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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the eligibility criteria for future rounds of the Community Ownership Fund, if he will consider the equity of granting community groups leases with no break clauses.

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

Round 1 of the fund closed in August 2021 and we will shortly be announcing the first projects to receive funding. We will conduct a review to learn from the first bidding round and amend future rounds accordingly, to make sure that the Fund has the reach and impact intended to support communities.