Guidance

Pride in Place Programme: governance and boundary guidance

Published 3 December 2025

Introduction

This governance and boundary guidance provides information specific to the Neighbourhood Boards and place boundaries of those communities and local authorities within the Pride in Place Programme. It focuses on:

• accountable bodies and Neighbourhood Board roles and responsibilities
• governance structure requirements for Neighbourhood Boards
• the process by which places should confirm their Neighbourhood Board arrangements and boundary to MHCLG
• geographical boundaries for places in receipt of funding
• the associated MHCLG review process

Partnership structures

Funding will be managed through a partnership between the:

• Neighbourhood Boards, responsible for co-producing the Pride in Place Plan for their place, which constitutes a 10-year vision and 4-year investment plan, and delivering in the interests of local people to improve the physical and social infrastructure of their community
• local authority, who will support the Neighbourhood Board to develop and deliver the plan, and act as the accountable body at the start of the programme.
• MP who has a key role in supporting the Chair and the Neighbourhood Board informing the work and in engaging the community it represents
• local community, to shape the place’s priorities and hold the Neighbourhood Board and local authority to account

This partnership is integral to the successful delivery of the plan, channelling funds to address the right local issues at the right time. Ensuring the community is involved is vital for decision-making and giving the confidence that funding is spent effectively, efficiently, and compliantly.

Accountable bodies

Decision-making will be led by the Neighbourhood Board, with the relevant local authority in each place acting as the accountable body for the funds at the start of the programme, with responsibility for ensuring that public funds are distributed fairly and effectively, and that funds have been managed in line with the Nolan Principles, Equality Act 2010, Public Sector Equality Duty and Managing Public Money principles. They will also be responsible for compliance with legal responsibilities in relation to subsidy control, state aid and procurement.

Our prospectus sets out the intention to move towards community-led delivery models by year three of the Programme. This pathway will vary in different places – a Neighbourhood Board could transition into a community interest company, community benefit society or charity, or an existing community organisation could act as an anchor organisation. Unless agreed by MHCLG, the local authority will remain the accountable body, with delivery responsibility delegated to the relevant community organisation. The Communities Delivery Unit will work with Neighbourhood Boards and local authorities to support this transition and can advise on governance arrangements.

Subsidy control and state aid

MHCLG will provide funding for a general purpose. The onward award of funding and the substantive design of potential public subsidies will be the responsibility of each local authority.

Subsidy Control Act 2022

All accountable bodies must comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 when administering public money under the programme. Accountable bodies should familiarise themselves with the Subsidy Control Act and the statutory guidance which is updated periodically.

For each funding award, including where the local authority itself is the beneficiary of funding, accountable bodies will need to determine whether a subsidy is present by applying the four-limbed test as explained in chapter 2 of the statutory guidance.

If a subsidy is present, accountable bodies will then need to identify a legal route to provide it compliantly. The options include:

• awarding the funding under Minimal Financial Assistance
• completing a standalone assessment against the 7 subsidy principles
• awarding the funding under one of the government’s streamlined routes
• awarding the funding under a suitable subsidy scheme

State aid

Any subsidy provided in Northern Ireland will have to comply with either the European Union’s state aid rules or with the UK government’s subsidy control regime.

Article 10 of the Windsor Framework notes that state aid rules will apply to the UK in limited circumstances.

Non-compliance with subsidy control or state aid law

Accountable bodies may need to recover funding from project deliverers where subsidy control or state aid law has not been complied with.

Where an application presents an unacceptable risk of non-compliant delivery, then an accountable body may choose to either reject it or require adjustments to be made such that funding the project will not contravene subsidy control.

Accountable bodies should ensure that any project deliverers manage subsidy control or state aid in line with their agreed approach and take steps to monitor this. They should ensure that project agreements are designed to enable the recovery of subsidy or state aid if it has been misused.

It is also recommended that project deliverers ensure that project partners are aware of their obligations and that they can recover funding from them if it is not compliantly managed or is misused.

Public procurement regulations

Accountable bodies will be responsible for ensuring that all funding is managed in accordance with relevant public contract regulations.

Authorities should comply with the regulations relevant to their area:

• in England and Wales - Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
• in Scotland - Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015
• in Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland Public Procurement Policy

On 24 February 2025, new rules shaping how public bodies buy goods and services came into effect. The Procurement Act 2023 will create a simpler and more transparent regime for public sector procurement that will deliver better value for money and reduce costs for businesses and the public sector. Local authorities should familiarise themselves with the Act and consider any impacts upon the delivery of their programme of activity and their award of contracts.

