Sandwell Council leader hits back over levelling up fund criticism

It comes as Conservative councillors have heavily criticised the council for not being proactive in securing much-needed cash for the area.

Local MPs have also criticised the council for "not having their act together", with one MP, Nicola Richards from West Bromwich East, claiming the council "didn’t know what they could spend the money on".

Councillor Singh said: "Recent stories have unfairly criticised Sandwell council for not applying for the first round of the levelling up fund.

"Suggesting we couldn’t be bothered to apply is grossly unfair to the council and the team who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare bids for round two.

"The government’s own guidance for applying for funding states local authorities are ‘encouraged to consider’ whether bids that they wish to submit for the first round of the fund reflect their local priorities, or if they should wait until later rounds so that they have more time to consider and develop their proposals."

"Congratulations to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, the only bids successful from local authorities near to Sandwell.

"We hope our bids for the second round of funding will enjoy the same success."

Councilllor Singh continues to reiterate the council’s success in receiving money from the Towns Fund of around £67.5million to fund regeneration projects across Sandwell borough.

The towns fund, worth £3.6 billion, is targeted at driving economic regeneration in towns across England.

In September 2019, the government invited 100 places to develop proposals for how they would spend money from the towns fund.

The levelling up fund, a separate pot of money worth £4.8 billion, will invest in local infrastructure.

Although managed by national government via the Treasury, the funds are available for bids across all four nations of the UK.

Councilllor Singh said he is "fully committed" in ensuring Sandwell is not left behind.

He said: "I am fully committed to ensuring Sandwell is not left behind and receives the funding our residents deserve.

"I hope we are able to repeat the success of the Towns Fund with our Levelling Up Fund bids.

"We will be working with relevant partners to develop our bids and await the announcement from the Government on the next round."

The levelling up fund was discussed at a council meeting on Monday.

Little disgruntlement was shown from Labour councillors sat in the meeting over the misjudgement to apply for round one of the levelling up funding, with the exception of Councillor Hughes who said he was "really bothered" that the council did not apply for funds.

He said it gave members of the public "ammunition to throw at us".

Nicola Richards MP has hit back and accused the council of failing to contact her to discuss investment opportunities with the levelling up fund in Sandwell Council.

She said: "I understand if Sandwell council wish to spend additional time refining local projects for the Levelling Up Fund.

"However, at no point have they taken the opportunity so far to discuss plans with me about this.

"In fact, when this was discussed initially under different leadership, they said they didn’t know what they would spend the money on.

"My statement on the facts went out following Labour members placing the blame on local MPs and the government for no funds being announced.

"And since then, Labour councillors have too voiced their disappointment over the lack of urgency at Sandwell Council.

"I would gently suggest that time and resource is ploughed into these projects, and if they would like any ideas on where to spend the money, my list still stands."