Local communities across England are set to benefit from a new £11.59 million government fund designed to strengthen collaboration between charities, community organisations and local

councils, helping deliver vital services closer to home.

The funding package, to be invested over three years, will support joined-up, preventative care in areas such as mental health, adult social care, women’s refuges and child poverty. By encouraging closer working between civil society organisations and local authorities, the initiative aims to improve access to support while easing everyday pressures on families and individuals.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has now launched a competition to appoint one or more civil society organisations to deliver the new Local Covenant Partnerships (LCP) Fund. The successful grant recipient will oversee investment into local charity networks and community groups, particularly in areas hardest hit by the cost of living.

Ministers say the fund will help break down silos between organisations, creating stronger partnerships that lead to more effective, preventative and self-directed care. The focus will be on building long-term local relationships that improve outcomes for communities rather than short-term fixes.

The LCP Fund will also play a key role in delivering the government’s Civil Society Covenant—a new, principles-based framework designed to reset and strengthen the relationship between government and civil society. The covenant was launched by the Prime Minister in July 2025.

Under the programme, 15 areas across England will be supported to develop new *local covenant partnership* agreements. These agreements will set out how councils and civil society organisations can work together more effectively to meet local needs.

The approach builds on successful models already operating around the country. In Sheffield, the Synergy VCSE Alliance for Mental Health has embedded peer support workers across all 15 primary care networks, with services co-designed by people with lived experience of mental health challenges alongside more than 110 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

Meanwhile, the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit brings together government, police, health, education, youth justice services, local authorities and charities. One of its initiatives includes a mentoring programme for children aged 8 to 11, helping them build self-esteem, manage emotions, develop healthy relationships and navigate the transition to secondary school, while also supporting parents and carers.

Civil society organisations with a proven track record in building multi-stakeholder partnerships and driving investment into the VCSE sector are now invited to apply to deliver the fund, helping shape the next phase of community-led support across England.

Civil Society Minister Stephanie Peacock said: “This £11.59 million investment is about much more than funding, it is about ensuring that whether you are a survivor of domestic abuse, a young person struggling with mental health, or a family facing poverty, you have a support system that is seamless and compassionate. 

By bridging the gap between local councils and the dedicated civil society organisations on the ground, we are turning the principles of our Civil Society Covenant into a daily reality, delivering preventative care that doesn’t just manage crises, but changes lives for the better”. Photo by Carlos Delgado, Wikimedia commons.