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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support constituents in applying for community funding via the schemes administered by his Department.

At Budget, the UK Government launched three new investment programmes to support communities across the country.

The UK Community Renewal Fund aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches and will invest in skills, community and place, local business and supporting people into employment. Details on how to apply can be found in the prospectus published at Budget. In Great Britain, the lead authority of each of the 100 priority places will receive capacity funding to help them with the required bid coordination and appraisal for that place.

The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK. The prospectus published at Budget provides guidance for local areas on how to submit bids for the first round of funding for projects starting in 2021-22. Capacity funding will also be allocated to the local authorities measured as highest need in England, and all local authorities in Scotland and Wales to build a new relationship with the UK Government. This will support the relevant local authorities to develop bids and ensure that investment is targeted where it is needed most.

The new £150 million Communities Ownership Fund will help ensure that communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can support and continue benefiting from the local facilities, community assets and amenities most important to them. The first bidding round for the Community Ownership Fund will open in June 2021. A full bidding prospectus will be published alongside this, which will be the key reference document for communities in developing and submitting bids