Home 5 News 5 £2.5bn of levelling up funding stuck in limbo, public demand significant change in approach

£2.5bn of levelling up funding stuck in limbo, public demand significant change in approach

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New analysis from think-do tank Power to Change identifies 20% of total levelling up funding that is stuck in limbo. This comes alongside fresh polling by More in Common showing public appetite for significant changes in how regeneration funding is delivered in the short and long term.

by | Oct 28, 2024 | News

Due to the election this summer, decisions on these funds were put on hold, with councils and communities awaiting their fate. The Budget is the moment when decisions on these funds will be made and provides an opportunity for the new government to learn from the mistakes of its predecessor. 

This sum also accounts for the remainder of the Community Ownership Fund (COF), which was paused due to the election, and is much needed by communities to prevent the loss of important local assets. This is a policy area which the new government have identified as an important part of their domestic agenda. 

New polling by More in Common for Power to Change which shows: 

  • In the event levelling up funding has not been spent, the public (26%) prefer councils to work closely with communities to change plans for how the money is spent, not return the money to central government (17%). However the split preferences amongst the public shows a recognition of the sticky situation government is in.  
  • More decisively, a clear majority (54%) think radical or significant changes are needed to how funding to reduce regional inequalities is allocated. 
  • The same percentage (54%) favour the government’s proposed approach of funding based on local need rather than competitive funding pots.  
  • The public (44%) think local residents and community groups are best placed to make spending decisions in their local area, over local councillors (18%), the governments (14%), and local MPs (11%).  

To show respect for people promised levelling up funding, Power to Change is calling for these commitments to be honoured where possible but for councils to work closely with the community to ensure it is well spent. Longer-term, Power to Change urges the government to significantly change its approach to funding and learn the lessons from the past government mistakes.  

A clear majority of the public back a significant or radical overhaul to how government approaches funding:  

The public are right to say a new approach is needed. Levelling up funding was too centralised, too fragmented, too short-term, unnecessarily competitive and onerous – as Power to Change outlined in numerous reports, most recently Work in Progress. That is a large part of the reason why such a significant amount of funding is in limbo.  

People are much more likely to say that local communities are best placed to make spending decisions than councillors or MPs:

There is clear public demand to move away from competitive bidding for funding:

Community businesses with skin in the game know from their experience of these funding pots that significant change is needed and that government should put trust in local people to decide what’s best for their local area.  

Karen Stone, Centre Manager at the Charles Burrell Centre in Thetford said:

The manner in which the previous government determined how COF funds were allocated was onerous and beyond needlessly detailed for smaller charities with very small teams to run themI have a team of 15 staff, all of whom wear many hats…that leaves the onus on me and my team to find funding and successfully apply for it – specifically me.

Josie Moon from East Marsh United thinks government could take a different approach. She said:

I know for a fact, because we work with them, that there are tens of thousands of really good organisations across this country who are working at community level and street and grassroots level. If you gave them this money, they would transform those communities within a year, and they would do it alongside residents. Would do it properly. They would do it with love and with values and personcentered practice, and they would leave the Council standing because they know what they’re doing. We know what we’re doing. We understand where we live. We understand what is needed.

If the government would just say, trust the people who are doing the work to do the work, empower them to get on with it. Then we’ll see real change, then we’ll see equality, then we’ll see marginalized and disenfranchised people engaged, then we’ll see an improvement in our streets, then we’ll see an improvement in housing.

Commenting on the polling, Power to Change’s analysis, and the perspective of community businesses, Tim Davies-Pugh, Chief Executive of Power to Change said: 

With £2.5bn of public money promised to ordinary people stuck in limbo, government has a real opportunity to make change happen. Our experience tells us that where possible, funding should remain with councils who must work closely with their local communities to ensure this money is spent on the areas that will make a difference, creating a positive result from this situation. Longer-term we ask the government to significantly change its approach to funding regeneration projects, putting trust in people with skin in the game like community businesses to make decisions about their local area.

Appendix

Table 1. Total Levelling Up regeneration funds ‘at risk’ 

Total LU funds  Funds at risk 
Fund  Quantum  Fund / funding round  Funds that have been paused or under review since the general election1 
Towns Fund  £3,600,000,000.00  Future High Streets Fund and Towns Deals   N/A 
Community Renewal Fund  £220,000,000.00      N/A 
UK Shared Prosperity Fund  £2,600,000,000.00      N/A 
Levelling Up Fund   £4,800,000,000.00  Levelling Up Fund Rounds 1 and 2   N/A 
Levelling Up Fund Round 3*  £974,791,188.00 
Additional support funding for LU Rounds 1 and 2*  £65,000,000.00 
Community Ownership Fund  £150,000,000.00  Community Ownership Fund Rounds 1, 2 and 3   N/A  
Community Ownership Fund Round 4º  £45,058,629.70 
Long-term Plan for Towns  £1,500,000,000.00  Long-term Plan for Towns*  £1,500,000,000.00 
TOTAL AVAILABLE  £12,870,000,000.00    
    Total allocated funds at risk  £2,539,791,188.00 
    TOTAL AT RISK  £2,584,849,817.70 
    % AT RISK OF TOTAL AVAILABLE  20% 

 

Table 2. Real spend to January 2024 

Fund  Quantum  Funding round  Real spend to January 2024 
Towns Fund  £3,600,000,000.00  Future High Streets Fund and Towns Deals  £655,000,000.00 
Community Renewal Fund  £220,000,000.00    £220,000,000.00 
UK Shared Prosperity Fund  £2,600,000,000.00    £84,000,000.00 
Levelling Up Fund   £4,800,000,000.00  Levelling Up Fund Rounds 1 and 2  £512,000,000.00 
TOTAL AVAILABLE  £11,220,000,000.00  TOTAL SPEND  £1,471,000,000.00 
    TOTAL EST. STILL AVAILABLE  £9,749,000,000.00 

 

Graph: Total levelling up regeneration funds at risk:

Methodology 

The funding streams highlighted were all intended to support local growth and regeneration as per the priorities of the Conservative government’s levelling up agenda.2 Allocation totals are based on the published fund awards for each round and may not reflect the amount of funding actually spent (see sources below). Actual total spend for each fund is taken from the report of the Committee of Public Accounts and is correct as of January 2024. Actual spend for the Community Ownership Fund and Long-Term Plan for Towns was not available as of October 2024. 

The funding identified as ‘at risk’ at the Autumn Budget relates to the Levelling Up Fund round 3 allocations, the Community Ownership Fund round 4 and the Long-Term Plan for Towns. Allocation of these funds has been paused, or they have been otherwise under review, since the general election was called in May 2024.3 Decisions on the future of these funds are expected to be announced at the Budget. 

 

Sources  

Notes to Editors 

For comment or interviews please contact: press@powertochange.org.uk. 

About Power to Change  

Power to Change is the think-do tank that backs community business. We back community business from the ground up. We turn bold ideas into action so communities have the power to change what matters to them.  

We know community business works to build stronger communities and better places to live. We’ve seen people create resilient and prosperous local economies when power is in community hands. We also know the barriers that stand in the way of their success.  

We’re using our experience to bring partners together to do, test and learn what works. We’re shaping the conditions for community business to thrive.  

Power to Change is an organisation with charitable status established in 2015 with a £150m endowment from The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF). We received a further £20m from TNLCF in 2021.  

About The National Lottery Community Fund  

We are the largest community funder in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.    

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.  

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