East Suffolk Council
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
In April 2022, the Government launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support its Levelling Up agenda. 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.
East Suffolk Council has been allocated £2.75m to invest across two and a half years (2022/23 - 24/25) in initiatives that will address inequality and contribute to levelling up. To meet these aims, the Government has identified categories of influential local stakeholders and asked councils to invite them to give their views on what are the most pressing local challenges that need to be addressed and the projects and initiatives that could best address them. This input will be combined with data about the local area and existing funding, the Government criteria and wider strategic priorities to inform the development of the East Suffolk investment plan which will be submitted to Government by 1 August 2022.
Key points about UKSPF funding:
- The funding can be spent on capital (assets) and revenue (day to day running) projects.
- While there is a link between Brexit and the UKSPF, the funding is not a direct replacement for EU Structural Funds.
- The funding amounts for each of the three years differ as follows:
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation per year | £334,072.00 | £668,144.00 | £1,750,536.00 | £2,752,752.00 |
| Revenue split | £300,664.80 | £581,285.28 | £1,400,428.80 | £2,282,378.88 |
| Capital split (10% / 13% / 20%) | £33,407.20 | £86,858.72 | £350,107.20 | £470,373.12 |
| Capacity funding | £20,000.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £20,000.00 |
| 4% management per year | £13,362.88 | £26,725.76 | £70,021.44 | £110,110.08 |
- Funding for the first year will be announced in October 2022 but must be spent by the end of the financial year (March 2023).
- Councils must submit their investment plans by 1 August 2022, which means they have limited time to complete engagement with stakeholders and put plans forward.
The Government has asked local authorities to use their UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocations to address the challenges and opportunities in local communities that are creating inequalities and holding them back from greater opportunity and prosperity.
Through its allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, East Suffolk Council must invest in a range of local interventions that support the Government's three investment priorities of:
- Community and place
- Supporting local business
- People and skills
In order to shape decisions on which of the many potential projects and initiatives the council should support, we are undertaking a stakeholder engagement process through a survey. The stakeholder input will be collated and considered in conjunction with evidence of need; previous EU funding; council strategic priorities and the Government criteria. We must stress that the funding is extremely limited and the range of things that Government has asked us to support is large, so difficult decisions will need to be made.
If you would like further details, the Government has also set out 41 types of 'intervention' that the funding should be used to support.
If you have any questions about the fund or would like a fuller discussion, please contact our Economic Development Team.