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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Faith New Deal Pilot Fund, for what reason the time taken to award funding to successful applicants has been extended beyond the timeframe initially specified by his Department.

The £1 million Faith New Deal Pilot Fund focuses on strengthening engagement between national government, local government and faith groups. The Fund was formally launched on 9 September 2021 and bids closed on 14 October 2021.

We received a large number of applications for the Fund and officials are now in the final stages of the moderation process. The results and subsequent funding allocations will be announced in due course.

I encourage applicants to monitor the Government’s web pages for further updates: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-levelling-up-housing-and-communities.