Charities at the heart of the levelling up agenda

A catchy title, but charities could be forgiven for saying “Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before” or “What differences does it make?”

One thing seems clear though: in the coming months, charities and others in the VCSE (Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise) sector need to be focussing their attention on the newly formed Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, rather than on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.   

At the DCMS a dedicated sector ministerial role has disappeared as the charities brief has been reintegrated back into the sport role, and the Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is heading for an appointment in court before Christmas with the Good Law Project over the process for appointing the new Chair of the Charity Commission. Heavyweights have been going in the door at DLUHC: Michael Gove – love him or loathe him, few can doubt he has an impact wherever he goes; Andy Haldane, much respected former Chief Economist at the Bank of England and co-founder of Pro Bono Economics; and Danny Kruger, author of last year’s Report on Levelling Up. 

As always the devil will be in the detail of the various announcements, but charities should be poring over it to assess the opportunities various programmes present to help further their work and the people and causes they champion. 

You can bet that government will be looking to gain maximum political capital from the levelling up agenda, with one eye on the next general election. The task of charities is to focus on the social capital this may provide to make a real difference.