Recommendation 6

It was made clear by our witnesses that competitive bidding is a resource intensive and costly activity. This can create barriers for stakeholders and communities in need of funding. Whilst limited funding was provided for some local authorities in the Funding for Levelling Up 37 Levelling Up Fund round one to assist with bidding costs, challenges remain. These include, but are not limited to, additional costs associated with planning, hiring consultants and costs associated with diverting employee time away from core tasks to put together bids. This is in addition to the financial strain already felt across local authorities. We have also heard that the competitive process is better suited to larger local government bodies with more ready access to resources which can create an uneven playing field. The evidence shows that those who are successful in bidding have a greater chance of success in subsequent rounds or other competitive bidding processes.