How we will assure funds

Programme assurance will follow precedent from existing legacy growth funds managed by the MHCLG and will involve 3 lines of defence.

First line of defence

The first line of defence will be provided by the local authority and is the responsibility of their Chief Finance Officer as they act at an operational management level within the local authority in receipt of the funding. They must follow the appropriate legislation for the area they are based in:

• England and Wales: Section 151 of the Local Government[AS2]   Act 1972, Section 73 of the Local Government Act 1985, and Section 127 of the GLA (Greater London Authority) Act 1999
• Scotland: Section 95 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
• Northern Ireland: Section 54 Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972

The Chief Financial Officer will be required to submit an annual Statement of MHCLG. This will provide written confirmation that they have undertaken to actively apply all the necessary checks to ensure proper administration of its financial affairs regarding the funding programme, particularly in respect to financial administration and transparency of governance.

Second line of defence

The second line of defence is the responsibility of MHCLG and will be undertaken by MHCLG. We will undertake a range of checks, on a risk and sample basis. Local authorities will be required to engage with us and support the process.

Third line of defence

The third line of defence will be carried out by MHCLG’s independent auditors which will review the activity completed by MHCLG for the second line of defence and liaise with internal audit teams operating within devolved administrations as appropriate.

Management of funds

Each local authority should:

• work closely with their place’s Neighbourhood Board and local MP to develop and embed appropriate processes and controls for funding
• develop mechanisms that will empower the Neighbourhood Board in realising their role and driving forward a community-led vision for change
• facilitate the development of a place’s Plan and its delivery while recognising the role of the Neighbourhood Board as decision-making forum

This may include providing advice and support on legal duties (for example, impact assessments), supporting meaningful community engagement or helping Board members navigate those requirements with which they may be less familiar, in the spirit of true partnership working.

Together the Neighbourhood Board, local MP and local authority should ensure that:

• the appropriate capacity and capability are in place throughout the programme period to ensure that funds are distributed effectively in the local area
• residents, businesses, and grassroots organisations are actively involved in programme design and decision-making to ensure delivery reflects the priorities of local people and helps build capacity within the community
• monitoring and evaluation are undertaken according to published guidance.

Boards may choose to use programme funding to hire additional programme management and/or community relationship expertise to undertake the requirements of the Pride in Place Programme, such as relevant administration or gathering necessary community insight. If doing so, we encourage consideration of appropriate local voluntary and charity organisations to provide opportunities to maximise existing networks and to check with the team in MHCLG whether other Boards have or are considering commissioning similar insights.

Working with the Northern Ireland Executive

In Northern Ireland, the distribution of powers between local councils and the Executive are different than in Great Britain. Local authorities and Boards should consider this within their governance and decision-making structures.

MHCLG will provide further guidance on the process for agreeing interventions that fall within a Northern Ireland Executive department’s area of responsibility at the proper time.

Neighbourhood Boards

A Neighbourhood Board must be established in each place who will collectively lead on the development and delivery of the areas Pride in Place Plan. This Board is responsible for deciding how funding will be spent, bringing together local people and those with a deep connection to the area such as residents, local businesses, grassroots campaigners, workplace representatives, faith and community leaders and any other relevant organisations. It should be noted that all members of the Board have an equal right to vote on Board issues. The Board will work in partnership with their respective MP and local authority to develop a Plan for their local area and distribute funding to the projects to deliver on this vision.

Reviewing proposals

The Neighbourhood Board membership proposals for the existing 75 phase 1 areas have been reviewed and accepted by MHCLG.

For the remaining neighbourhoods announced in the expansion, MHCLG will review the Board membership and governance arrangements established by each place to provide assurance that the community and key stakeholders are appropriately represented in line with our guidance. Please see the financial profile and timeline guidance for further detail on this.

Chairperson

Each Neighbourhood Board will be led by an independent Chair, appointed and approved by the local authority and the MP.

In instances where the local authority and MP are unable to reach consensus on the appointment of a suitable Chair, MHCLG will intervene to facilitate and broker an agreement.

