Guidance

Community Recovery Fund: Guidance

Published 18 September 2024

Communities affected by public disorder in July and August 2024

This guidance sets out the terms under which the Deputy Prime Minister is making available a Community Recovery Fund (CRF) to support those communities impacted by the public disorder that took place between July and August 2024. In England this will be issued under section 31 of the Local Government Finance Act 2003, and released to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance, to support those communities most affected.

Scope of scheme

1. The total amount of funding available under this scheme is £15 million: £12.5 million RDEL and £2.5 million CDEL.

2. The CRF is allocative and will offer a flat rate of £600,000 – split 85% RDEL, 15% CDEL – to each eligible local authority, to be spent before the end of financial year 2024-25.

3. The remaining funds, up to £3 million, will be made available to Sefton Council, in recognition of the exceptional circumstances faced and to support with the delivery of their recovery plan, subject to business case.

Eligible authorities

4. Local authorities who have been significantly affected by the public disorder incidents have been identified and are eligible for CRF. Eligible local authorities have been identified as those where we have evidence of significant disorder across several sources including qualitative, response focused intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business and Trade via Local Resilience Forums (LRF) and local authorities, insights from the Home Office’s Public Safety Group, intelligence gathered by the Local Government Association, the number and types of LRF meetings held to prepare and respond to disorder, the list of priority cohesion and counter-extremism areas identified by MHCLG, and a triaged list of areas experiencing disorder compiled from external reporting.

Funding will be paid directly to the following eligible local authorities:

Local authority	Place	Region
Rushmoor Borough Council	Aldershot (Rushmoor)	South East
Belfast City Council	Belfast	Northern Ireland
Birmingham City Council	Birmingham	West Midlands
Blackpool Borough Council	Blackpool	North West
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council	Bolton	North West
Bristol City Council	Bristol	South West
Hartlepool Borough Council	Hartlepool	North East
Hull City Council	Hull	Yorkshire and the Humber
Leeds City Council	Leeds	Yorkshire and the Humber
Liverpool City Council	Liverpool	North West
Greater London Authority	London	Greater London
Manchester City Council	Manchester	North West
Middlesbrough Borough Council	Middlesbrough	North East
Nottingham City Council	Nottingham	East Midlands
Plymouth City Council	Plymouth	South West
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council	Rotherham	Yorkshire and the Humber
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	Southport (Sefton)	North West
Stoke-on-Trent City Council	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands
Sunderland City Council	Sunderland	North East
Tamworth Borough Council	Tamworth	West Midlands

5. While the above local authorities are those the department has identified as having been significantly affected by the violent disorder that took place between July and August 2024, we recognise that many of the impacts are felt by communities across boundaries and were driven by individuals travelling from neighbouring areas. We therefore encourage local authorities to work and engage with partners across boundaries, to ensure support reaches those most in need.

Eligible expenditure

6. The disorder experienced between July and August 2024 was significant and widespread, causing significant ructions within local communities. The rebuilding required is not just that associated with physical infrastructure, but to begin work to repair fractured communities and bring people back together. Expenditure is eligible under this scheme if;

7. It is in response to the violent disorder that took place between July and August 2024 and is on, or in connection with:

i. Immediate action to safeguard life or property
ii. To prevent suffering or severe inconvenience
iii. To reduce the risk of further disorder in the future
iv. To rebuild social trust and promote cohesion between communities

8. Provided none of the exclusions below apply.

Ineligible expenditure

The following costs are excluded as eligible expenditure:

9. Costs for which a claim can be made under personal, organisational or business insurance.

10. Expenditure for which a claim can be made under the Riot Compensation Act 2016. Anyone who suffers property loss or damage as the result of a riot may be eligible for compensation under the Riot Compensation Act. Any such damage or loss should be reported to the police as a crime. Those who hold insurance for their property should then contact their insurer in the first instance. Guidance on how to claim is available on the Home Office website.

11. Any protective security measures, including guarding services, provided as part of the Home Office rapid response offer or existing Protective Security for Mosques Scheme.

12. Expenditure covered by the Police Special Grant.

13. Beyond that, the overriding rule is that expenditure, which is not clearly incurred on, or in connection with, immediate action to safeguard life or property, prevent suffering or severe inconvenience or bringing communities back together as a result of the public disorder in their areas between July and August 2024 will not be eligible for grant. In particular, expenditure which an authority would normally expect to incur (such as normal salary or wages) will not be eligible.

Funding release

14. Funding will be released as a single advance.

Management of funds

15. The relevant local authority is responsible for the dispersal of funding within their local area, for management of such funds in line with relevant standards and legislation and for maintaining an appropriate audit trail for expenditure.

