Department For Transport
Round two application process
When does the application window open and what is the closing date?
The application portal opened on 15 July.
The portal will close on midday on 2 August.
Any bids or supporting documentation submitted after the deadline will not be assessed and will not be eligible to be considered for funding.
Alink to the portal can be found on our application page, along with guidance on how to complete the various questions in the portal.
If you are experiencing problems with the application portal, please contact the following email address, clearly explaining the issue that you are having - LUF2IT@levellingup.gov.uk
You said that places would have a two-week window to submit bids when the portal opened. Why is the bid deadline midday on 2 August?
The application portal will be open from 15 July to midday on 2 August. The additional time accounts for the Scotland Bank Holiday on 1 August, ensuring everyone has at least 2 weeks to put their bids in.
How can places apply for this funding round?
A link to the application form will added when it is available. In the meantime the published application guidance contains questions that will be asked in the LUF Round 2 application form. Before applying, applicants should also familiarise themselves with the prospectus and the technical note that are also available on gov.uk.
Will there be technical support provided to help organisations to develop their bids?
Yes, along with the published prospectus, technical note and application guidance, we have also published recordings of the webinars held with each nation, along with their related slides. As well as this, we have also published a series of technical teach in videos, covering areas of the assessment criteria such as the economic case, monitoring & evaluation and deliverability, along with the slide packs used in these videos.
Capacity funding: can you provide more details on when it will be paid out, what it can and cant be used for and the time period it is meant to cover.
A single payment of 125,000 was paid at the end of May to those places who are now eligible to receive capacity funding, and have not previously received capacity funding relating to the Levelling Up Fund. The capacity funding will be made available as a non-ringfenced RDEL payment made through Section 50 of UK Internal Markets Act. Places are expected to use that to develop high-quality bids to the Fund. The one-off payment will cover the life of the Fund.
All authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland received capacity funding as part of the first round of the Fund, so will not receive further capacity funding in round 2, even if they have now moved to be a Category 1 place in the Index of Priority Places.
How do I submit more than one application?
Each application is linked to a users email address. Only 1 email address can be used on 1 application. In order to submit multiple bids, a separate email address is required for each application.
You can work on multiple bids simultaneously by logging in using the email address related to that application. All applications are available to edit at any time before the application window closes on midday 2 August.
MP support
Will bids receive an advantage if they have priority support from multiple MPs?
Formal priority support will only be reflected once in the assessment of each bid, regardless of the number of MPs who provide it.
If a bid receives priority support from multiple MPs the additional support will be considered as part of wider stakeholder support in the Strategic Fit assessment.
Can MPs still provide general support for bids?
Yes. MPs can signal their general support for one or more bids just as other stakeholders can. This will be considered within the Strategic Fit assessment, alongside evidence of other stakeholder support. There are no restrictions on the number of bids that an MP can support in this way.
The Pro Forma used by MPs to indicate their support states that MPs can offer formal priority support for one bid only. Given recent changes, can MPs submit the old Pro Forma to offer support for two bids?
Yes. The Pro Forma was developed and published prior to the recent change in the policy and reflects the initial position. Whilst we have issued an updated Pro Forma to reflect the change, we also recognise that many MPs will have already completed the initial Pro Forma. Therefore, we will accept either version of the Pro Forma as an indication of formal priority support.
Bid questions
Evidence of spend in the 2022/23 financial year is a requirement of successful bids. What constitutes spending and are there restrictions on types or amount of spending?
We are looking to fund projects that can, in the 2022/23 financial year, demonstrate some capital spend on the project(s) they are bidding for. The types of capital expenditure that we would typically expect to see are as follows -
- Project Management
- Design Fees
- Legal Fees
- Site Acquisition Cost
- Property Acquisition Cost
- Enabling works Pre-Contract - Demolition / Site Preparation or Remediation etc
- Temporary works
- Construction Phase Cost of new build
- Construction Phase Cost of refurbishment / conversion
- Materials/Equipment
- Project insurance
- Other Fees/Costs
The proportion of expenditure against any of the headings should conform to industry norms and represent value for money.
What constitutes a capital infrastructure project? Could projects such as improvements to I.T./internet infrastructure or a portable event space be included?
The Investment Themes section of the LUF prospectus provides an overview of the types of capital projects that we may expect to see under each of the Funds investment themes. Along with this, Table B1 of the LUF technical note sets out potential outputs and outcomes from projects, and places are strongly encouraged to design their bids so that the outputs delivered align with this list where possible. We would welcome bids that are classified as capital and align with the Funds investment themes and outcomes as detailed in the published guidance.
Can we bid for a project to add onto an existing programme/project?
Yes, providing it meets the gateway and eligibility criteria. It will be important that the application demonstrates additional value from the existing programme/project. All applications will be judged according to the published criteria.
Are you still eligible to bid for funding for a project you have already received government funding for?
Yes, however bidders will need to clearly demonstrate the additional value that further investment will bring. This will be required throughout the different sections of the application, for instance as part of the strategic fit assessment we ask that bidders set out very c