Close out FAQs

These questions are specifically related to the checklist which features in our essential close out guidance.

Q: Our partnership have decided not to continue after Big Local, and we don’t employ any staff, do we still need to go through the close out checklist?

A: Yes, the checklist includes items that will still be relevant for your partnership, including:

• GDPR requirements
• outstanding conditions on your grant
• agreements and contracts that your LTO may hold with delivery partners, which will help close obligations in relation to the restricted Big Local funding they’ve received.

If you are unsure which sections are relevant to your partnership and LTO, please contact your Big Local area advisor or area coordinator in the first instance.

Q: Can we pay up front for work that won’t be delivered until after March 2026?

A: No, all Big Local funding must be spent by March 2026 and be included in the final spend report to Local Trust, completed by your LTO. Big Local funding is restricted and must be used for the purpose of Big Local by March 2026. Any remaining unspent funds must be returned to Local Trust.

For clarity, ‘spent’ means:

• Big Local funds are used fully and are not still held by the LTO or any third-party delivery organisation.
• Local projects and activities will need to be completed and invoices paid before 31 March 2026.
• Grants awarded to third parties need to be delivered and reported on.
• Funds cannot be paid up front for projects delivered after March 2026 (including leases on buildings).

If you are holding funding that falls outside of the restricted Big Local pot, your partnership will need to decide with your LTO how these funds will be managed and spent (see the section of the guidance on income from other sources).

Q: Can we pay up front to cover maintenance costs after we have closed out?

A: Maintenance arrangements for legacy projects should be agreed as part of your final Big Local plan but can only last until March 2026, because Big Local funds must be spent before this. Past March 2026, alternative sources of funding need to be secured. Restricted Big Local funding cannot be held by LTOs or third-party organisations past March 2026.

We encourage partnerships to think about how your projects may become sustainable after Big Local funding comes to an end. It’s important to communicate early with delivery partners about your close out timeline, so that they can plan effectively.

Q: What happens to equipment and sundries purchased with Big Local funds?

A: Equipment and sundries (such as vehicles, gazebos, laptops, printers and marketing materials acquired from Big Local funds) must be dealt with in accordance with your Big Local plan. If you haven’t started to plan for this yet, the first step would be to create an inventory of assets and refer to any procedures that your LTO has for managing equipment. Your partnership should then take a decision on how the equipment will be managed in the future for the benefit of your area. This might depend on whether the partnership is continuing in some form.

Q: How do we manage the use of IT equipment, data and contacts? 

A: Each individual organisation is responsible for the data under its control.  Please refer to your LTO’s policies and our guidance for Big Locals on  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Any equipment and/or sundries, such as vehicles, gazebos, laptops, printers and marketing materials acquired from Big Local funds must have been dealt with in accordance with your Big Local plan.

Q: What happens to all our archive folders? E.g. grant paperwork, hard copies – who keeps these?

A: It is the LTO’s responsibility to ensure proper records of documents relating to all Big Local funding and funded assets are kept. The grant terms and conditions state that LTOs must retain records for a period of 7 years after Big Local grants are spent.

Q: Do you have guidance on income from other sources (if applicable to the Big Local area)? 

A: If an LTO is holding income for an area that falls outside of the restricted Big Local pot, the partnership will need to decide with the LTO how the funds will be managed and spent, as per the normal obligations depending on the funding source and type. This may be through donating funding to a local organisation or asking the LTO to hold it in reserves. In both cases, it is recommended that a local agreement is put in place that includes how it will be monitored. Funds must only be used for the purposes for which they were given. 

If Local Trust is holding any income for a Big Local area that falls outside of the Big Local programme budget (for example, repayments received from a social investment agreement), the LTO must contact the funding team lead to discuss and agree how this income will be applied. 

Q: Do the spend thresholds for the close out phase (<£150,000 and <£75,000) relate to spent and committed funds remaining?

A: The thresholds for entering the close out phase (£150,000 remaining) and for closing out of the programme (up to £75,000 remaining) are based on an area’s total funds – i.e, funds held by the LTO, by Local Trust and by third parties. Figures are based on true spend rather than planned spend, which we will monitor via spend reports and information from your LTO.

Q: What happens if partnerships and LTOs pay money to a third-party organisation? Can partnerships close out once funds have been paid out?