Subsidy control

16. The local authority will be responsible for ensuring that all funding is managed in accordance with the UK’s subsidy control regime, or EU State Aid rules where applicable to activity delivered in Northern Ireland. Whilst the department has provided funding for a general purpose, the onward use of the funding and the substantive design of potential subsidies /state aid will be the responsibility of each local authority. The local authority’s process for selecting activities to fund should consider how subsidy control or state aid rules may apply, including any eventuality where the authority is itself is the beneficiary of the funding.

Procurement

17. The local authority will be responsible for ensuring that any funding spent through the programme, including by third parties, is done so in compliance with the appropriate public contract regulations.

Environmental impact

18. The local authority will be responsible for considering their environmental duty when dispersing funding, including in the selection of activities.

Public Sector Equality Duty

19. The local authority will be responsible for considering public sector equality duty when dispersing funding, including in the selection of activities.

Risk

20. The local authority will be responsible for managing and mitigating delivery, fraud, and financial risks associated with the funding. It is recommended that local authorities conduct a fraud risk assessment and associated response plan related to this funding to inform delivery and management of the funding.

Monitoring and evaluation

21. The department will take a light-touch approach to monitoring and evaluation.

22. Monitoring will be undertaken in alignment with the new standardised monitoring processes being developed by the department. Further guidance will follow; however data points are likely to focus on activity delivered and accounting for expenditure defrayed.

23. Evaluation will be undertaken internally by MHCLG, reviewing the local impact of the fund. Further guidance on evaluation scope and local authority participation in this activity will follow.

Examples of likely eligible expenditure under the Community Recovery Fund

We have deliberately sought to provide local areas with the flexibility to design a package that responds to their circumstances, empowering local leaders – who know their communities best – to deliver support into those areas most affected.

Subject to meeting the minimum requirement set out in paragraph two, funding can be used to cover activities that involve: Immediate clean-up and repair, security, communications, community activity, voluntary services and youth provision. The following are examples of expenditure covered by the grant, though this list is not exhaustive.

Immediate clean-up and repair:

a. Repairs to highways, public buildings, street lighting, bus shelters and other street furniture, including fences and railings or removal where repair is insufficient.

b. The costs of works to clear debris which are or may be the cause of danger to the public and the cost of clean-up affected areas, including removal of graffiti.

c. Hire of additional vehicles, plant and machinery that are not those already in use by the authority, and incidental expenses.

Community and voluntary activity:

d. Projects which build connections between communities. For example, by bringing people together from different groups, including those of different faiths, around a shared goal/objective, such as through volunteering, befriending or mentoring schemes.

e. Events, workshops, or campaign activities to educate on what constitutes a hate crime and supporting victims of hate crime.

f. Projects in schools and universities which help address tensions/unrests, linked to hatred and intolerance, for example, guidance for teachers on how to de-escalate tensions and respond neutrally to concerns.

g. Initiatives which help counter or strengthen resilience to mis/disinformation and prevent false and harmful narratives spreading. For example, social media focused ‘critical thinking’ lessons in schools.

Support for impacted households:

h. Household recovery support: direct support (suggested at £500) towards households’ immediate recovery costs. Eligible households will be primary residences that were seriously damaged or deemed to be unliveable for a period greater than 48 hours as a result of public disorder that took place.

i. Council Tax Discount: Authorities are able to use this funding, if wished, to provide council tax discounts (suggested at 100% for a minimum of 3 months) on the primary, impacted property and on temporary accommodation for any household unable to return to their home. Eligible households will be those that were seriously damaged or deemed to be unliveable for a period greater than 48 hours as a direct result of the public disorder that took place. Empty and second homes will not be eligible.

Safety and security:

j. Improving security measures for at risk venues, including through enhancing CCTV, installing security fencing and improvements to security and street lighting.

k. Temporarily increasing security patrols.

l. Measures to prevent anti-social behaviour, crime and reduce reoffending including youth diversionary activities.

Communications:

m. Destination marketing and funding for the development and promotion of campaigns which encourage people to visit the local area.

n. Campaigns to encourage local pride and to bring people back into the high streets (e.g. ‘I Love MCR’ campaign 2011).

o. Campaigns to promote community cohesion and educate on hate crime.

Associated costs with the above activity:

p. Legal, clerical and other charges incurred on any of the above work.

q. Additional temporary employees or contractors, to work on the emergency or replace permanent employees diverted from normal work.

r. Special overtime for employees, either during the emergency for overtime worked on the emergency itself, or afterwards to catch up on work from which they were diverted by the incident.