The Chair should act as a champion for the place and provide leadership for the Board, ensuring it is community-led and embedded within the local area. We expect that the Chair should be someone who is ‘from’, living or working in the area, holds a prominent role in the community or has a passion for the place, such as:

• the head of a local charity
• a local campaigner
• a community leader
• a faith leader
• a teacher
• a local GP
• a director of a football club

The Chair of the Neighbourhood Board cannot be an elected representative, such as a:

• MP
• MSP
• MS
• MLA
• local councillor

To ensure transparency and accountability, places are encouraged to undertake a public competition to recruit to the role. As the accountable body at the start of the Programme, the local authority is responsible for conducting due diligence when appointing Chairs. 

In most circumstances we expect this role to be voluntary, analogous to that of a school governor or charity trustee and therefore not compensated. However, to ensure that Neighbourhood Boards have the right leadership, the accountable body may choose to provide a basic payment from the Programme’s dedicated capacity funding to remunerate their time. This should only be used to appoint a candidate who otherwise could not afford to fulfil the position. Should such an arrangement be agreed, full details of the payment should be published online.

Board Chairs should be engaged, collaborative and committed to driving the Programme forward in line with the wishes of the local community. In the event that a Board Chair fails to undertake their duties as expected, the local authority has the power to recommend the removal of the Chair, with the agreement of the local MP and subject to approval by MHCLG. Removal of the Neighbourhood Board Chair is a serious governance action that should be guided by clear, objective criteria to ensure fairness and transparency. Such decisions should be determined locally, however, grounds for removal may include:

• Sustained poor attendance or lack of participation in Board meetings (e.g. absence for 3+ months).
• Conflict of interest not properly disclosed or managed.
• Persistent failure to promote a culture of community involvement in line with the programme’s guiding principles.
• Evidenced failure to abide by the Nolan Principles.

Should the Chair wish to resign, a written confirmation of their intent must be submitted to MHCLG, and co-signed by the MP and local authority.

While there is no requirement to formally appoint a Deputy Chair, it may be advisable to consider as part of your succession planning and to deputise where required. It is for the Chair, in partnership with the local authority, to consider appointing a Deputy.

Board membership

Chairs will lead the recruitment of the members of the Neighbourhood Board, ensuring an inclusive and representative selection of people from across the local community. Chairs should be supported by the local authority and local MP to identify and recruit candidates for the Board.

Chairs should be guided by the following criteria in convening and agreeing their Board, working with the local MP and local authority:

• Boards must have at least eight members, to ensure a broad range of voices and perspectives.
• The majority (at least 51%) of members should live or work within the boundaries of the neighbourhood, ensuring that the Board is resident-led.
• Members should broadly reflect the range and diversity of people who live in the area – for example, in relation to age, ethnicity, gender, faith, disability or income levels.

Beyond this, Neighbourhood Boards must include the following members:

Parliamentary representatives

The relevant local MP must sit on the Board to act as a champion and enabler of their local community.

Where a phase 1 built up area place boundary is spread across constituencies, and the geographical share is 25% or above, a second MP may be invited to sit on the Board. Where the percentage share is 10% to 25%, those MPs should be consulted on any plans that impact an area within that MPs constituency, otherwise the MP with the largest percentage of constituency within the place boundary should be the sole MP representative.

Phase 2 of the programme targets smaller geographical areas called MSOAs. Our methodology applied a cap of one MSOA per parliamentary constituency. While in most cases, whole MSOAs fall exactly into one constituency, some MSOA boundaries span across boundaries. In these cases, MSOAs were allocated to one constituency based on the centre of population distribution. This means that only one MP is responsible for each phase 2 neighbourhood. It is this responsible MP that will sit on the Neighbourhood Board.

In line with this government’s commitment to reset relationships with the devolved governments and respect their legislatures, in Scotland and Wales the appropriate constituency MSP or MS should also sit on the Board. Councils in Northern Ireland are encouraged to invite the MLAs to the Board and should ensure that representation is balanced.

Local councillors

All Boards should include at least one ward councillor. As Board members, ward councillors can play a key role in convening and leading local partnership working with the community to shape local priorities.

Where relevant for the place, the Chair may wish to invite parish, town, or community councillors, noting that numbers of elected representatives should be limited to promote community leadership.

Other representatives

The Board should comprise representatives from a cross-section of the local community to promote community leadership, and Boards should ensure there is greater representation from non-elected members than elected, in line with the ‘community-led’ principle of the programme. Council officers may provide secretariat support and can sit as an observer to the Board discussions, if agreed with the Chair.

