Recommendation 18

The Department told us that there are a lot of delegated flexibilities. For example, local authorities can move money between years, without seeking approval from the Department.45 The NAO reported that part of the simplification plan was to allow local authorities to make changes within individual programmes up to a threshold of a 30% change to agreed project outputs and outcomes, or changes to project timetables. For example, reducing the amount of new open space or length of a new cycle path, or swapping from providing business support to supporting jobseekers.46 There was also the same 30% flexibility threshold to move spending between financial years without seeking departmental approval.47 The Department wrote to us after the evidence session to clarify that while a local authority does not have to seek permission to make changes up to the 30% threshold, it does need to let the Department know through its regular reporting. It told us that as of December 2023, its latest reporting period, seven places have made changes within the 30% threshold for Town Deals and 29 places have made changes within the 30% threshold for the Levelling Up Fund.48 Learning what works