The £80m Life Chances Fund has launched to support the development of social impact bonds to help tackle social issues.

The LCF is structured around six key themes: drug and alcohol dependency, children’s services, early years, young people, older people’s services, and healthy lives.

Applications for proposals focused on children’s services and tackling drug and alcohol dependency are now open, to be followed by the other themes over the next 12 months.

The fund will contribute to outcome payments for payments by results contracts which involve socially minded investors. Contracts must be locally commissioned and aim to tackle complex social problems.

The fund will aim for contributions of around 20 per cent of total outcomes payments, with local commissioners paying the majority. The LCF’s contribution will be set to reflect the balance in savings that are generated for the wider public sector.

Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson launched the fund today, alongside the Government Outcomes Lab. The GO Lab, announced in March, is a partnership between Cabinet Office and the Blavatnik School of Government.

The GO Lab is being established as an independent centre of academic excellence for the commissioning of public services. It aims to deepen understanding of outcomes-based commissioning, including social impact bonds, by researching new ways for the public sector to commission services.

Wilson said he believes the social impact bond market could be worth £1bn by the end of this Parliament, but this will require continued momentum.

“Today’s GO Lab and Life Chances Fund announcements will provide the support local commissioners need to use SIBs to transform lives,” he said. “This is about central and local government, academia and the voluntary sector all coming together to work at tackling some of the most entrenched social challenges we face.”

Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government Professor Ngaire Woods said people in need could stand a better chance if the services they need and use were more effective.

“Through research and support, the GO Lab will make it easier for governments to commission smarter services that focus on outcomes, working with the private and not-for-profit sectors to solve the social issues.”

Expressions of interest for LCF funding for children’s services and drug and alcohol dependency projects are due by 30 September 2016. The other themes will be open to applications over the course of 2017.

For more information and to apply, click here.

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