Tag: Housing and Communities

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 4 March 2025.

The government has announced £1.5 billion funding for 75 selected communities through the Plan for Neighbourhoods.

Local people to see their high streets revived, community hubs saved and public services transformed and strengthened through the Plan for Neighbourhoods, announced today.

£1.5 billion to be handed to towns across the UK to tackle deprivation and turbocharge growth as every area joins the decade of national renewal committed to in our Plan for Change.

A total of 75 areas will each receive up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade through the plan, with ministers vowing it will help transform “left behind” areas by unleashing their full potential by investing in delivering improved vital community services from education, health and employment, to tackling local issues like crime. Transformation will be holistic, long-term, and sustainable to deliver meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.

Communities across the four nations from Scunthorpe in England, Irvine in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Coleraine and Derry~Londonderry in Northern Ireland are among the areas set to benefit.

This is the latest step in the government’s ambitious Plan for Change missions to grow the UK economy, deliver safer streets and create opportunities for everyone.

The Plan for Neighbourhoods doubles the scope of the types of projects that can benefit and is now fully aligned with the government’s long-term Plan for Change missions: breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner said:

“For years, too many neighbourhoods have been starved of investment, despite their potential to thrive and grow. Communities across the UK have so much to offer – rich cultural capital, unique heritage but most of all, an understanding of their own neighbourhood.

“We will do things differently, our fully funded Plan for Neighbourhoods puts local people in the driving seat of their potential, having control of where the Whitehall cash goes – what issues they want to tackle, where they want to regenerate and what growth they want turbocharge.”

Minister for Local Growth and Building Safety, Alex Norris said:

“When our local neighbourhoods thrive, the rest of the country thrives too. That’s why we are empowering communities to take control of their futures and create the regeneration and growth they want to see.

“Our Plan for Neighbourhoods we will deliver long-term funding that will bolster that inner community spirit in us all and relight the fires in corners of the UK that have for too long been left fighting for survival.

“This, along with our ambitious reforms to streamline the planning system, devolve powers and strengthen workers’ rights, will help get places and people thriving once again.”

In each area, the government will help set up a new ‘Neighbourhood Board’, bringing together residents, local businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement a new vision for their neighbourhood.  Mayors will have a formal role in town boards allowing local people to take advantage of the powers devolved from Westminster.

Each board will decide how to spend up to £20 million – they can choose from options ranging from repairs to pavements and high streets, to setting up community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials, as well as co-operatives or even neighbourhood watches.

By creating thriving places, strengthening communities, and empowering people to take back control, areas can now drive forward their own priorities.

Through our ambitious devolution plans already underway, creating the greatest shift in power from Whitehall to local areas across England – change and growth for every corner of the country is already being seen. Leaders with skin in the game are finally able to take the lead on decision making, tackling the issues that matter to voters, breaking down barriers to opportunity and boosting economic growth.

Further information

The Plan for Neighbourhoods delivers on the commitments made to these deprived communities from the previous administration’s Long-Term Plan for Towns, which it was confirmed at the 2024 Autumn Budget would be retained and reformed.

Ministers have also published a list of regeneration powers that communities will be encouraged to use, like the power to save pubs by listing them as community assets, and the use of respect orders to tackle repeat offenders.

Funding will be released from April 2025 with delivery investment commencing in 2026, and areas included in the Plan for Neighbourhoods were chosen after considering key factors including rates of deprivation and healthy life expectancy.

All 75 areas receiving funding are as follows:

Scotland:

• Arbroath
• Elgin
• Kirkwall (Orkney Islands)
• Peterhead
• Dumfries
• Irvine
• Kilmarnock
• Clydebank
• Coatbridge
• Greenock

Wales:

• Barry
• Wrexham
• Rhyl
• Cwmbrân
• Merthyr Tydfil

Northern Ireland:

• Derry~Londonderry
• Coleraine

North East:

• Blyth
• Darlington
• Eston
• Hartlepool
• Jarrow
• Spennymoor
• Washington

North West:

• Accrington
• Ashton-Under-Lyne
• Burnley
• Chadderton
• Darwen
• Farnworth
• Heywood
• Kirkby
• Leigh
• Nelson
• Newton-le-Willows
• Rawtenstall
• Runcorn

Yorkshire and the Humber:

• Barnsley
• Castleford
• Dewsbury
• Doncaster
• Keighley
• Rotherham
• Scarborough
• Scunthorpe
• Grimsby