A: As areas approach close out, funds can be paid out by an LTO to a third-party organisation as per our normal guidance. For example, via a grant to a local organisation, or through a contract for regular activities delivered by a third party. However, funds are not considered to be fully ‘spent’ until all activities have been delivered and any monitoring complete.

If partnerships plan to pay out funds as grants to third-party organisations during the close out phase or once they have formally closed out, these activities will need to be fully delivered before March 2026 and partnerships should agree on appropriate monitoring to ensure this has happened.

LTOs are responsible for ensuring any funds transferred to third parties are properly accounted for and spent before March 2026.

Q: Will LTO’s be required to confirm to Local Trust that all funding has been spent by March 2026?

A: In light of our new closing out approach – which supports areas to close out with up to £75k held locally and waives final reporting requirements – Local Trust will not require LTOs to confirm to us that all Big Local funds have been spent.  

Instead, Local Trust will complete spot checks to ensure LTOs are meeting the conditions of operating after an area has closed out of the programme (e.g. the requirement to publish an account of expenditure on their website).  

We will also work with and support LTOs to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities before confirming that the area is closed out of the programme.

Q: What evidence will Local Trust want to see that LTOs and partnerships have worked through the guidance?

A: Local Trust’s funding lead will check in with their partnerships and LTOs once an area enters the close out phase and can help you with any questions. 

LTOs should keep a record of: 

• documentation related to meeting the conditions of the grant 

• delivering the plan 

• a final plan review 

• assets purchased with Big Local funding 

• management of Big Local funding, including variations and a final spend report via our online funding system, ‘Community’. 

We will let you know if there is anything else we need to see that is specific to an area’s circumstances and will aim to help with any questions that come up. 

Q: Will we have to meet partnership criteria in our final year?

A: Local Trust’s essential guidance for partnerships still applies to areas that are approaching close out. This includes criteria to meet resident-led criteria of the programme, operating in line with the values and ethos of the programme, and managing conflicts of interests. It’s important that final decisions about funding, overseeing delivery of the plan and making plans for closing out are made by a resident-led partnership.

We understand that it may be more challenging to bring new people onto the partnership once final decisions have been made. If you have any concerns about not meeting criteria, please speak with your area advisor or coordinator in the first instance.

Once an area has officially closed out, the partnership will no longer need to meet our core partnership criteria or to complete the annual partnership review. 

Q: Will partnerships have to meet any Local Trust criteria after they close out?

A: Partnerships will not need to meet any Local Trust criteria after they close out, even if they have funds remaining to be spent locally. However, the delivery and use of funds will need to be in line with their agreed Big Local plan. Furthermore, LTOs will still need to operate under the grant terms and conditions and will need to show accountability to the local community by detailing how the funding has been spent on their website.

Q: Will partnerships need to complete a partnership review?

A: While partnerships remain in the programme, they will be expected to complete an annual partnership review with the support of their advisor or coordinator. Once a partnership closes out of the programme (with up to £75,000 held locally) we will waive the need to complete this review, because we will no longer require partnerships to meet the resident-led criteria of having at least eight members, a majority of which are residents. In some cases, where partnerships are very near to closing out, we may waive the need to complete a partnership review while they are still in the programme, but this will be by exception.

Q: Will partnerships need to complete a final plan review after they have closed out?

A: No, once an area has closed out of the programme (with up to £75,000 held locally) they will not be required to submit a plan review to Local Trust. However, partnerships may wish to complete a final plan review before they formally close out of the programme which can be supported by area advisors and/or coordinators in the close out phase.

Q: What happens if our worker leaves before we have closed out? Who will support the partnership to close out?

A: As part of preparing to close out, it will be important for partnerships and LTOs to work together to ensure that delivery of the final Big Local plan is appropriately resourced until the end of the programme. This might include considering retention agreements with existing workers, in line with LTO policy, or bringing in short term worker capacity via temporary workers, consultants or freelancers. 

For worker retention support, speak to your area coordinator or area advisor, or get in touch at support@localtrust.org.uk.

Q: What support is available for workers who may be facing redundancy when Big Local ends?

A: It is the responsibility of the employing organisation to communicate with the worker/s on redundancy and provide support. In many cases, this will be the LTO.

