Recommendation 158

The previous Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns (LTPT), published in October 2023, responded to the criticisms about a lack of resource funding. In total, the LTPT provides £1.5 billion of endowment style funding over 10 years to 75 towns across Great Britain to invest in local priorities including supporting high streets. 25 per cent of the funding provided to local authorities under the LTPT is for resource spending. 314 As well as financial investment, the LTPT includes dedicated support to help guide the Town Boards (responsible for developing the area’s long-term plan) and local authorities through the process. In October 2023, the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also announced that a Towns Taskforce would be created, which would report directly to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister and be based in DLUHC. 315 Its purpose was to advise those towns in receipt of LTPT funding on how to develop their plans and take advantage of Government policies, private investment and work with communities. In January 2024, the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Adam Hawksbee as the interim Chair for the new Towns Unit, the delivery body for the Long-Term Plan for Towns. 316