On 2 February 2022, the government’s White Paper ‘Levelling Up the United Kingdom’ was presented to Parliament. Levelling Up aims to tackle regional and local inequality across the UK, in particular through private sector investment and greater devolution, and will have a number of implications for the charity sector.
As part of its plan to place greater influence in the hands of local communities – with a key theme being “restoring a sense of community, local pride, and belonging” – the UK government will allocate a portion of public spending to community activity. The Dormant Assets Scheme is targeted towards helping charities, social enterprises and vulnerable individuals through an initial investment of £44 million, with potential to unlock a further £880 million. At present, the sum has been split between the Youth Futures Foundation (£20 million), Access – the Foundation for Social Investment (£20 million) and Fair4All Finance (£4 million), which aim to tackle youth unemployment, underfunded charities and social enterprises and lack of access to credit. In particular, Access will provide urgent financing to over 1,000 charities and social enterprises in the more deprived areas of England.
As part of various ongoing and planned regional projects, there is also the opportunity for professional service firms, including law firms, to contribute to community projects and charities as part of this programme by delivering pro bono legal advice to charities alongside volunteering hours to drive change for local people around jobs, sustainability, health and wellbeing, and human rights.
The government intends the White Paper to be the catalyst for a long-term programme of change, with further policy commitments and legislation to follow.
The Levelling Up White Paper can be found here.