The Chair, supported by the local authority, must ensure the right people are around the table to fully reflect the priorities of the place. Chairs will want to consider the following groups:

Community leaders, organisers and activists, such as:

• community groups
• faith groups
• local charities
• neighbourhood forums, neighbourhood watch or local tenancy groups
• youth groups
• social clubs
• local councils for voluntary service (CVS) in England, Third Sector Interface (TSI) in Scotland, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) in Wales or Third Sector Trustee Network in Northern Ireland
• workplace representatives, for example trade unions

Local businesses and social enterprises, such as:

• the chair or board members for the local Chambers of Commerce or Business Improvement District (BID) where these exist
• key local employers or investors in the place
• registered social housing providers
• Co-operatives

Cultural, arts, heritage and sporting organisations, such as:

• local sports club directors or fan representatives
• local heritage groups
• director of a local museum

Public agencies and anchor institutions, such as:

• local schools, higher education and further education institutions
• mayors of combined authorities or their representatives
• relevant government agencies for that area, for example, Integrated Care Boards or Community Planning Partnerships in Scotland
• relevant health care providers, for example GPs from local practices or senior NHS staff
• relevant senior local authority officers, for example, a Director for Economic Development to ensure coordination with wider plans
• a representative from other relevant local agencies

Chairs should seek to bring a broad range of voices and perspectives into their Board, ensuring that it is representative of the community it serves. To support inclusive participation, members of the Neighbourhood Board should be permitted to claim reasonable expenses incurred through their involvement. This may include, but is not limited to, travel costs and childcare expenses. Offering such support is essential to enabling the engagement of individuals who might otherwise be unable to participate due to financial or caregiving constraints.

Councils should ensure that their Neighbourhood Board membership complies with their duties in relation to their equality duties, including the Equality Act 2010, Public Sector Equality Duty and Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Section 75 requires public authorities, in carrying out their functions relating to Northern Ireland, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between the 9 equality categories. In addition, public authorities should have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, and racial group. Councils, alongside their chosen Chair, should ensure that these equalities duties are met when designing their Neighbourhood Board.

Governance structure requirements

Given the smaller geographical focus of the Programme expansion, we anticipate that Board memberships may be smaller than in existing phase 1 areas. All Boards should consider the size of their membership and whether smaller, focused working groups would be useful to deliver the Programme’s strategic objectives through facilitating engagement with the chosen themes, setting up appropriate groups where required.

Recognising that places will have existing community interest groups and decision-making bodies (for example, neighbourhood watches or ‘friends of’ groups), Boards should consider how they can work with, alongside and, where appropriate, integrate into local community infrastructure.

In some local authorities there may be multiple Pride in Place Programme neighbourhoods or an existing Neighbourhood Board from phase 1 of the Programme. Each Pride in Place Programme area, whether announced in the first or second phase, should have a dedicated structure or forum to influence decisions which is focused solely on that area. Each focused forum should therefore have a dedicated membership, tailored to and including residents from, the given neighbourhood.

There will be local discretion permitted over how exactly these structures fit together.

Membership changes

While Boards can design their own process to update the membership, in collaboration with the local authority and local MP, we suggest that the most appropriate time to refresh Board membership may be at the end of the first 4-year investment period cycle. Any updates must be communicated to MHCLG, and the appropriate conflict of interests checks completed.

Operation of Neighbourhood Boards

The local authority or an alternative organisation, such as a community group if agreed by the Chair and local authority, should act as secretariat to the Board. The secretariat for the Board should be responsible for operation of the Board, ensuring there is an established terms of reference and that it follows the associated governance and transparency requirements.

Where the local authority is fulfilling this role, council officers may provide secretariat support and can sit as an observer to discussions, if agreed with the Chair. However, we also strongly encourage the Board to consider whether an alternative organisation, such as a local community group, could act or support in this role to build capacity and capability. This will support Boards in moving towards community-led delivery by year three of the programme, as set out in the prospectus.

Neighbourhood Board governance

Transparency

In line with the principles of public life and to ensure the local community can hold the Board to account, its operations must be transparent.

The Board should publish membership and governance arrangements (including minutes of meetings and decision logs) on the lead local authority’s website.

We expect Neighbourhood Boards to meet quarterly and to publish:

• a documented decision-making process, outlining the voting rights of the Board
• profiles of Board members
• all Board papers in advance of the meeting within 5 working days
• draft minutes of meetings following the meeting within 10 working days
• final minutes, once approved by the Board within 10 working days
• any conflicts of interest reported, within the published minutes
• full use of capacity funding, including amount of remuneration and/or expenses reimbursed, if applicable

Boards should follow lead local authority governance and finance arrangements when considering private reports, with the default position being that all papers are open to the public.

