£5m to help councils tackle local issues

Councils in England are being empowered to better tackle issues affecting their communities, including youth unemployment, health disparities and crime.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced 13 councils in England that have been selected for its Partnerships for People and Place initiative. The programme will trial new ways of working across local and central government and deliver innovative, locally-led solutions to key challenges that communities face.

As part of the initiative, councils will be provided with funding and specialist support for projects targeting specific issues in their areas. The projects will be spread across urban, rural and coastal communities and will tackle a broad range of issues including increasing apprenticeship opportunities, tackling crime, health disparities, youth unemployment and poverty.

Each pilot will be looking to test whether closer working between different parts of central government and local places can bring measurable benefits to local communities and people. Each project will receive between £150,000 and £350,000 over a two-year period from the Shared Outcomes Fund. Councils and their local partners will also be offered a range of support, including contact with senior officials across central government to solve problems identified at a local level and external expertise and resources to map existing funding and outcomes and evaluate their projects.

Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Levelling Up and Communities, said: “This is an innovative programme with the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives. From skills shortages and unemployment to tackling poverty and reducing crime, local people are best placed to solve challenges in their own areas. That is why we are empowering communities as we level up every corner of our country.”

The selected pilots are: Birmingham City Council; City of Bradford Metropolitan District; Cornwall Council; Durham County Council; East Sussex County Council; London Borough of Hackney; Liverpool City Council; Luton Borough Council; Newcastle City Council; Northumberland County Council; Southwark Council; Sunderland City Council; and Wakefield Council.