The Government has allocated £9.5bn in levelling up funding, in support of over 4,000 local projects, to be spent by 31 March 2026. A further billion pounds in funding has yet to be awarded.
In June 2022, the Committee’s report on local economic growth highlighted the uncertainty around funding pots for local economic growth, with a risk of over-optimism on how ‘shovel ready’ projects in local bids actually were.
A National Audit Office report examining three of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities’ (DLUHC) levelling up funds found that delivery is behind schedule, with local authorities struggling with the impact of inflation among other challenges. DLUHC had originally expected projects to complete between March 2024 and March 2026, but it is unlikely local authorities will meet this deadline.
Based on the NAO report, the Committee will take evidence from senior DLUHC officials on subjects including:
• Progress to date delivering levelling-up projects;
• DLUHC’s plans for evaluating the levelling-up funds;
• What action DLUHC is taking to tackle delays and support local delivery.
If you have evidence on these issues, please submit it here by 23:59 on Saturday 23 December 2023.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere.