In response to the June 2025 spending review, Tony Armstrong, CEO of Locality, said:
“We welcome the Chancellor’s investment in health, housing and local growth initiatives, particularly those aimed at regenerating disadvantaged areas. However, the Government must learn the lessons of successful initiatives and put communities in charge of their own destiny and not just plug gaps in local council budgets. Local people themselves are best placed to decide how funding is spent, how services are run, and how their area is developed. How this funding is designed and distributed will be critical to its success.
“We agree with the Chancellor that community assets are vital to growth. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see the absence of funding for community ownership in the Spending Review. In recent years, the Community Ownership Fund has enabled community groups to directly access funding to help save hundreds of sports grounds, pubs and community hubs – bringing loved local spaces into community ownership so they can be used to bring people together, create jobs and provide essential support that can transform local people’s lives. .
“Local grassroots organisations have used community ownership as a powerful tool to revitalise local neighbourhoods, drive economic growth when nobody else is interested, and reignite pride in place. This Spending Review was a missed opportunity to support hundreds of communities to have a greater stake in their local area. When the Chancellor talks about renewal, we know that this can only happen with the direct involvement of local people. The Government now must set out a clear way forward on how to put community power at the top of their agenda.”