CFPI response to ‘Funding for Levelling Up’ Select Committee report

Responding to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee report ‘Funding for Levelling Up’ published today (26th May 2023), Francis Thomas, Advocacy Manager at the Campaign for Public Infrastructure (CFPI) said:

“We welcome this response from the Committee. The report observes that without significant changes the Levelling Up agenda will fail to deliver for communities, despite cross-party support. The CFPI agrees with the Committee that short-term settlements and competitive grants should not replace core funding to local authorities, which has declined significantly since 2010.

For the most vulnerable areas, those most in need of levelling up, revenue expenditure and the impact of its reduction is of greater concern than the prospects of capital funds. When local authorities cannot meet the costs of existing services and upkeep of essential local infrastructure, communities suffer. The appeal of new and novel should not come at their expense.

This report shares our belief and that of local authorities that to deliver on ambitions, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities must be more receptive to the needs and ambitions for local people, rather than maintaining a dynamic of central authority.”

ENDS