Wigan to get its first share of "levelling-up" money

The cash is part of a £34m package for various parts of the North West to provide nearly 11,000 vulnerable with tailored support and interventions through the flagship Supporting Families programme.

This week the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that councils across England will receive a share of over £200m in 2022/2023 to support vulnerable families in their communities and "help them build a brighter future".

Working jointly with the Department for Education and other departments, the extra money will help local areas tackle the challenges that vulnerable families face including those that put them at risk of neglect or harm.

Dedicated key workers work with every member of the family and bring local services together to resolve issues at an early stage before they develop into more significant problems.

Families are supported to leave abusive relationships, receive joined-up support for mental health issues and help people find work.

More than 470,000 families have been supported to build a brighter future since the programme was launched in 2015. Today’s announcement means councils will be able to support even more families combat problems.

Minister for Levelling up Communities Kemi Badenoch said: “As a society we must help the most vulnerable in our communities and the government is focused on giving families the support they need to build a better future.

“Our Supporting Families programme in the North West plays an integral role as we recover from the pandemic, making sure children get back to school, helping those who have lost their jobs get back into work, protecting people’s mental health and stopping domestic abuse.”

Funding allocations for North West totals £34,179,771

Blackburn with Darwen £992,434

Blackpool £992,434

Cheshire East £957,100

Cheshire West and Chester £1,053,234

Cumbria £1,510,000

Greater Manchester £15,173,134

Halton £774,700

Knowsley £1,098,100

Lancashire £4,382,467

Liverpool £2,981,267

Sefton £1,037,300

St. Helens £911,100

Warrington £758,767

Wirral £1,557,734

To date up to £1.2bn has been invested in the programme since 2012.

More announcements of how the Government plans to support the North West and other areas are expected in the coming weeks.

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