East Midlands:

• Boston
• Carlton
• Chesterfield
• Clifton (Notts)
• Kirkby-in-Ashfield
• Mansfield
• Newark-on-Trent
• Spalding
• Worksop
• Skegness

West Midlands:

• Bedworth
• Bilston
• Darlaston
• Dudley
• Royal Sutton Coldfield
• Smethwick

East of England:

• Canvey Island
• Clacton-on-Sea
• Great Yarmouth
• King’s Lynn
• Thetford
• Wisbech
• Harlow

South East:

• Bexhill-on-Sea
• Eastbourne
• Hastings
• Ramsgate
• Ryde

South West:

• Torquay

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 3 March 2025.

The government has published the Commonhold White Paper today.

Homeowners will have a stake in the ownership of their buildings from day one, not have to pay ground rent, and will gain control over how their buildings are run under major plans to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end.

Plans to reinvigorate commonhold and make it the default tenure have been announced today. Unlike leasehold ownership where third-party landlords own buildings and make decisions on behalf of homeowners, these changes will empower hard working homeowners to have an ownership stake in their buildings from the outset and will give them greater control over how their home is managed and the bills they pay.

Supporting delivery of a manifesto commitment – these reforms mark the beginning of the end for the feudal leasehold system. The changes complement the Plan for Change milestone to build 1.5 million homes, combatting the acute and entrenched housing crisis by making homeownership fit for the future, by putting people in control of the money they spend on their home.

Commonhold-type models are used all over the world. The autonomy and control that it provides for are taken for granted in many other countries. It can and does work and the government is determined, through both new commonhold developments and by making conversion to commonhold easier, to see it take root – so millions of existing leaseholders can also benefit from this step change in rights and security.

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said:

“This government promised not only to provide immediate relief to leaseholders suffering now but to do what is necessary to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end – and that is precisely what we are doing.

“By taking decisive steps to reinvigorate commonhold and make it the default tenure, we will ensure that it is homeowners, not third-party landlords, who will own the buildings they live in and have a greater say in how their home is managed and the bills they pay.

“These reforms mark the beginning of the end for a system that has seen millions of homeowners subject to unfair practices and unreasonable costs at the hands of their landlords and build on our Plan for Change commitments to drive up living standards and create a housing system fit for the twenty-first century.”

Following the introduction of a comprehensive new legal framework for commonhold, new leasehold flats will be banned, and in the meantime the government will continue to implement reforms to help millions of leaseholders who are currently suffering from unfair and unreasonable practices at the hands of unscrupulous freeholders and managing agents.

The government has already empowered leaseholders with more rights and security – enabling them to buy their freehold or extend their lease without having to wait two years from the point they purchased their property, and overhauling the right to manage – putting more leaseholders in the driving seat of the management of their property and service charges.

Progress will be made as quickly as possible to make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease, and to make it easier for leaseholders to challenge unreasonable service charge increases.

Changes set out in the Commonhold White paper include:

• New rules that will enable commonhold to work for all types of developments, including mixed-use buildings and allowing shared ownership homes within a commonhold.
• Greater flexibility over development rights, helping developers build with confidence and maintaining safeguards for the consumer.
• Giving mortgage lenders greater assurance with new measures to protect their stake in buildings and protect the solvency of commonholds – such as mandatory public liability insurance and reserve funds and greater oversight by commonhold unit owners to keep costs affordable.
• Strengthening the management of commonholds, with new rules around appointing directors, clear standards for repairs, and mandating use of reserve funds; and
• Providing an enhanced offer for homeowners – including requiring greater opportunities for democracy in agreeing the annual budget, clarifying how owners may change “local rules” over how a building is run and new protections for when things go wrong.

A new Code of Practice will set out how costs should be apportioned in commonhold, aimed at providing consumers with transparency and clarity, and the Government is committed to strengthening regulation of managing agents. The government will also launch a consultation to ban new leasehold flats later this year to explore the best way forward.

An ambitious draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill will be published later this year setting out the legal framework for how reformed commonhold will work.

Further information

Under the current system, leasehold ownership hands the homeowner the right to occupy land or a property for a set period which reverts back to the freeholder once this expires. It means leaseholders don’t own their property outright, are forced to pay potentially escalating ground rent costs in some cases, and have a landlord who determines how the building is run and determines service charges the leaseholder must pay.

