Guidance

Plan for Neighbourhoods: governance and boundary guidance

Published 12 March 2025

Places must confirm or reconfirm their Neighbourhood Board memberships and place boundaries by 23:59pm on 22 April 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 Plan for Neighbourhoods 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

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Plan for Neighbourhoods prospectus.

The place selection methodology for first tranche and methodology for second tranche are available for reference.

A Welsh language version of this document will be published in due course.

Partnership structures

Funding will be managed through a partnership between the:

• Neighbourhood Board, responsible for co-producing the Regeneration 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
• the local community, to engage on 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 heard is vital for decision-making and giving the confidence that funding is spent effectively, efficiently, and compliantly.

Accountable bodies

The relevant local authority in each place will act as the accountable body for the funds with responsibility for ensuring that public funds are distributed fairly and effectively, and that funds have been managed in line with the Nolan Principles and Managing Public Money principles.

They will also be responsible for compliance with legal responsibilities in relation to subsidy control, state aid and procurement.

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 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 business 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 Department 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:

• England and Wales: Section 151 of the Local Government 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 Grant Usage and an Assurance Letter to 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 the department 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 the department’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 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 and local authority should ensure that:

• the appropriate capacity and capability is 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 is undertaken according to the Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy to be published

Boards may choose to use programme funding to hire additional programme management and/or community relationship expertise to undertake the requirements of the Plan for Neighbourhoods plan, 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 to receive funding, bringing together those with a deep connection to the local area such as 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 local authority to develop a plan for their local area and distribute funding to the projects to deliver on this vision.

Previous arrangements

Places that set up a ‘Town Board’ to deliver the previous administration’s Long-Term Plan for Towns programme may wish to fully retain that board and the agreed governance structure to deliver the new Plan for Neighbourhoods programme – this is acceptable.

Similarly, several towns repurposed a ‘Town Deal Board’ or a similar such structure, for example, an appropriate subset of a Community Planning Partnership in Scotland, to act as the Town Board – again, it is acceptable to simply rollover that existing structure to become the Neighbourhood Board.

However, recognising the strategic objectives of this programme and the broader scope of activity that can be delivered through the new interventions list, we encourage places to consider whether refreshing their board membership -including a new independent chair – may be appropriate to reflect the skills, knowledge and sector-experience required.

Reviewing proposals

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.

Chairperson

Each Neighbourhood Board will be led by an independent chair, appointed by the local authority acting as accountable body, following consultation with the local MP.

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. The role is voluntary, analogous to that of a school governor or charity trustee and should not be compensated.

The chair should be someone who holds a prominent role in the community and has a passion for the place, such as:

• the head of a local charity
• a local campaigner
• a philanthropist
• head of a further education college
• a director for the NHS Trust
• 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

Having set up ‘Town Boards’ to deliver the previous administration’s ‘Long-Term Plan for Towns,’ many places will have an incumbent chair. Subject to consulting the respective local MP, the local authority may seek to retain that individual as the chair for the Neighbourhood Board.

Should the local authority - following consultation with the local MP - seek to appoint a new chair to lead the board, they should confirm the associated details as part of their wider governance return. To ensure transparency and accountability, places are encouraged to undertake a competitive application process to recruit to the role. Consideration should be given to the length of tenure for the chair, noting the importance of consistency and the long-term nature of the programme.

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 should work with the local authority to consider the wider membership of the Neighbourhood Board, ensuring an inclusive and representative selection of people from across the local community.

Places may have set up ‘Town Boards’ to deliver the previous administration’s Long-Term Plan for Towns programme, with an existing board membership. Should the chair agree, the membership can be rolled over fully to act as the Neighbourhood Board. However, to ensure the board can deliver on the strategic objectives of the programme and the widened scope of interventions, you may want to consider broadening the membership to bring in additional relevant expertise. For example, to inform any public health interventions, boards may benefit from the experience of a member with experience in delivering integrated care.

Neighbourhood Boards must include the following members:

Parliamentary representatives

The relevant local MPs, for example, MPs whose constituencies sit within the boundary of the place must sit on the board.

Where a 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.

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

In areas where there are 2 tiers of local authorities, there should be one councillor from each tier. In unitary authorities, there should be 2 councillors from the authority. 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.

Senior representative from the police

Neighbourhood Boards must have a senior representative from the police.

In England and Wales, it is expected that this will be the police and crime commissioner (PCC), or a delegated representative agreed between the chair and PCC. Subject to agreement between the chair and the PCC, a local senior representative from the police can act as an alternative. In Scotland, the chair may wish to invite a senior police officer or in Northern Ireland the district commander or area co-ordinator.

Where combined authority mayors exercise PCC functions, it is expected that the mayor or their deputy mayor for policing and crime should be the representative. However, a local senior representative from the police can act as an alternative subject to agreement with the chair.

