Hello everyone.

My name is Ms. Wyatt and I am so pleased that you could join us here today for our citizenship lesson.

Welcome to today's lesson on how can investment and finance transform communities from the unit, How can we prepare wealth for financial decision making? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how investment improves local areas and how finance affects communities.

We will be using the following keywords throughout our lesson today, and these are investment, investors, and local economy.

Investment is the action of putting forward money, time, or effort with the aim of making a profit or other benefit.

Investors are people or organisations, who put money into stocks or property with the aim of making a profit.

And local economy is the state of an area in terms of the production and the consumption of goods and services and the supply of money.

These keywords may be new to you today, but please don't worry as I am here to guide you.

Our lesson on how can investment and finance transform communities is broken up into two parts today with the first part exploring how can investment improve local areas, and then we will look at how does finance affect communities.

So when you are ready, let's begin the first part of our lesson.

Investment is when money from investors is put into projects or businesses with the aim of making a profit either financially or a positive return through improving communities.

For example, when a local council invests in new parks or shopping areas, it can create jobs and make the town more attractive to visitors.

Investors, whether from the government, businesses or individuals, often look for opportunities where their money can help areas grow and thrive.

A recent example is in Sunderland, where the local government and private investors invested over 500 million pounds into a regeneration project called Riverside Sunderland.

This was to boost the local economy by transforming the form of Vaux brewery site into a vibrant, dynamic and healthy city centre, including new shops, offices, a football stadium upgrade, new housing, a workspace, and leisure facilities.

So let's fill in the gaps here.

We have a few sentences with a few gaps.

Pause the video and try and work out what our missing words are.

Okay, let's go through our answers together.

Investment is when people called investors put money or time into something with the hope of making a profit or a positive return for improving communities.

An example is Riverside Sunderland, which was intended to boost the local economy by transforming the city centre.

So we had investors, profit communities, economy and centre.

If we got those words in the right gaps, well done us.

Investment also helps improve transport links, making it easier for people to live, work, and shop in local areas.

For example, in March, 2025, the UK government announced a 2.

15 billion pounds investment into regional train lines to better connect towns in the North of England.

Better transport can attract more businesses and tourists helping the local economy.

Investors who put money into public transport schemes are not just helping people get around, they're also boosting the value of nearby property and creating new business opportunities.

So it has an effect on other things.

Where in England are the UK Government going to invest 2.

15 billion pounds into improving regional transports links? Was it the North, the South, the East, or the West of England? Which one was it? Hopefully we've worked out that it was the North.

The UK government are going to invest 2.

15 billion pounds into improving regional transport links in the North.

Investment in education and training programmes also strengthens local areas.

For example, in October, 2024, the West Midland Combined Authority, also known as the WMCA, launched a digital skills programme called the West Midlands Digital Skills Consortium, or WMDSC for short.

This is funded by private investors and local governments to help young people get jobs in tech industries.

The WMDSC delivers training in crucial skills like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence or AI, coding and green technology, helping to bridge the digital skills gap and connect people to jobs of the future.

A skilled workforce means businesses are more likely to move to or stay in the area, helping the local economy grow.

Investors understand that investing in people's skills, especially in new technology like AI, can lead to long-term rewards for the whole community.

So let's answer the following questions here.

Why did the WMCA launch the WMDSC and what was it and what does a skilled workforce mean businesses are more likely to do? So pause the video and have a go at answering these questions.

Okay, time for our answers.

So number one, the WMDSC is a digital skills programme that helps young people get jobs in tech industries.

It delivers crucial skills like cybersecurity, AI, coding, and green tech, which help to bridge the digital skills gap and connect people to the jobs of the future.

And then number two, what does a skilled workforce mean businesses are more likely to do? Well, a skilled workforce means businesses are more likely to move to or stay in the area, helping the local economy grow.

Investors understand that investing in people skills, especially in new technology like AI, can lead to long-term rewards for the whole community.

So let's have a go at this task now where we need to match the investment 1, 2, and 3, with its benefit, which is A, B, or C.

So when you are ready, pause the video and have a go at this task.

Okay, so number one, transport.

So we should have matched it to B makes areas easy to access.

Number two, green industries, well brings new technology and sustainability, and then digital skills leaves us with creates future jobs.

So we had 1 to B, 2 to C, and 3 to A; well done if we got those right.

Sometimes investment focuses on bringing new industries to an area.

For example, Teesside has received major investment from international green energy companies to build hydrogen plants and carbon capture facilities in 2025.

This means that areas once dependent on old industries like steel or coal, are now seeing new future-proof jobs.

Investors who choose to invest in new technologies can help local economies modernise and create long-term opportunities.

Keir Starmer, who is the UK Prime Minister of December, 2024 said, "Today's investment is proof that this government is taking a different approach by putting growth first and investing in the industries of the future.

That means thousands of jobs secured in the Northeast and across the UK for years to come." Now there is one mistake in each of the sentences here.

Can we find the mistake and have a go at correcting them? Okay so number one, we had investment in transport increases the number of jobs.

So we should have changed decreases to increases.

Then we had the WMCA launched a programme for digital skills, and then hydrogen plants and carbon capture facilities in Teesside will boost local economies.

So well done, if we corrected our sentences.

Investment can also improve local areas by making them safer and more enjoyable places to live.

For example, the Safer Streets Fund extended by the UK government in 2024 helped local councils invest in better street lighting and CCTV.

Since the Safe Streets Fund launched in 2020 across England and Wales, the government has invested 159 million pounds to date funding 413 projects across England and Wales.

So investment can also improve local areas.

When people feel safer through having more street lighting and CCTV, et cetera, businesses thrive, house prices rise and communities become stronger.

Investors see safer areas as better places to build home, shops and services boosting the local economy even more.

So true or false, the Safer Streets Fund extended by the government in 2024 helped charities to invest in better street lighting in CCTV.

Is that statement true or false? Hopefully we've all said false.

We've said false because the Safer Streets Fund help local councils to invest in better street lighting and CCTV, not charities.

In this task, we need to think about the question of how can investment improve local areas.

Now in our answer, we need to refer to at least one example.

So Laura says, you might want to use these words in your response, local area, investment, and investors.

So when you are ready, pause the video and have a go at answering this question how can investment improve local areas? It's time for our answer now.

So our answer might look a little bit like this one.

So investment in a local area creates new jobs and opportunities for people.

If infrastructure and transport links are improved, it often results in new investors and new businesses.

As a result, the local economy grows.

An example of this is in Sunderland when new investment has promised new jobs and regeneration.

So maybe you refer to Sunderland as your example as well.

Well done everyone.

We have now looked at how can investment improve local areas and we are starting to look at now how does finance affect communities? Finance is the management of money and it has a large impact on communities.

For example, if a local council has good financial planning, it can invest in schools, healthcare and public spaces.

Manchester State of the City Report 2004 highlights the investment in schools which has resulted in most schools in the city now being rated as good or outstanding according to Ofsted.

Additionally, more young people are pursuing post 16 education.

So young people are going on from school to find more qualifications or courses.

Manchester City Council has invested in building new schools.

For example, in March, 2020, Manchester City Council approved the building of a new school to help educate the local community in East Manchester.

As a result, the Co-Op Academy Belle Vue was opened in September, 2021.

This highlights Manchester's ongoing investment in education.

On the other hand, problems in finance can harm communities.

For example, Croydon Council in London struggled to balance its budget in 2023 to 2024 due partly to rising costs.

This meant cuts to public services like libraries and social care.

Investors are less willing to put money into areas where finances are unstable, which can lead to a weaker economy and fewer jobs.

Croydon had a balanced budget for 2024 and 2025, as the council builds on strong progress in fixing its finances and continues to improve services for its residents.

So what happens when finance is managed well in a local area? Out of the options A, B, and C, which could be our answer? Okay, time for our answers.

So we should have said, services improve.

When finance is managed well in a local area, services do improve.

Investors don't leave and the local economy doesn't collapse.

Finance also affects housing and who can afford to live in a community.

For example, in March, 2025, the government introduced no financial rules to encourage investment in affordable housing, investing an additional 2 billion pounds in social and affordable housing.

This can help keep communities diverse and inclusive.

Investors in housing want to make sure their money supports a growing local economy by giving more people the chance to live near their jobs.

Sometimes finance brings in big projects that can completely change a community.

For example, a new shopping complex in Cardiff funded by private investors, has brought more employment opportunities to the area.

Similarly, new gym facilities opened in August, 2024 were part of Cardiff Labour Council's multimillion pound investment plans to redevelop Pentwyn Leisure Centre.

