Levelling Up Fund in NI - Can NI go Bigger?

NI secured over £48m from the first tranche of Levelling Up Fund, announced in line with the 2021 autumn budget. The UK wide £4.8bn Fund seeks to invest in infrastructure projects that improve every day lives across the UK. Within NI, seven local councils were awarded funding with Derry City & Strabane District Council winning £16.3m - a third of the overall amount spread across three projects; and Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council securing the largest single bid of £12.2m for Dundonald International Ice Bowl.

Proportionately, NI achieved 7.5% more spend per capita than England but 21.7% less than Scotland and 47.7% below the stand out winner Wales. NI was above four english regions including London, which secured only £7.22 per capita, and below five english regions. Ni has done well, but could it do better? NI was the only region in the UK that didn’t need their local MP to in effect vouch for the project, whilst the fund was also open to all not just public bodies. However, the scale of the bids and the quick turnaround - all projects must be spent by March 2024 - means that in reality there are few potential applicants, and that projects need to be quite thought out with planning, designs and procurement to be completed within timeframe.

Across the UK, there was 105 successful bids for the Levelling Up Fund totalling £1.693bn. The average successful bid was £16.1m and interestingly the median was £19.4m. In contrast NI’s average successful bid was £4.4m. 10 of NI’s 11 successful bids fell within the 15 lowest bids overall. LCCC’s bid of £12.2m was the 29th lowest bid. The largest bid by Derbyshire (population 780,000) was for more than all NI bids combined. Over three-quarters of the bids (77.1%) were for more than £10m; with over three-fifths (62.9%) worth over £15m. There were 29 bids (27.6%) for over £20m, and 24 bids (22.9%) alone between £19m and £20m. With over £3bn still to be awarded, and possibly £91m still for NI (based on initial estimate of £140m), there’s still much potential.

Funding in itself is very welcome, but also the opportunity to be more included within large UK funding rounds. Whilst Councils in England, Scotland and Wales have much wider remits than their NI counterparts, the Fund represents a massive opportunity. Public bodies have had to get used to the new business case approach by UK departments (eg for the City/Growth Deals) so are becoming better placed. Many NI Councils are not short of capital funding requests but their deliverability within a tight timeframe may be an issue. Is there opportunities for more joint bids (Council, Departments, Non-Profits) and could the private sector play a role?

Council’s have all been awarded funds to help prepare bids (which are more akin to Outline Business Cases), and have proved they can be successful. Is now the time to aim a little higher, and not just Councils?