At first glance a grant may be viewed simply as money being given to those who deserve and need it. Yet grants are always so much more than this.

Tackling a challenge on the scale of the global climate emergency will require collective action and for every part of society – from governments, to businesses, organisations and citizens – to come together, galvanised by the one, common goal of reaching Net Zero.

In my previous article I looked at the many types of fraud that government grant makers need to identify and take steps to prevent.

Against a backdrop of varying policy support and shifting funding commitments, the rise of empowered communities across the UK is even more notable.

For the past five years the number of homeless people in the UK has been rising, with Crisis estimating that up to 200,000 families and individuals are now experiencing the most severe forms of homelessness, including rough sleeping.

It’s been a few months since the long awaited Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail was published, with some early signs of reform already being introduced, such as the recent launch of new flexible tickets for commuters.

Grants are an important tool for central and local government to support citizens and businesses, and improve lives, the economy and society.

The climate change crisis, caused mainly by emission of greenhouse gases and burning fossil fuels for energy use, is accelerating at a rapid rate and having catastrophic impacts on our weather, environment and the future of our planet.

Energy Day at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) was dominated by the message: ‘consign coal to history’.

At Cop 26 in Glasgow last October, world leaders pledged to end deforestation, move away from coal and curb methane emissions, amongst many other revised targets.