Twenty-First Report - Levelling up funding to local government

The government agrees and outlines implemented measures to ensure timely project success, including a project adjustment request process, funding for capacity, and reducing complexity through the Funding Simplification Doctrine. It also highlights the shift away from competition in Levelling Up Fund and the greater flexibility of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Long-Term Plan for Towns.

The government agrees, confirming the Funding Simplification Doctrine is published and in force, with an interim evaluation of the pilots due by year-end and a full evaluation in 2026. It describes improvements to fund management, but will not quantify costs and benefits due to disproportionate burden, nor explicitly commit to six-monthly updates by letter.

The government states it already disseminates lessons through its Delivery Associate Network, which provides group learning, webinars, newsletters, and a 'Knowledge Hub' website for all local authorities. It also commits to using lessons learned from support offers and evaluations to inform the design of future capacity and capability support.

The government confirms its evaluation strategies are publicly available, citing published feasibility and scoping studies for various funds. It details its approach to ensuring robust data, including building spatial data and commissioning external experts for impact evaluation, with reports to be published for transparency.

The government accepts the committee's foundational observation, and in response, provides detailed statistics on the distribution and spending of Levelling Up Funds, Towns Fund, and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including the number of projects underway or completed.

The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, having prioritised proposals from places confident of quick starts and requiring robust delivery plans. It has implemented programme-wide measures for managing costs and improving flexibility, including a Project Adjustment Request process, capacity funding, simplified funding through the Funding Simplification Doctrine, and new non-competitive approaches for some funds.

The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, having prioritised quick-start projects and provided flexibility for deadlines. It has implemented programme-wide measures including a Project Adjustment Request process, capacity funding, and simplified funding through the Funding Simplification Doctrine, and has introduced greater flexibility in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Long-Term Plan for Towns.

The government acknowledges economic factors caused project delays and states it has already implemented programme-wide measures, including greater flexibility via a project adjustment request process, funding for capacity building, and reduced complexity through the Funding Simplification Doctrine.

The government accepts the recommendation, stating it is moving to a simpler, more streamlined funding system. It has implemented a Funding Simplification Doctrine with four principles for new funding to local government and moved away from competition for Levelling Up Fund Round 3.

The department has implemented a new approach for the third round of the Levelling Up Fund, moving away from competition and utilising high-quality bids from Round 2 to reduce burdens and maximise efficiency.

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion regarding funding simplification, setting an implementation date of April 2025. It confirms that all ten pathfinder pilots have been agreed, the Funding Simplification Doctrine published, and provides timelines for interim and full evaluations of the pilot.

The government confirms its implementation of programme-wide measures for flexibility, including the Funding Simplification Doctrine and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It commits to continue improving funds and speeding up decision-making for Project Adjustment Requests by allowing S151 Officers to verify value for money.

The government states it has reflected on lessons learned from pathfinder pilots and is moving towards a simpler funding system. It commits to publishing an interim evaluation of the pilot by year-end and a full evaluation in 2026.

The government agrees with the recommendation and states that the Delivery Associate Network, launched in January 2024, provides expert delivery support to local authorities. It commits to using lessons learned from this and other engagement to inform the design of future capacity and capability support by Summer 2025.

The government agrees, describing the existing Delivery Associate Network which provides expert support to local authorities. It commits to use lessons learned from the overall support offer to inform the design of future capacity and capability support by Summer 2025.

The government agrees with the recommendation and states it has robust plans to measure long-term impact, with a target implementation date of December 2025. It has published evaluation strategies and feasibility studies for key local growth programmes and is commissioning external experts for further methodological work.

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion regarding its approach to evaluation and progress on procurement, setting a target implementation date of December 2025. It reaffirms its plans for long-term impact measurement, detailing published evaluation strategies, feasibility studies, data requirements, and the use of external experts, asserting that these plans are clearly set out and represent significant improvement.

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion regarding the need for comprehensive evaluation of spending, setting a target implementation date of December 2025. It asserts that it already has clear plans for long-term impact measurement, detailing published evaluation strategies, feasibility studies, data requirements, and the use of external experts for robust evaluation.

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion that it should have a plan for long-term project review and states a target implementation date of December 2025. It clarifies that it believes existing evaluation strategies and published studies already incorporate plans to measure long-term impact for local growth programmes, including data requirements and commissioning external experts.