UK Shared Prosperity Fund
Build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK government Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The UKSPF is part of the national Levelling Up agenda and is based on three investment priorities which are Communities and place, Supporting local business and People and skills. The primary goal of the UKSPF is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. Full details of the fund are available in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus.
The primary goal of the overall £2.6bn UK Fund is “to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK” and is based around three investment priorities:
- Communities and Place
- Supporting Local Business
- People and Skills
While there is a link between the former EU funding regime and the UKSPF, the funding is not a direct replacement for EU Structural Funds.
Babergh District Council has been allocated £1,002,015 and Mid Suffolk District Council has been allocated £1,161,918 to invest over three years (2022-25) in initiatives that will support the 3 identified priority areas for Government.
This is split as follows;
Priority areas for government – Babergh
Priority areas for government – Mid Suffolk
Babergh & Mid Suffolk Councils submitted Investment Plans to Government on 1 August 2022, following a limited time period to complete engagement with stakeholders and develop proposals. To meet these aims, the council gathered stakeholder input through a public survey to help identify what the local challenges are, what the priorities should be when deciding the projects, and initiatives that could best address these.
Using our agreed strategic plans, we identified thematic areas of support alongside potential projects and activities to support Government’s aspirations for the funding, which were signed off by Government at the end of 2022
Delivery of our Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan is now underway and includes the following projects that will be delivered over the funding period and will be delivered either locally or collaboratively with other local authorities in Suffolk.:
- A Youth Social Prescribing Scheme
- Diversionary Schemes and additional CCTV
- A Community Food Network
- Town Centre and Cultural Programmes including Creative Wayfinding and Placemaking in Stowmarket, sculpture trail and additional wayfinding in Sudbury and expansion of the Love Exploring trail app
- Events and festivals for residents and businesses
- Targeted recruitment support for businesses
- Support for business and Social Enterprise start-ups
- Business support and small grants programme
- Skills and employability support
To learn more about UK Shared Prosperity Fund and our Investment Plan, please contact us.