Southampton's low levelling up funding labelled a 'scandal'

Southampton is the 55th most deprived area in England

A city's "disappointingly low" share of the government's levelling-up fund was "nothing short of a national scandal", a councillor has said.

Sarah Bogle, Southampton City Council's lead for economic development, said the authority received less per head than affluent Hart in north Hampshire.

The shared prosperity fund aims to help more deprived communities.

Southampton is the 55th most deprived area in England, with more than a third of children living in poverty.

It has lower than average wages, lower than average employment rate, and lower than average life expectancy.

It received the third-lowest per head allocation from the fund in Hampshire, at £5.90 per head, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Hart borough, which is the least deprived district in England, coming in at 317th and voted multiple times as the best place to live in Britain, received £9.84 per head.

'Significant levels of deprivation'

Southampton's allocation "falls far short of what's needed to address significant levels of deprivation", said Ms Bogle.

She continued: "Levelling up in Southampton cannot be achieved if we do not do something about the high levels of child poverty, so that everyone gets the same chance in life.

"It is nothing short of a national scandal that these allocations bear no relation to levels of need."

The Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said its shared prosperity fund matched EU funding and gave local people control of how UK money is spent.

A spokesperson for the department said it "removes unnecessary bureaucracy and enables local communities to invest in the priorities that matter to them".

Simon Oldham, who runs food banks in the city, said: "Southampton [is] yet again getting a disproportionally smaller allocation than wealthier areas. If we in the South do get funding it seems to be siphoned off.

"Foodbanks and food clubs should not need to exist in Southampton or anywhere in UK, and only fairer distribution of funds can achieve their end."