Better Futures Fund

The £500 million Better Futures Fund (BFF) will support up to 200,000 children, young people and their families over the next 10 years. It will do this by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors and philanthropists, to deliver place-based solutions to complex social problems. The funding will primarily be for the commissioning of Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs), with government payments tied to the achievement of measurable improvements in people’s lives, such as school attainment, improved youth employment, and reduced youth reoffending. The fund will aim to raise up to an additional £500m in match funding for outcomes over the full duration of the programme, working with partners including local government commissioners and philanthropists. It will also bring in additional upfront funding from social investors creating total funding of up to £1 billion.

The BFF will fund projects which support the government’s ambitions to tackle the structural and root causes of poverty for children, young people and their families - projects that reduce the short or longer term impacts of poverty on the life chances and outcomes for children. The specific outcomes the fund will look to deliver are currently being determined. The specific metrics will be decided in local places, aligned to local needs, but will be guided by an overarching set of outcomes that align with evidence on tackling child poverty.