Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to assist councils in cases where they have been allocated funding from the Levelling Up Fund for specific projects, but where due to increases in inflation and borrowing costs since funding was allocated that funding is no longer sufficient to meet the cost of those approved projects.

The department continues to monitor the impact of inflation closely through formal reporting mechanisms and on the ground relationships.

As we have set out previously, the Levelling Up Fund has in place a proportionate project adjustment process. Through this, we can work with places to make sensible adjustments to the scope and phasing of projects to mitigate delivery challenges including cost inflation whilst also maintaining value for money.