£48 million Government funding granted for 22 new social impact bond projects

The Government have just announced 22 new social impact bond projects that seek to address some of the toughest social issues in our society. They will receive funding through the Life Chances Fund.

The Life Chances Fund (LCF) is an £80 million fund that is managed by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and was launched in 2016. It seeks to tackle issues around six key themes: drug and alcohol dependency, children's services, early years, young people, older people's services, and healthy lives. 

The final and in principle awards have just been granted and you can view them in the document below. This shares information about each project, where it is based, the cohort that will be supported, as well as how it will work. Many of the projects also highlight the proposed savings that the intervention seeks to make for the local authority.

To view a brief overview of the Round 3 applications that includes the money granted you can look at the document below.  The total amount of funding granted in this round is £48 million of the total £80 million Life Chances Fund. 

SIB projects to be launched

Examples of the projects that have received funding include: 

• Teens and Toddlers in the North West will receive £480,766. This SIB will work with up to 1,200 young people who are at risk of being excluded from school. They will be supported to mentor nursery aged children to become ready for school, at the same time as learning crucial life skills and self confidence for themselves. 
• Staffordshire County Council will receive £3,497,520 to help stimulate the market for specialist foster carers and provide increased placements for young people with complex needs. This SIB will work over 5 years and support 112 looked after children over seven local authorities.
• Devon County Council will receive £1,710,000 to deliver a social prescribing service across Devon. It seeks to improve wellbeing and promote independence, as well as reducing dependency on health care services. It will be delivered over five years to carers, those who are socially isolated and those with two or more long term health conditions. 

For more information about different social impact bonds across the UK, take a look at our Projects Database and our Case Studies.