Commonhold ownership allows people to fully own their property outright, with no expiring term or need to save to extend a lease. They can have a say in managing their building, and have the benefit of not needing to pay ground rent or have a third party landlord. There are no leases, with the rights, responsibilities and rules for all property owners set out in the Commonhold Community Statement (CCS). This “rulebook” establishes how the shared areas and facilities will be managed, maintained and funded, as well as the obligations for each person. It establishes a democratic system of decision-making and helps prevent disputes.

Each property owner will become part of a commonhold association upon buying their home, which oversees both the governance and management of the building unless it decides to bring in a managing agent – which will be accountable to the commonholders, not to a landlord, including the power to hire and fire them.

Through the commonhold association, homeowners will have a vote on the annual budget, which is for upkeep and for maintenance of the building, and on the charges they have to pay – equivalent to what service charges are used for under the current leasehold system. Homeowners will also be able to effectively plan for longer-term repairs or maintenance under commonhold, and vote on issues that affect them including adopting ‘local rules’ – specific to how they and their neighbours in the same block of flats want to live.

The government is pushing forward the majority of the Law Commission’s recommendations due to the benefits of this tenure over leasehold.  Initially introduced in England and Wales in 2002, commonhold has struggled to take off due to flaws in its legal framework, despite its success in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, the US and other parts of the world.

Key differences between commonhold and leasehold:

• Commonhold offers full freehold ownership – real homeownership – unlike leasehold, whereby a property is leased out for a set amount of time before reverting back to the landlord and homeowners have a lack of control over their building.
• Commonhold allows homeowners a say on the annual budget for their building – including how their charges for upkeep and maintenance are spent – unlike leasehold, where a bill is usually imposed on leaseholders by landlords often even after the money has been spent.
• There is no ground rent in a commonhold property, compared to older leasehold properties. The ground rent requirement for newer properties was removed in 2022 (2023 for retirement properties) through the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.
• Forfeiture is not possible under commonhold, meaning a unit owner cannot be threatened with losing their home and equity as they can in leasehold. The government will also address the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of compliance with a lease agreement.
• Commonholders have the power to hire or fire a managing agent who works in their interests, unlike in leasehold where one is appointed by the landlord.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 28 February 2025.

A new working group has been established to provide government with a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia.

• It is the first duty of government to keep its citizens safe
• New group set to deliver a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia within six months as incidents of anti-Muslim hatred reach the highest number on record in 2024
• The definition will provide guidance to government and other bodies to support further action on tackling religiously motivated hate, delivering on the Plan for Change safer streets mission

A new working group has been established to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, supporting a wider stream of work to tackle the unacceptable incidents of anti-Muslim hatred.

It will advise government on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims.

With incidents of anti-Muslim hate crime at record high in England and Wales, the group’s work will support wider and ongoing government-led efforts to tackle religiously motivated hate crime – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change mission for safer streets.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, said:

The rise in anti-Muslim hate crime is unacceptable and has no place in our society.

That’s why we’ve committed to defining Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, as a crucial steps forward in tackling it and creating a society where everyone feels safe and welcome.

The group will be chaired by Dominic Grieve KC, bringing his years of legal and government expertise to the role.

Dominic Grieve KC said:

We know Islamophobia is as challenging to define as its existence is undoubted. We need to balance addressing the lived experience of those who are victims of it and the right of British Muslims to feel heard and protected as equal citizens of our country, with the unwavering requirement to maintain freedom of thought and expression under law for all.

I welcome the government’s decision to bring forward this needed work and I am hopeful that this commission will come up with principles in defining Islamophobia which are compatible with those requirements and can thus help support positive change in our country.

Alongside drawing on their own expertise, members will engage widely to ensure the definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of Muslim communities across the United Kingdom.

The group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.

The group’s proposed definition must be compatible with the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression – which includes the right to criticise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 February 2025.

How City of London saved hours of manual labour by using a Digital Planning automation.

During the consultation for their City Plan 2040, the City of London Corporation received 2,000 comments from almost 300 individuals—87% of which were sent by email.

To organise these responses efficiently, the Corporation partnered with the MHCLG Digital Planning programme to test an email processing automation designed to improve the handling of public consultation responses.

The approach

Following this approach allowed them to:

• automate response processing using Microsoft 365
• create a detailed SharePoint database
• make data-driven decisions without manual labour

 Understanding local opinion

Public consultations are a key part of community engagement, particularly in local plans. They help local planning authorities (LPAs) understand local opinions and priorities. However, processing the thousands of responses often received can be time-consuming and labour-intensive.

