees with Winter and insists the government’s levelling up strategy was welcomed by locals when he visited Wales recently.
The debate on levelling up has now concluded.
Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent
Over 300 pages long, there’s a lot to read in this document as people try to work out whether this long-awaited plan can really deliver change across the country.
The debate in Parliament has seen Tory MPs largely welcome the proposals for their areas, while Labour MPs have been distinctly unimpressed.
The shadow secretary for levelling up, Lisa Nandy, sounded incredulous in the Commons as she asked: “Is this it?”
Political divides aside, Boris Johnson’s government hopes this is a significant step towards making good on the promises of their 2019 election campaign.
It’s a piece of work that’s supposed to give shape to a big idea and, given the long-term aims, to be enshrined in law, this document could have a legacy beyond the government that is proposing it - whether politicians in the chamber think it’s lived up to the anticipation or not.
We’ve been to Sudbury in Suffolk to get reaction to the government’s levelling up whitepaper.
The council bid for £6m from the levelling up fund last year, but it was rejected.
They had hoped to use the money to transform the bus station and the shopping centre and say they plan to bid again in the spring.
Business owner Sarah Underhay says she feels the market town really needs some investment for things like the new bus station and better car parks.
She believes Sudbury is seeing "less of a recovery" following the pandemic compared to other towns and says she thinks the local economy is struggling as there isn't enough investment in getting people into the town.
As we've been reporting, ministers have confirmed their levelling up plans - but there is no cash for Essex.
Yet the Conservative deputy leader of the County Council, Louise McKinlay, says she's not too disheartened.
“This is just the beginning," she says. "It’s a down payment if you look through to the ambitions of 2030, which is the timeline the government’s given us.
“And of course, at the back end of last year, we actually received £5m, which is going towards Essex in terms of some of the initiatives for Harlow and Tendring. So there is money that’s coming through.”
Ministers’ plans include more regional mayors, while 20 towns and cities will be targeted for redevelopment.
And there'll be more support for schools in 55 areas where attainment is low.
None of them are in Essex.
But Cllr McKinley says the local authority's already working hard to make sure schools are performing well.
The levelling up agenda is meant to help all of the UK, so what is in it for Wales?
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock brings up calculations by the Welsh government, which estimate it will already be £1bn worse off by 2024 as a result of Brexit.
You can read the Welsh analysis here, external.
Kinnock asks Michael Gove how he will ensure the “nations of our country don’t get short changed”.
Gove says while he has respect for the Welsh economy minister, Vaughan Gething, his calculations were “wrong” on this occasion.
“I’d be more than happy to take him through our approach,” Gove says.
Jenny Kumah
BBC South West correspondent
I’ve spent the day at the Camborne Campus of Cornwall College.
The area has some of the highest levels of deprivation in England, and has struggled economically since the decline of the local tin mining industry at the turn of the century.
But the nearby town of Camborne was awarded £24m in regeneration money last summer after the G7 summit was held in the county.
Speaking to students on the campus, they tell me they feel more needs to be done to improve living standards and opportunities.
Tom Philips, 16, who is studying HGV engineering, says transport is a major issue for young people in rural areas.
“It does restrict you options and it does put a stop on what you can do,” he says.
“We’re cut off from a lot of things and there’s a lack of opportunities.”
Lilly Didlick is 17 and an apprentice for Pendennis Shipyard. She welcomes government plans to spread more job opportunities across the country.
She says “most of the jobs down here are to do with tourism. Upcountry you would see a wider range of jobs available that we don’t have here.”
Image source, HoCLabour's Chi Onwurah is strongly critical of the plans, describing the funding promised as "little pots of recycled money".
The MP for Newcastle upon Tyne points to the pledge that local public transport will be closer to London standards by 2030.
"Eight years not even to catch up with London buses – what kind of ambition is that?" she asks.
In response, Michael Gove says the plans include proposals so the current North of Tyne mayor can work with local authorities in the south of Tyneside to achieve the goals Onwurah wants.
