Today, MEAM has published a second report on how government and other interested stakeholders can make funding work better for people facing multiple disadvantage.
Recent years have seen the development and implementation of a significant number of government programmes directly or indirectly supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage. These focused programmes – and the funding they distribute to local areas – are important and welcome. Many were delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic under incredibly difficult circumstances.
However, work by MEAM in early 2022 found that the way in which government funding streams are traditionally designed, offered, coordinated and monitored can limit the collective impact they have for people facing multiple disadvantage.
In May, we brought together a group of civil servants from across government to discuss the challenges identified and to consider solutions. The group included officials from the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The discussion focused on three of the most pressing issues:
A: Coordination between programmes and gaps in provision
B: Remit of funding programmes
C: Nature of funding allocation
The briefing published today summarises the findings from the previous report, sets out what we heard at the roundtable and offers a series of recommendations and next steps for those within and outside government interested in leading change.
MEAM will work with government and other interested stakeholders in taking forward these recommendations so that together we can improve the way that funding works for people facing multiple disadvantage.