Developed as part of the MHCLG Digital Planning programme, the automation helps this by organising and storing email submissions. It’s a Microsoft 365 add-on, which is free for existing licence holders. It automates the categorisation and storage of email submissions, removing the need for manual data entry.

Reducing manual work

It simplifies the process of collating responses, allowing LPAs to focus on analysing feedback and making informed decisions. This significantly reduces manual work and frees up staff time for other priorities.

The automation can potentially save 1 to 2 months of administration per consultation and comes at no extra cost to those with Microsoft 365. It is completely optional and at every LPA’s discretion as to whether they install and use it.

Creating effective databases

The Power Automate add-on connects to the consultation email inbox in Microsoft 365. It automatically categorises unread emails that come in during the consultation period.

It then collects:

• the person’s name
• email address
• subject line
• any attachments
• body text of the email

It stores these in a centralised SharePoint location, removing the need for manual entry.

To review responses, you access the stored data in the designated folder or database on Microsoft 365. You can then analyse feedback, generate reports, and make data-driven decisions without manually sorting through individual emails.

The automation is compatible with various IT systems used by LPAs. City of London has shown that it not only reduces administrative burden, but also enhances the accuracy and organisation of consultation data.

In summary

Michelle Rowland, City of London Planning Policy Officer, praised the automation’s impact:

The program worked well for us, saving us hours of manual data entry in one step of the representation processing. Instead of painstakingly inputting emails, names, and relevant details by hand, the program automated the entire process.

From the spreadsheet export, we were easily able to add additional columns for summarising and analysing the comments.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 27 February 2025.

An overhaul of local plans has been confirmed by the Government today.

Decisions by councils on new development will be clearer, simpler, and prepared up to four years faster to help fix the housing crisis, thanks to further changes announced today.

An overhaul of local plans – which are frameworks to determine where houses and infrastructure should be built – has been confirmed by the government, with a clear expectation for them to be made within two-and-a-half-years as opposed to an average time of seven years.

New changes include introducing regular assessments to help councils stay on track towards meeting their targets, greater clarity about how plans should be prepared and updated, and using digital tools to increase transparency on available land for new development.

This is backed by an additional £4.5 million to fund salary bursaries for new planning roles in councils, with ambition to surpass the government’s manifesto commitment of 300 extra planners by the end of next year. Nearly 90 graduate planners have already started work through this programme.

Reforms support the government’s Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and reinforces the importance of local plans to achieve this, with fewer than a third of places currently having up-to-date plans in place which can lead to speculative, unplanned development.

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said:

“The plan-led approach is, and must remain, the cornerstone of our planning system and the government are determined to progress toward universal coverage of local plans.

“The steps we are taking today will ensure that local plans are simpler, faster to prepare and more accessible so that communities in every part of the country can more easily shape decisions about how to deliver the housing and wider development their areas need.

“Alongside further guidance and support to help local authorities realise the full potential of this government’s planning reforms, these changes will help deliver our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.”

Today’s changes build on the growth-focused National Planning Policy Framework announced last December that told councils to play their part to meet local housing need, with new immediate mandatory housing targets and requirements to prioritise lower quality ‘grey belt’ land if unable to meet these targets.

Additional funding of £70,000 will be handed out to each of the 133 local authorities who came forward for support to help them carry out locally led green belt reviews. Further funding for councils at the later stages of plan-making will be announced in due course to help them prepare or update their local plans.

This is part of over £14 million in grant funding available to support councils in updating their local plans and reviewing their current green belt land, enabling them to hire more staff and consultants to carry out technical studies and site assessments. Planning guidance has been updated today to support local councils to identify land for development including grey belt.

This is alongside new guidance on Local Nature Recovery Strategies that is being prepared across England to agree priorities for nature recovery, as well as further guidance for making effective use of land to ensure suitable brownfield land is prioritised for development as much as possible.

The capacity and capability of local authorities will be boosted by increased planning fees with an extra £50 million income, making sure councils have the resources needed to rubberstamp the approval of new homes and infrastructure.

A new dedicated webpage for plan-making resources has been created to provide clearer guidance and practical tools to speed up plan making, underpinned by quality data, and further practical resources will be added over the coming year to help planners at all stages of creating or updating a local plan.

