The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a government-allocated fund which is intended to reduce inequalities between communities, as part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda, and replaces European Structural and Investment Funds.
The UKSPF was launched on 13 April 2022. The UKSPF will provide £1.5 billion per year by 2024/2025 across local authorities in the UK. This funding will be allocated to local areas using formulas rather than by inviting competitive bids.
Expression of interest applications can be made by organisations including local authorities, the private sector, the voluntary sector, universities and further education colleges.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is currently closed to new expressions of interest.
City of York Council UKSPF allocation
We have been allocated £5,848,801 to spend over 3 years to March 2025. This amount is made up of a core allocation of £5,107,510, and £741,291 that has been specifically allocated for the Department for Education’s Multiply adult numeracy programme.
This allocation is conditional on the council creating an investment plan with key stakeholders, to be submitted in August 2022 for approval by government. The investment plan will set out how we intend to spend the money and the measurable outcomes that we hope to achieve.
The UKSPF has 3 investment priorities which are:
- Communities and Place - This is mostly aimed at improving community infrastructure and investing in neighbourhoods, for example by improving town centres and reducing crime
- Local Businesses - Improving both the numbers of jobs and the productivity of existing businesses, for example by providing investment in small businesses, creating opportunities for networking and collaboration, or helping to upgrade to energy-efficient technologies
- People and Skills - the largest part of which is the Multiply programme to promote adult numeracy. Other aspects could include employment support programmes, adult learning, or other skills provision
The government has also published a list of interventions falling under each of these priorities, along with measurable outputs that can be used to monitor their performance.
We will select the interventions that we wish to prioritise to meet these challenges for York as well as the outcomes we intend to target.
The first investment plans are expected to be approved in October 2022
UK Community Renewal Fund
The UK Community Renewal Fund, which was launched in 2021, was intended to help bridge the gap between the end of EU funding and the start of the new UKSPF.