Should Neighbourhood Boards feel that they require further contribution from the police, noting particularly the different skills and input that could be provided by an operational representative, they may invite any member they deem appropriate to sit on the board.

Other representatives

Beyond these groups, there are no prescriptive requirements for representation, as membership will depend on the local context.

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-first’ 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 partners, such as:

• community groups
• faith groups
• local charities
• neighbourhood forums, neighbourhood watch or local tenancy groups
• youth groups
• local councils for voluntary service (CVS) in England, Third Sector Interface (TSI) in Scotland, 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

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

Councils should ensure that their Neighbourhood Board membership complies with their equality duties, in particular Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. This 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

Boards should consider the size of their membership and whether smaller 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.

Membership changes

We strongly encourage consistency and continuity of membership between the ‘Town Board’ and the Neighbourhood Board, to build on work already undertaken.

While boards can design their own process to update the membership, in collaboration with the local authority, 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. Recognising the partnership between the board and local authority, 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, e.g. a local community group, could act or support in this role to build capacity and capability.

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.

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 council’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

Boards should follow lead council 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 council 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 council will then hold. This can be in a format the lead council already uses.

Members are responsible for declaring their interests before the Neighbourhood Board considers any decisions. The lead council 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 each place 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

Changes to boundaries

Neighbourhood Boards may make representations to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to alter their default boundary.

We know that many places secured agreement with the previous administration to make amendments to those default boundaries. Where an alteration was agreed by the department previously, should the Neighbourhood Board wish to retain that revised boundary, this place boundary will continue to be accepted. Places are required to confirm this when returning their form.

Should the board wish to lodge a request to either amend their default boundary or make further changes to a revised boundary agreed by the previous administration, any alteration must:

• remain within the spirit of the programme
• retain the place that was originally selected
• remain contiguous
• not introduce additional, separate population centres into the agreed area (for example, different communities or neighbourhoods)
• have the agreement of the board and a clear rationale

As an example, a key asset for the community may sit just outside the boundaries provided, or an essential green space may have been excluded, due to the emphasis on ‘built up’ areas.

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

Location of interventions

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 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.

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.

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

Confirm your board membership and place boundary

Neighbourhoods Boards should confirm their finalised membership and place boundary by 23:59pm on 22 April 2025.

MHCLG will ensure that all places have robust governance arrangements in place to deliver the programme. As such, we will ask all 75 boards to confirm their proposed chair, membership, and boundary.

Previously agreed board memberships and amendments to place boundaries will continue to be accepted. We will undertake a light-touch review of submissions which indicate no changes on the form, expediting the process to provide confirmation as swiftly as possible.

Submissions

We will ask for:

• confirmation of whether MHCLG has signed off a previously agreed board and boundary
• board chair and member details
• a nominated contact for the place’s Neighbourhood Board
• confirmation of the proposed geographical boundary for your place
• supplementary documentation (for example, terms of reference and code of conduct)
• outline of capacity funding spends to date and plans for additional spending

We recognise that places had set up a ‘Town Board’ to deliver the previous administration’s Long-Term Plan for Towns programme and submitted the associated membership details and boundaries for approval.

We are using an updated system to collate this information which will require towns to provide the full suite of information. This will make the approval process and management of the data much simpler and save time when making updates in the future.

How to access and submit the form

1. Sign in to Delta to confirm your Neighbourhood Board and place boundary. The username will be your email address.
   
   If you are a new user, select Create Delta account under ‘Not a user?’ and follow the steps to register. You must use an email address from a recognised local authority or organisation.

2. Click on your name in the top-right to access your account details.

3. In ‘My roles’, make sure ‘Provide data’ is selected then Save and continue. 

4. In ‘My collections’, select the collection group titled ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods programme’ then Save and continue.

Once your account has been set up correctly, follow these steps to access the form: 

1. In the top navigation bar, select Collections.

2. Select the relevant collection name from the list - this should be ‘Neighbourhood Board membership and place boundary confirmation form’.

3. Complete the form by selecting Add under the ‘Return’ section.

Get help

Contact the service desk if you need help using Delta. To do this:

• Complete the service desk form
• Email us at mhclg.digital-services@communities.gov.uk, and include ‘Delta’ and a description of the query in the subject line
• Call us on 0203 829 0747 (available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)

Reviewing proposals

We will review membership and boundary proposals and confirm to places whether these are acceptable.

For places whose board membership remains the same, as well as whose boundaries either remain the same as the default – or had a revision agreed by the previous administration – those arrangements can be retained, and we will expedite the process to assess your return.

Where further information or changes to the proposed boundary are required, we will contact the local authority to discuss or seek further information.

The additional £200,000 of capacity funding payments due to be paid in the 2025 to 2026 budget year will only take place once membership and boundary arrangements are agreed.