The government is changing the way the plan-making process works with the same focus on policy set out in the 2023 consultation and intends to confirm the necessary regulations and guidance later this year.

Further information

The Housing and Planning Minister’s written ministerial statement can be read in full here.

The government has published a new dedicated webpage for plan-making resources for councils on how to create or update a local plan. It can be found here.

Councils can also sign up to the expression of interest for the Local Government Association’s Pathways to Planning Initiative here.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 26 February 2025.

In the full response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report today (26 February), the government has accepted the findings and sets out its plans to act on all 58 recommendations.

• Sweeping construction, building and fire safety reforms set out as government accepts findings and takes action on all 58 recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report
• Tough new rules on construction product safety, backed by a strengthened regulator to stamp out bad practice and drive higher standards
• Debarment investigations to be launched for seven organisations named in the report using tough new procurement powers
• Stronger, more enhanced protections for social tenants, including by empowering them to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing

Tough new reforms to ensure all homes are safe, secure and built to the highest standards will benefit millions of people across the country as the government takes decisive action to tackle the failures that led to the devastating Grenfell Tower tragedy – which resulted in the loss of lives of 72 innocent people.

In the full response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report today (26 February), the government has accepted the findings and sets out its plans to act on all 58 recommendations, driving a sweeping transformation to enhance building and fire safety standards.

Under the proposals, industry will be held to account for failure, with new regulatory measures to prevent a tragedy like the events at Grenfell Tower from ever happening again.

The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:

The Grenfell Tower tragedy claimed 72 innocent lives in a disaster that should never have happened. The final report exposed in stark and devastating detail the shocking industry behaviour and wider failures that led to the fire, and the deep injustices endured by the bereaved, survivors, and residents.

We are acting on all of the Inquiry’s findings, and today set out our full response, detailing the tough action we are taking to drive change and reform the system to ensure no community will ever have to face a tragedy like Grenfell ever again.

That means greater accountability, stronger regulation, and putting residents at the heart of decision-making. We must deliver the fundamental change required. We owe that to the Grenfell community, to the country, and to the memory of those who lost their lives.

The Grenfell Inquiry’s final report exposed a system that ignored safety risks and failed to listen to residents. The report laid bare ‘systemic dishonesty’ in the industry, failures in the construction sector and by successive governments, and poor regulation in the run up to the disaster.

The government has apologised on behalf of the British state for its part in these failings and introduced significant changes to fix the worst issues exposed by the tragedy.

Reforms set out today include:

• A new single construction regulator to ensure those responsible for building safety are held to account.
• Tougher oversight of those responsible for testing and certifying, manufacturing and using construction products with serious consequences for those who break the rules.
• A legal duty of candour through a new Hillsborough Law, compelling public authorities to disclose the truth, ensuring transparency in major incidents, and holding those responsible for failures to account.
• Stronger, clearer, and enforceable legal rights for residents, making landlords responsible for acting on safety concerns.
• Empowering social housing residents to challenge landlords and demand safe, high-quality housing, by expanding the Four Million Homes training programme. Make it easier for tenants to report safety concerns and secure landlord action by taking forward the Make Things Right campaign.
• Ensuring lasting transparency and accountability by creating a publicly accessible record of all public inquiry recommendations.

As well as changes in regulation, in December 2024, the government launched its Remediation Acceleration Plan which sets out tough new measures to get buildings fixed quicker and ensure rogue freeholders are held to account.

Building Safety Minister Alex Norris said:

The Grenfell Tower fire was a preventable tragedy, and the failings it exposed demanded fundamental change.

Our response today to the Inquiry’s findings sets out a comprehensive plan to reform the construction sector, strengthen oversight and make sure that residents are the priority when deciding on building safety issues.

We will continue working closely with industry, local authorities and the Grenfell community to make sure these reforms deliver real, lasting change and rebuild trust.

Supplier Accountability

Today the government set out the next steps of its review to identify where the Inquiry’s report found failings by specific named organisations in relation to the Grenfell fire.

New powers under the Procurement Act will be used to investigate seven of the organisations criticised in the report. If certain grounds are met, their names will be added to a published debarment list which must be taken into account by contracting authorities when awarding new contracts.

A legacy of justice for the Grenfell community

The government remains fully committed to supporting the bereaved families, survivors and residents long-term, as well as to working with the independent Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission to ensure a fitting and lasting memorial, determined by the community. This will serve as a permanent tribute to honour those lives lost and those whose lives were changed forever.

