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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2020 to Question 900118 on Urban Areas, if he will publish information on (a) how the Towns Hub will function and (b) the number of civil servants that are working on the Towns Hub.

The Towns Hub is providing support to 100 towns that are currently developing proposals to agree Town Deals as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. The Towns Hub consists of central and regional teams in The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) with 17 full-time equivalents and the Towns Fund Delivery Partnership led by Arup. Furthermore, the Towns Hub is supported by colleagues across MHCLG and other government departments. More details are available in the Towns Fund further guidance.