However, some small businesses said that they were pushed out by the new investment in Cardiff and some closed down.

This shows that while finance can bring growth, it can also cause challenges like higher rents and loss of local shops, if not managed carefully.

So let's sort numbers one to six into positive effects and negative effects of finance.

So we have cheaper housing, small businesses closing down, new shopping centres, public service cuts and loss of local culture and keep communities diverse.

Where would these go under positive and negative? Pause the video and have a go at sorting these.

Okay, so our answers should look like this.

So in positive, we should have cheaper housing, new shopping centres, and it keeps communities diverse.

However, the negative effects of finance, other small businesses can close down, public service cuts and it can lead to a loss of local culture.

Now, which one of these statements is false? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video, read through these statements and work out which one is false.

Okay, we should have said C.

Investment in shopping centres always helps every type of business.

This is false.

We know that sometimes it doesn't necessarily help our local businesses and shops.

Well done if we got right.

Finance can also support charities and community projects.

For example, the National Lottery Community Fund provided over 686 million pounds of grants across the UK in 2023 and 2024 to support projects that revitalise communities, preserve heritage, and enhance lives through art, sports, and culture.

When investors, either big funders or small donors support local initiatives, the entire community benefits.

They become healthier, happier, and more connected, which results in a stronger local economy.

Other projects in smaller communities are also impacted by finance.

In 2023, Adwick's Community and Sports Centre were rewarded 236,000 pounds investment from the Community Ownership Fund, which helps them improve their facilities.

This benefited the local and wider community by improving the services offered in the village of Adwick and Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Now these four headlines have been jumbled up, so let's rearrange each one into a correct sentence about finance and communities.

We've got four headlines.

Let's get them the right way round to make sure that they make sense.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, so our headlines should now look like this.

And number one should say, investment in safer streets boosts local economy.

Number two, finance helps create social affordable homes.

Number three, unbalanced finances causes cuts in services.

And then number four, finance led regeneration brings jobs.

So well done if we manage to unjumble our four headlines.

For this task, I would like you to have a go at writing a short script, where an interviewer interviews someone from Manchester to explain how finance has changed their local area.

Now, you should include a mention of investment, finance and local economy, one challenge they faced and one benefit they sought.

So when you are ready to write your script, pause the video and have a go.

Okay, now your script might look like this one.

So we have presenter, "Welcome to our school podcast on How Finance Changes Communities.

Today I am talking to Taran, a local resident from Manchester.

Taran, can you tell us how finance has changed your area recently?" Taran says "Yes, definitely.

Investment from the local government helped build new schools recently, like the Co-Op Academy, Belle Vue, and a recent local government report also suggested more schools have received higher Ofsted ratings, partly as a result of increased funding.

Thanks to good financial planning, the local economy has also improved because more families are moving into the area and businesses are doing better.

Although the recent building work was disruptive at first, in the long run, financial investments have made our community stronger and given young people much better opportunities." Now, your script might also look like this.

So we have presenter, "Today we're hearing from Jordan, a business owner in Cardiff, about how finance has changed their community.

Jordan, what's been happening?" Jordan says, "Well, private investors funded a huge new shopping centre and the Labour Council had a multimillion pound investment plan to redevelop Pentwyn Leisure Centre.

This really boosted the local economy by creating new jobs, and we've seen a lot more visitors coming into the city.

However, not all the effects have been positive.

Some smaller local shops have struggled with rising rents due to the new shopping centre.

Overall, though, this investment has brought new life to the area and given more people opportunities." So maybe your script looked like the first one talked about Manchester, or maybe your script looked like this one that we've just read over and talked about Cardiff.

So well done anyone on your efforts.

I hope you enjoyed this task.

We have now come to the end of our lesson on how can investment and finance transform communities, and I'm going to summarise it into a few sentences for us.

Investment can improve local areas by creating jobs boosting the local economy, and making places more attractive for businesses and visitors.

Good financial management allows local governments to invest in services like transport, education, and housing.

Less efficient financial management can damage communities by leading to cuts in public services and reducing investor confidence.

Recent examples include Sunderland's 500 million pounds regeneration project, Cardiff's new shopping complex, and Croydon Council's financial struggles.

Finance affects communities in both positive and negative ways depending on how money is managed and where investment is targeted.

I really hope you've enjoyed today's lesson and learn a lot about how investment and finance can transform communities.

Well done on all of your efforts.