Your Guide to Place Based Participatory Budgeting 2025 / 2026

You can also download your own copy of our guide to place based participatory budgeting

This guide has been developed in partnership with the Participatory Budgeting (PB) Community Advisory Group, a group made up of individuals and groups who have first hand experience of PB.

The PB Charter For Scotland was used to support the development of this guide www.pbscotland.scot

What is participatory budgeting?

Participatory budgeting is a democratic process where local people can decide how areas of public budget should be spent. This process enables participation of communities in local financial decision making, enabling residents to have a direct say in how a defined budget can be used to address locally identified priorities.

In South Lanarkshire, Place Based PB is aligned to the delivery of neighbourhood plans. Each plan has a set of priority themes, and all PB proposals are required to meet at least one of these priorities.
www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/info/26/community_matters/104/neighbourhood_planning

Allocation of funds - participatory democracy

The allocation of PB funds is decided through a public vote, promoting community capacity, community engagement and empowerment.

Benefits

• It’s a method that ensures everyone affected by decisions on how money is spent has the chance to share their views and hear from others.
• This approach allows people who live and work in communities to collaborate and ensure public money delivers the best possible outcomes for all.
• Helps to strengthen relationships between individuals, communities and public organisations, encouraging partnership and joint action.

PB helps to

• Building strong relationships between people, communities and public organisations.
• Target resources to where they are most needed
• Encourage participation by reducing barriers to involvement and making sure that everyone who wants to take part can do so
• Encourage the testing of new ideas to help transform communities in a positive way; and
• Make sure that everyone who is affected can see how decisions about budgets are taken, how money is spent, and what happens as a result.

Priorities for place based PB 2025/2026

Fair and equal

Reducing inequalities is a priority and all PB proposals must show how this can be achieved.

Community led

All proposals must be community led, and consultation or evidence must be provided to show a need for the project idea. Activities can be delivered with support from partners, but a community group is entirely responsible for their own project.

Maximum benefit to the wider community

All PB proposals must demonstrate that the wider community will benefit from PB investment.

Proposals that fail to meet the above priorities will not be accepted.

Funders

A budget of £160,000 is available across ten neighbourhood planning areas, allocated based on the Scottish index of multiple deprivation data (SIMD) population size. £40,000 from South Lanarkshire Council and further investment of £120,000 from UK governments Shared Prosperity Fund

Who can apply

• Community groups, organisations and charities that deliver activities or services in a neighbourhood planning area.

• Groups who have previously secured PB funds can apply but only for new activities.
• Non constituted groups can apply if a host organisation is agreed.

What we cannot fund

• Activities or events that are targeted to people who do not live in a neighbourhood planning area.
• Retrospective events or purchases.
• Foreign trips (bus travel to or from airports / ferry ports can be considered)
• Profit making activities
• Outings, trips and visits
• Schools and parent councils
• Mainstream activities of public services
• Activity only offered to small groups that are not open to the wider community.

Beneficiaries

All activities must be targeted and engage people living in neighbourhood planning areas.

What can be funded

• We are seeking new projects or activity in your neighbourhood planning area.
• Exemptions would be made for activities that clearly demonstrate wider community benefit, for example community wide events and environmental projects.
• Hall Lets.
• Only revenue costs can be funded.

Criteria

Projects must be small to medium community led projects that deliver on at least one of the Neighbourhood plan priorities for your area, and projects that meet any of the following criteria.

• Build community capacity
• Strengthen the relationships and connections we make with one another.
• Projects that foster a sense of local pride and belonging, such as community infrastructure, local green space, and community-led projects.
• Improvements to community spaces for community groups to use.
• Training programmes that advance the interests and capacity of community members and community groups.

Community groups, organisations and charities can only apply for one PB award in any one neighbourhood planning area.

Maximum awards

Maximum award of £2500 per application.

PB timeline

• Call for proposals opens 16 June
• Call for proposals closes 14 July
• Proposals reviewed 14 - 21 July
• Once proposals have been agreed for public vote. Project leads will be contacted to ensure all relevant paperwork has been submitted to support the delivery of the proposal
• Public vote 29 July to 11 August

Funding period

Funding will be for a six-month period, funding will be allocated in August 2025 and must be spent by 28 February 2026.

Your responsibility - guidance summary

• Please read the conditions of grant carefully before you begin to complete your PB proposal.
• Funding received must be fully spent by 28 February 2026.
• Any unspent funds must be returned, in line with UK government guidance.
• PB funded activity should be free at the point of delivery, a charge can only be imposed if generated income is reinvested in the project to help sustain activity long term.
• All invoices and receipts for any goods or services that have been supplied or purchased must be kept and submitted to South Lanarkshire Council no later than the 9th March 2026 with a fully completed PB monitoring form. Failure to comply with this condition will exempt your group or organisation from applying for future Place Based PB funds and possibly other South Lanarkshire Council funding.
• All PB funded projects must display the South Lanarkshire Council and the UK Shared Prosperity logo on all publicity materials promoting their projects.
• Successful projects are expected to attend neighbourhood planning stakeholder meetings to provide an update on their project through the funding period.
• Once the conditions of grant form have been signed, this is a formal agreement to adhere to the above guidance.

Changing the use of PB funding

Changes to the agreed use of PB funding will not be accepted. Any unspent funds must be returned.

PB public vote

• All PB proposals will be reviewed prior to public vote by local Stakeholder Groups or Neighbourhood Planning Groups to ensure proposals meet the criteria set out in this guidance.
• All PB project leads will be informed of the outcome of this decision.
• A variety of media will be used to promote the PB vote.
• Proposal leads will have access to publicity materials to share amongst their networks.
• The onus is on individual groups, organisations and charities to promote their project and encourage participation in the public vote.
• A variety of approaches will be used to ensure the voting process is inclusive, to enable everyone who wants to vote to do so. This will include online voting, pop up sessions and community events.

Support and assistance

Please contact Communities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk if you would like to discuss your project idea.

An informal meeting may be arranged with all successful PB projects in mid-October to ensure that activities and PB spend is on track.

If you would like to discuss your idea, or attend a PB workshop when you can receive practical help with you PB application please contact Communities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk or call 0303 123 1017