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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the rate of success of applications for funding from (a) the Dormant Asset Fund, (b) the Community Ownership Fund and (c) other sources for the development of community assets and services in coalfield communities.

The government is committed to levelling up the UK by spreading opportunity more equally across the country, investing in places that need it most, including coalfield communities.

Multiple former coalfield communities are benefiting from the Community Ownership Fund including the CANA resource and training centre in Rhondda Cynon Taf which received funding in round one. Dormant assets funding has no central bidding process for accessing it. In Wales, £39.2 million of dormant assets funding has supported a variety of projects, including investing £16.3 million in young people, learning, education and employment, whilst £4.7 million has been spent on climate change action.

In addition to this, former coalfield communities are also benefitting from the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, from the Towns Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and our Freeports programme.