The partnership may want to feedback their views to the LTO on the worker’s performance and activities carried out. However, management ultimately rests with employing or contracting organisation.

Q: Will we be able to attend Big Local events after we have closed out?

A: Areas that have closed out of the Big Local programme are welcome to sign up to attend our online and in person events. However, places are prioritised for areas that are still in the programme, and in some instances, we may need to turn away attendees from closed out areas. 

Please read the event information carefully before signing up to in-person events, as Local Trust will not always be able to fund travel, accommodation or expenses for areas that have closed out of the Big Local programme.  

Q: What kinds of support can partnerships get in the close out phase?

When the close out phase commences, the partnership will have a final opportunity to access support from any of our partners – as long as it’s on a time limited and task focused basis (i.e. to help them close out and move on from the Big Local programme, without compromising their ability to deliver the rest of their plan and funding by March 2026)

If an area has existing support offers and commitments, we will honour these, but would need to be reassured they are possible within the delivery timeframe.

Big Local areas will still have access to our learning and networking events, including LTO and worker activities, during the close out phase. See our guidance on Supporting partnerships to close out and move on from Big Local for more information. 

Q: What kinds of support can partnerships get after they close out, to help them move on from the programme? 

After close out, partnerships can make the most of our moving on support packages: one to three days of light-touch support to help them move on from the programme (e.g. communicating next steps to their communities and fundraising for future projects).  This needs to be agreed in advance of formal close out but can be accessed after close out. 

Q: What legacy networks are available to partnerships after they close out and have completed the delivery of their plan? 

A: After an area closes out, partnership members can continue to attend some learning and networking events. Before partnerships close out, they can also sign up for legacy opportunities:  

• a two-year membership with Locality for one of their successor organisations 

• a 12-month membership to the Community Practitioners Network 

• the opportunity to become part of the Amazing Communities Together network (formerly Big Locals Together).  

Find out more about the legacy network offers available. 

Q: How will Local Trust stay in touch with partnerships after they close out and vice versa? 

A: Please refer to the Keeping in touch after close out section of the essential close out guidance

Q: How will communications to areas involved in research projects be managed?

A: For those areas actively involved in current research projects, such as Our Bigger Story, the existing relationships held directly with trusted research partners will continue.

Local Trust is working on a project to record each Big Local area’s story of change and their achievements. This will be shared on a website called Learning from Big Local which will exist beyond the end of the programme, so that others can continue to learn from Big Local and find inspiration and ideas on community-led approaches.

Q: Do partnerships have to complete Learning from Big Local workshop/provide information to the Learning from Big Local website before they close out?

A: Yes, all partnerships will be contacted in their final year to gather information for the Learning from Big Local website. Partnerships will be contacted directly about this and offered different ways to share the information and data required. Partnerships will not close out of the programme until all Learning from Big Local data has been gathered.

Q: Who can we send our final evaluation to after close out and will it be included in the Learning from Big Local website?

A: Yes, we would like to receive a final copy of your evaluation, should you choose to do one. It can be emailed directly to the research team on research@localtrust.org.uk. The Learning from Big Local website will include information on each area, bringing together their achievements and learning. However, it won’t be hosting individual area reports or documents, as this wouldn’t be possible for all 150 areas.

Q: Will the Learning from Big Local website be able to hold information for our Big Local area?

A: Learning from Big Local will capture learning from the Big Local programme and include information on each Big Local area, presented as a short summary of the area’s key achievements and learning. Our research team are reaching out to areas coming up to their close out dates about contributing to the information gathering. Each partnership will have the opportunity to engage with the research team to add to their stories of change, which are being developed based on the large amount of information that Local Trust already holds. The website won’t be hosting individual area reports or documents, as this wouldn’t be possible for 150 areas given the size and focus of the website. It’s up to your partnership to decide what to do with your own website and materials after close out, with the help and advice of your LTO. You can also read our guidance on GDPR.

If you have a story from your Big Local area that you’d like to speak to Local Trust’s communications team about, please email communications@localtrust.org.uk You can see examples of blogs, Voices from Big Local and podcast episodes we’ve shared previously on the Local Trust website and we also regularly share stories from areas on Workplace and Facebook and Twitter.