Exclusive: half a billion pounds lost from projects funded by government schemes due to inflation and rising costs
Councils are being forced to freeze levelling up projects or find millions from their own squeezed budgets to complete works because of soaring costs which have exceeded government grants.
At least half a billion pounds has been lost from projects funded by different government levelling up schemes due to inflation and rising costs, the Guardian can reveal. The true losses are likely to be even higher – because for some funds the government will pay out on delivery phase, which could be several years later.
