Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the criteria for future rounds of the Community Ownership Fund will be changed so that community assets are defined in line with Section 88.1 of the Localism Act.

The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million fund over 4 years to support community groups across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community.

We will conduct a review to learn from the first bidding round and amend future rounds and assessment criteria accordingly. Currently, the fund will support a range of asset types and ownership models, providing the applicant demonstrates their community value.