The transformation set out today is not only about fixing the failures of the past but about ensuring a safer future for generations to come. The highest safety standards will be embedded into the 1.5 million homes the government is committed to delivering this Parliament, ensuring that every new home meets robust safety requirements.

The government response makes clear there is still much more to do and is committed to taking decisive action in response to every recommendation.

Notes to editors:

• The government’s progress towards implementing Inquiry recommendations will be published every quarter from mid-2025. We will also provide an annual update to Parliament to ensure wider scrutiny of the pace and direction of work.
• We will deliver reform using a phased approach over the course of this Parliament, bringing together the recommendations directed at government and wider reform as coherent packages. The first phase (2025 to 2026) will focus on making sure that we effectively deliver our current programme of regulatory reform and change. The second phase (2026 to 2028) will focus on having fully developed proposals to deliver recommendations and wider reform, including via legislation. From 2028 onwards, the Government will focus on implementing these reforms.
• We will keep the new system under review to evaluate its effectiveness and ensure it is delivering the intended improvements to residents’ lives. We will make sure that we are taking on residents’ feedback as part of this.
• This response marks the start of a new relationship between government and industry that is based on transparency, clarity, collective responsibility and external scrutiny. We will hold actors in the system to account, effectively enforce standards, steward the highest standards of culture and behaviour and facilitate transparent conversations. However, we also expect industry to take responsibility to instil this change.
• Safe housing is not a privilege but a fundamental right, and these reforms will ensure that right is upheld in every community. A green paper is also being launched today which includes detailed proposals for system wide reform of the construction products regime.
• Debarment investigations into the organisations are set out in today’s Written Ministerial Statement.
• The government will continue to support for the Metropolitan Police’s independent investigation, ensuring that those responsible for the failures leading to the tragedy are held to account.

Other measures include:

• Raising standards by consulting on a new College of Fire and Rescue later in 2025 to improve training and professionalism of firefighters.
• Stopping unqualified individuals from making critical fire safety decisions, by legally requiring fire risk assessors to have their competence certified.
• Continuing implementation of new Residential PEEPs policy to improve the fire safety and evacuation of disabled and vulnerable residents in high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings, engaging with relevant stakeholders on the implementation.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 20 February 2025.

Additional support confirmed for councils in exceptional difficulty to set balanced budgets. Long-term reform underway to fix foundations of local government.

Councils in exceptional need of help will today receive letters confirming government support to help balance their budgets.

30 councils in exceptional circumstances have been confirmed to receive support for the coming financial year to ensure delivery of vital public services, protecting vital community assets and promoting economic stability as committed to in the Plan for Change.

As part of this support package, for the first time additional expectations have been set out to protect treasured community assets, culture and identity, with councils using capitalisation instructed not to dispose of community and heritage assets.

Recognising the financial hardships facing the sector, earlier in the month, the government announced more than £69 billion for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25 in the Final Local Government Finance Settlement. This included a new targeted £600 million Recovery Grant to help councils with greater need and demand for services.

Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE said:

We are under no illusion of the state of council finances and have been clear from the outset on our commitment to get councils back on their feet and rebuild the foundation of local government.

We are working with local leaders, encouraging councils to come in confidence where needed to seek help and be assured we will offer a relationship of partnership – not punishment – in our joint mission to improve public services for communities and create economic stability as set out in our Plan for Change.”

Our long-term commitment is to fix the foundations of local government, including reforming the outdated and inefficient funding model by bringing forward the first multi-year settlements in a decade, creating an updated and fit-for-purpose assessment of need and reforming the local audit system to provide transparency, security and stability to council finances.

However, there are councils in financial difficulty in need of immediate help, and a record number of councils have reached out to the government asking for Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) to help them balance their budgets this year.

The Exceptional Financial Support process has existed since 2020 to support councils facing unmanageable financial pressures. In line with the previous government’s approach, support is provided through a financial flexibility, known as capitalisation, where the government permits councils to treat revenue costs as capital costs and means councils can meet those costs using their existing borrowing powers or via capital receipts.

However, unlike previous years, where local leaders deem it necessary to borrow to support recovery, the government has removed the condition that made borrowing more expensive through a 1% premium. The government will instead work with councils on improvement and actions they can take to help manage their position to ensure value for taxpayer money.