Former Conservative Education Secretary Justine Greening welcomes the levelling up strategy and says the whitepaper "really matters".
Greening, who co-founded the Social Mobility Pledge - a coalition of over 500 businesses that globally employ more than five million people - says the government's commitments mirror those of her organisation.
But, Greening adds: "We now need to see if there is that ambition there and that investment there to really shift the dial in a country that has had endemic inequality of opportunity".
It isn't just levelling up being debate in the Commons, but questions of Tory leadership.
Labour MP Christian Matheson makes reference to the current turmoil in the Conservative Party, wishing Michael Gove well "for the forthcoming Tory leadership election".
But referring to his previous failed attempts, Gove bats away the suggestion, saying: "Been there, done that, got knocked back twice, so I’m afraid I’m not going around that course again.”
Away from the Commons, more people are reacting to today's announcement.
Professor Paul Crawshaw - from regional think tank PACE at Teeside - told BBC News the whitepaper was "starting point that gives us a blue print".
He says the plans offer an important step towards shifting the balance of power out of Westminster and out to the regions.
But he added that "it is not just about money" - it is about boosting the "civic pride" of people living in historically more deprived regions.
The government has allocated a £4.8bn fund to support regeneration, transport projects, and education across the UK as part of its levelling-up programme.
The whitepaper unveiled by Michael Gove in Parliament sets out how and where the government intends to spend that money.
It’s a hefty set of funding announcements, but here are some of the highlights:
Labour said the plans rehashed old proposals and offered no new money.
But Gove told the BBC the strategy was not aimed at providing new funding, but ensuring it is spent effectively on local priorities.
Image source, UK ParliamentDUP MP Sammy Wilson says he welcomes the whitepaper and appreciates the government is paying attention to the importance of levelling up across the United Kingdom.
But he says “new red tape” as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol is “strangling” its economy, so asks how the whitepaper will benefit the people of Northern Ireland.
Michael Gove replies he understands the problems and says the foreign secretary is working hard to "tackle those issues".
He says additional funding for research and development will help Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University to get additional funding.
Gove says the "broader economic strategy" is designed to help every part of the UK, adding: "we need to do better in making sure that it reaches those who deserve it most".
Image source, HoCBack to the Commons, where MPs are still debating the government's new levelling up plans.
The Labour Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, says it is a "shameful indictment of our country" that for too long "where you grow up determines where you end up".
Jarvis, who is also MP for Barnsley Central, says "transformational resources" are needed to address this and asks what more can be done to get the chancellor to offer up more cash
Michael Gove replies that he hopes to visit Sheffield to discuss how allocated funding can be used more effectively and ensure future spending commitments serve the public.
Ione Wells
Westminster Correspondent, BBC News
Putting in a letter of no confidence against the prime minister is not as straight-forward as it might sound for some who are looking to the next stage of the process.
A former minister has told me they have decided to make their own submission, but are waiting until they are sure they have the numbers to oust Boris Johnson.
You see, once the 54 letters have come in and triggered the vote, under the party rules, another challenge could not be mounted for a year.
"What we can't have is the prime minister free from challenge for another 12 months," the ex-minister told me.
They say other colleagues also don't want to "jump the gun" too, adding: "What's holding people back is the worry a leadership contest may give him a mandate to continue."
While the "right thing to do" would be to put their letter in, they add, the "pragmatic approach" was to wait longer - given the full Sue Gray report, policy inquiry and a "steady drip of allegations" were still to come.
"The end is almost inevitable. The question is - is now the right time to put a letter in? We need to be sure we can win the vote."
Away from the Commons, Conservative MP Anthony Mangall has become the latest MP to publicly reveal they have submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
The MP for Totnes, who was elected in 2019, tweeted, external: "Standards in public life matter. At this time I can no longer support the PM.
"His actions and mistruths are overshadowing the extraordinary work of so many excellent ministers and colleagues.
"I have submitted a letter of no confidence."
At least 54 Tory MPs need to write to the 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady to trigger a vote on the PM's future.