Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to Business in the Community for organising this today and bringing us all together. You do the most amazing work. I’ve seen it firsthand in my own constituency at home of Southampton and I’m so pleased to be here. For lots of reasons, but mainly because this piece of work is personal to me. I grew up on free school meals in one of Southampton’s most deprived neighbourhoods. The community around us was not wealthy, but it was rich in something that mattered more people who showed up for one another.
That early experience taught me that lasting change does not arrive from a government department alone. It needs to be built with and by the people closer to the problem, working together with a purpose. That conviction took me into local government for over 14 years and eventually leading Southampton City Council as Council Leader. I saw what was possible when public services, both in the third and private sector, businesses, and communities pulled in the same direction.
I also know that the system does not always make this easy. Siloed funding, short-term cycles, and habits of working can default to commissioning rather than genuine partnership. This government is determined to change that. We are investing directly in places, from creating a new place-based unit at the heart of government to championing place-led budgets. The Pride in Place programme is a great example of this. It will deliver £6,000,000,000 over the next decade to over 300 communities across the country that for too long have been overlooked and left behind. The programme will put communities in the driving seat of investment plans, with local people deciding what change they want to see and being part of making it happen.
These are not incremental adjustments. They represent a fundamental mindset shift in how the centre of government relates to the places it serves. That is why summits like this one are so important, because something good can become something great when we work in partnership. I have seen, firsthand, where businesses work alongside charity, government, and community services to improve our neighbourhoods, our cities, and our country. Today is about learning from each other, sharing what works, sharing what doesn’t, and understanding how we can overcome any barriers that we face. Government is ready to play its part in facilitating this so that together, we can maximise social and economic outcomes which make tangible differences to people and their communities.
This is why this government established the Office for the Impact Economy. We aim to create the conditions for philanthropy, impact investment, and purpose-driven business to grow, and make partnership with one another and government easier. A key feature of this work is a new approach to place that aims to better connect communities with the infrastructure, capital, and capability they need to develop, at scale, impact partnerships.
As someone who grew up working in a corner shop, I know that local businesses are often the beating heart of our communities. As a government, we want to work with our industries to create an impact economy where businesses aren’t just seen as a donor, but part of the engine of positive change. Many of the businesses here today are leading this role already, where they are investing in places to tackle the big issues their neighbourhoods are facing—from food insecurity to working with schools to improve literacy and so much more. I know Business in the Community’s book drive last year ensured the business community supported over 20,000 children from deprived communities, including my old school, which was great to see, and the transformation it’s made is incredible.
Business leaders understand that when our neighbourhoods thrive, our economy does too. It is, therefore, both exciting and crucial for business to play a key role in driving local, place-led solutions. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and I are passionate about getting this right, and are coordinating a cross-government effort through the Office for the Impact Economy. We want to broker partnerships between business and the government to support long-term, locally-led solutions which maximise the potential for people and places.
This is exactly what is happening in the West Midlands, where some of the region’s biggest employers, like Greene King and Severn Trent, are partnering with government and the charity sector to provide opportunities to hidden talent in places. People who may not naturally—the people who otherwise struggle to find employment. This partnership focuses on ensuring care leavers, ex-offenders, and young people with mental health challenges have the opportunity to learn new skills and reach their full potential. This is a great example of businesses working as a partner in place, where they not only drive economic growth but help create better social outcomes for our communities.
The task now is to make these examples the norm rather than the exception. But why is this all so important, and why is it important now?
We’re living in a society which is becoming increasingly fragmented and divisive, where trust in the system is at an all-time low. It’s heartbreaking to hear people on the doorstep tell me they have given up on a better future for themselves and their families and they don’t recognise their neighbourhood anymore. I want to make sure no community feels that they have been left behind. This is why the Pride in Place programme matters so much. We must seize the moment by empowering local people to make the changes in their communities.
All Pride in Place communities have been given £2,000,000 every year for the next 10 years to spend on projects that will make a real difference to their neighbourhood daily. How they spend that money is up to them, with the support of their MPs as a place champion. As an MP who has been working with my own community within the Millbrook estate in Southampton, we recently appointed our chair and a neighbourhood board, which has brought together the most amazing individuals, all united in a mission of transforming our community. It’s been incredible to see the impact already, and we’ve only just scratched the surface.
I’m excited, as I know so many of my MP colleagues are, about the potential of maximising this impact alongside local businesses and other key partners, adding value to the existing work like the Business in the Community Pride in Place partnership. We’ve also provided huge opportunities to neighbourhood boards.
I want to close today with a challenge to you. In the end, the destination is thriving communities and places where whoever you are, whatever your background, you have the opportunity to reach your full potential. How can you, your business, charity, or organisation be part of this change and maximise its impact? Creating pride in places cannot be down to our communities alone. It’s about all of us working together to help each other to succeed, and through partnership, create vibrant places across the country – places that people are proud to call home. Come work with government, and let’s be part of this change together.
Thank you.