To ensure financial stability and better outcomes for residents the government has consulted on how to best streamline the outdated funding model and distribute taxpayer’s money more fairly, based on an updated assessment of need, enabling every council to deliver high quality services to their communities.

As part of handing local leaders more power and control of their funding, the government will end outdated processes and bureaucracy of bidding for different funding pots and bring forward the first multi-year settlement in a decade in 2026-27 to provide certainty and economic security to councils setting budgets.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 17 February 2025.

Government seeks views of people in six areas on proposals to establish mayoral combined (county) authorities.

Consultations have been launched in six areas on proposals to establish mayoral combined authorities or mayoral combined county authorities as part of the government’s commitment to widen devolution.

The Devolution Priority Programme – one of the largest ever single packages of mayoral devolution in England – was launched earlier this month and will support the areas to move towards devolution at pace, becoming mayor-led strategic authorities by May next year if they proceed.

The government is now seeking views from interested parties, such as local residents, businesses, and public sector bodies.

Cumbria, Cheshire and Warrington, Norfolk and Suffolk, Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, and Hampshire and the Solent joined the Devolution Priority Programme earlier this month.

The consultations will consider questions such as the proposed geographies and how the mayoral combined (county) authorities will operate.

Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE MP said:

We are committed to shifting power out of Whitehall and into our regions, ensuring local leaders have the tools they need to tackle local priorities and realise their areas’ potential as part of our Plan for Change.

Our Devolution Priority Programme will deliver that power at pace and I encourage local residents to be part of our ‘devolution revolution’ by contributing to these consultations.

The Devolution Priority Programme will bridge the gap between the English Devolution White Paper and the forthcoming English Devolution Bill. The government is working towards mayoral elections in May 2026 for the areas that have joined it.

The easiest way to respond and engage in one of the consultations is via the relevant link below:

• Cumbria
• Cheshire and Warrington
• Norfolk and Suffolk
• Greater Essex
• Sussex and Brighton
• Hampshire and the Solent

The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 17 February 2025.

The funding is the latest step in the Plan for Change to deliver economic growth across the country

Regional growth regeneration will get a much-needed boost as two major culture projects across Wales will receive £15 million funding to help boost growth and spark regional regeneration, the government confirmed today (17 February).

Funding will be ‘critical’ in showcasing the UK as a world-leader in culture and bring in visitors from across the globe.

Just as importantly this will help drive growth in all parts of the country – a key element of the government’s Plan for Change – by creating jobs and in some cases building new homes.

Projects in Wales receiving funding include:

• £10 million for Venue Cymru in Conwy, Wales, will upgrade the largest Welsh arts centre outside Cardiff and deliver a step-change in the use of the building, including the consideration of relocating the existing library and Tourist Information Centre to create a modern and innovative cultural hub.
• £5 million for Newport Transporter Bridge, Wales, that will fund vital repair and maintenance works to Newport Transporter Bridge, which plays a crucial role in the tourism economy as a visitor attraction in South Wales.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:

Every corner of the UK has something unique to offer, and our rich creative capital must not be underestimated.

Our Plan for Change promises growth for every region and I’ve seen first-hand how these projects are igniting growth in their communities.

Through investing in these critical cultural projects we can empower both local leaders and people to really tap into their potential and celebrate everything their home town has to offer. This means more tourism, more growth and more money in people’s pockets.”

Alex Norris, Minster for Local Growth said:

The benefits of these fantastic projects go far beyond community and county borders, they are key to unlocking a regional and nationwide celebration of UK culture and creativity as well as driving growth and regeneration.

This investment marks a huge step forward in our decade of national renewal as committed to in our Plan for Change – creating jobs and boosting tourism and regeneration in our regions is the type of long-term, sustainable growth the government is prioritising to ultimately put more money in people’s pockets.”

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:

Venue Cymru and the Newport Transporter Bridge are iconic landmarks in their local communities, and I am delighted that this UK Government funding will be used to boost Wales’ already world-leading tourism and culture sectors.

Our investment in these two fantastic projects is an example of how our Plan for Change will lead to a decade of national renewal for people the length and breadth of Wales. This is a UK Government that is delivering regeneration and economic growth for every community.”

These projects will celebrate and raise awareness of the unique social value and cultural history of Wales while also supporting crucial economic growth through creating local jobs and attracting tourism on a national scale.

Projects that are most advanced and will see benefits spread beyond regional borders and attract investment have been prioritised to maximise public spending and deliver long-term growth.