The 2020 budget announcement makes a commitment to provide £46 million from the Shared Outcomes Fund programme to support individuals experiencing multiple disadvantage such as homelessness, substance misuse and reoffending. At Fulfilling Lives, this comes as great news, as the national evidence for the programme highlights the need for those experiencing multiple disadvantages to be supported and for these disadvantages to be looked at holistically. Fulfilling Lives contributed learning from the national evaluation to the proposal to Her Majesty’s Treasury and the programme has been used as a source of supporting evidence as to why this investment should be made.
Fulfilling Lives, MEAM and Lankelly Chase were invited by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to contribute to the business case, with comments being taken forward. Furthermore, the work of the National Experts Citizen Group (NECG) was also included.
Laura Furness, Head of Funding at the National Lottery Community Fund says “this is a hugely positive step for the Fulfilling Lives programme, and is a great legacy for all that we’ve been working so hard on”.
We offer our full support to the development of this funding moving forward.