Towns Fund Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Main Page: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(3 years, 11 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I am very happy to provide an outline of how the towns were selected. Officials ruled out 541 towns based on their lower levels of deprivation. The remaining towns were ranked as higher, medium or low priority based on an evidence-based methodology. The top 40 high-priority towns were chosen for town deals. Ministers used their local knowledge to conduct a qualitative assessment when picking the remaining 61 towns. This involved—
I am afraid we cannot hear you well enough; your diction is very indistinct. If you could sit forward a bit, that would be very helpful.
I am very sorry about my diction. Can you hear me better now? I hope so. I was saying that the top 40 towns were chosen for town deals and that Ministers used their local knowledge to conduct a qualitative assessment when picking the remaining 61 towns. A deals process, rather than an open competition, was used, as many previously left-behind towns lacked the capacity to bid. In that sense, the process was very clear and fair in relation to the basis for allocating the considerable amount of money involved.