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. This is in addition to the £3.75m Multiply element of the UKSPF, which Suffolk County Council can apply for to support adult numeracy across the county. The funding can only be unlocked upon submission of an Investment Plan which is signed off by both the council and the government.

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.

The funding can be spent on capital (physical assets) and revenue (operational) projects.

The funding amounts for each of the three years differ as follows:

Funding profile
Funding sources	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	Total
UKSPF allocation	£334,072	£668,144	£1,750,536	£2,752,752
Revenue split	£300,664	£581,285	£1,400,428	£2,282,378
Capital split 10% / 13% / 20% (minimum)	£33,407	£86,858	£350,107	£470,373

To develop the East Suffolk Investment Plan, the council gathered stakeholder input through a public survey to invite local stakeholders 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 was 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.

East Suffolk Council submitted its UKSPF Investment Plan on 29 July 2022 and it is anticipated that HM Government will make a decision on our submission by October 2022. After which point delivery will commence with immediate action.

Investment Plan

Our Investment Plan contains eight key programmes, based on new and existing schemes to be delivered either locally or collaboratively with other local authorities in Suffolk.

Communities and Place

• East Suffolk High Street Improvement Plan
• Using place to strengthen our local social fabric to support the cost-of-living crisis: this will be a three-year programme which will take place through two key projects:
• East Suffolk Community Food Network
• East Suffolk Warm Rooms

Supporting Local Business:

• Suffolk wide business support programme
• Business start-up programme
• East Suffolk Small Business Move to Net Zero grant scheme
• East Suffolk capital business and workforce skills grant programme

People and Skills:

• Suffolk wide skills programme
• East Suffolk Local economy led skills and community skills programme
• Voluntary skills provision

Outcomes

Through this Investment Plan, we hope to achieve a range of outcomes such as:

• Rehabilitated premises and land in our high streets
• Support community members through the cost-of-living crisis
• Support businesses to start-up and grow
• Modernise and upgrade training centres and hubs
• Support decarbonisation whilst growing the local economy
• Provide direct support to those that are economically inactive
• Support people to engage with life skills or gain a vocational license through providing financial support