Recommendation 9

Other examples of lack of clarity around the Towns Fund process are also of concern to us. The Department gave a confusing explanation for how and why the risks from a no- deal Brexit were assessed by Ministers, when already included in Departmental officials’ assessment. The Department agreed to write to the Committee on how Bank of England data were used to assess towns’ exposure to Brexit.18 Furthermore, the Department has yet to decide which towns across England will be eligible for the upcoming competitive round, or when and how it will be conducted.19 The Department told us it wants to complete its assessment of the first cohort of bids before planning the competitive round, and it hopes to have completed that assessment by the end of October.20 Engagement with local and regional representatives