Code of conduct

All members should sign up to a code of conduct based on the Seven Principles of Public Life (the Nolan Principles),

There should be clear processes for managing conflicts of interests (commercial, actual, and potential) in decision making, which apply to all involved with the work of the Board.

As vested members of the community, it is reasonable that many will have interests that may indirectly benefit from the Board’s work. This does not preclude individuals from joining the Neighbourhood Board, but interests must be declared, and members should recuse themselves from relevant decisions.

Declaration of interests

The lead local authority should provide guidance on:

• the financial and non-financial interests, individuals must declare
• the process that the Neighbourhood Board members must follow for declaring interests
• the process for requesting an exemption

Members must then complete a declaration of interests, which the lead local authority will then hold. This can be in a format the lead local authority already uses.

Members are responsible for declaring their interests before the Neighbourhood Board considers any decisions. The lead local authority must record:

• actions taken in response to any declared interest
• any gifts or hospitality given to the Neighbourhood Board or individual members

Geographical boundaries

Funding allocated to each place should be spent for the benefit of the community within an agreed geographic area. This concentration of expenditure and activity will deliver on local people’s priorities across the 3 strategic objectives of the programme:

• building thriving places
• strengthening communities
• empowering people to take back control

The default geographic boundary for the 75 phase 1 places is determined as follows:

• for England and Wales: the built-up areas as defined by the Office for National Statistics (2022 boundaries GB BGG)
• for Scotland: based on Localities 2020 geography
• for Northern Ireland: Settlements 2015 data

The default geographic boundary for the 169 phase 2 places is determined as follows:

• For England: “Neighbourhoods” are approximated as 2021 Middle layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs).

We will confirm the neighbourhoods selected, and their corresponding boundaries in Scotland and Wales in due course.

Changes to boundaries

Phase 1 places have agreed boundaries in place, these are final.

Phase 2 Neighbourhood Boards may make representations to MHCLG to alter their default boundary within the following parameters. These parameters are:

• the new geography must be precisely defined – i.e. no ambiguity over whether a specific residence falls inside or outside the boundary
• the new geography must completely contain the boundary originally selected.
• the new geography must be a single contiguous area
• the population of the new geography must remain at neighbourhood level
• the change in geography must be agreed by the MP, the local authority, and the Board, ideally with wider local consultation, and must be submitted in writing to MHCLG
• any boundary changes must be submitted by 17 July 2026
• the new geography must remain within the spirit of the programme

As an example, a key asset for the community may sit just outside of the default boundary, or it might exclude a key street which is understood by local communities as being part of the same neighbourhood. Including these assets would be an appropriate rationale for amending the boundary.

Boards should not submit requests to remove areas from the boundary unless they can evidence a clear error in its inclusion.

Bordering Neighbourhoods

In a small number of cases, Pride in Place neighbourhoods directly border one another, covering one contiguous area. In these instances, bordering areas will be permitted to merge governance arrangements according to their own assessment. This should be communicated to MHCLG as part of the Board and boundary confirmation process. 

Location of interventions

The exact location of planned interventions, and where money can be spent should be decided by the Neighbourhood Board. In some circumstances a Board may determine that interventions may extend beyond the geographic boundary for the programme, so long as it benefits and reflects the preferences of the resident population.

As a guide, the key considerations are whether interventions:

• remain within the spirit of the programme
• have the agreement of the Board and a clear rationale
• benefit the residents of the neighbourhood within the agreed boundary
• involve a key community asset used by residents of the original neighbourhood

For example, for participatory interventions such as creative workshops and community initiatives, it is not essential that all attendees and beneficiaries are from communities within the agreed boundary, provided the primary benefit of the intervention is felt within the intended area.

Similarly, interventions related to developing thriving places through active travel or high street enhancements in the local area may extend beyond the agreed geographic boundary for the programme, for example, funding for a cycle route from a location within the agreed place boundary to a location outside the boundary or interventions to support the local high street which is outside of the boundary.

Spatial targeting

Boards can choose to fund interventions across their agreed area or to target funding towards areas depending on the priorities identified in their engagement. However, we expect to see examples of activity being targeted into the most deprived neighbourhoods within this geography. This is especially important in phase 1 areas where geographical boundaries are larger.

To support this, we will include information on the most deprived Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA) within each area in our forthcoming data packs.