Home Office Launches New Round of Funding for Safer Streets

Funding is available for interventions aimed at tackling neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and VAWG, improving the safety of public spaces for all.

The purpose of the Safer Streets Fund is to invest in the delivery of local crime prevention plans, which deliver the outcome of reduced neighbourhood crime through situational crime prevention.

Rounds one and two of the Safer Streets Fund were designed to prevent neighbourhood crimes such as burglary, robbery and theft. The third round of funding sought to build this evidence base to inform future policy and funding decisions.

The newly launched fourth round is an innovative initiative that will combine and expand previous focuses of the Safer Streets Fund and the Safety of Women at Night Fund (SWaN Fund) through targeting neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls (VAWG) and anti-social behaviour (ASB). Bidders can choose which crime or issue type, or combination of crimes and issues, to focus on based on their understanding of local needs.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), local authorities in England and Wales, and the British Transport Police (BTP), and certain civil society organisations (CSOs) are eligible to apply.

Further details on the eligibility criteria can be found in the fund prospectus.

The total amount of funding available for the fourth round is £75 million.

A maximum of £750,000 is available per successful bid.

Bidders may bid for up to £500,000 in the first financial year, 2022/23, which must be spent by 31 March 2023, and may bid for up to £250,000 to spend between April and 30 September 2023. Funds cannot be transferred between financial years as per HM Treasury regulations.

Bidders may choose to bid for funding for only one financial year.

Round four is open applications from 18 March 2022 for ten weeks. The application window will close at the end of May 2022.

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)