With the new government administration's priorities established in recent weeks, it's clear that public spending will continue to be a major political focus in the coming months – particularly the value in money directed towards local communities being spent well.

For me, the concept of levelling up – which has been at the core of government rhetoric in recent years – has proven a hugely useful vehicle through which to improve awareness of social value and to encourage action that generates it. As an organisation that supports local authorities and other public sector bodies in procuring their construction projects, the positive impact of localised regeneration has been heartening to see – particularly the tangible increase we've witnessed since coming out of the pandemic.