UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2022-25
Find out about the UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2022-25 and how it can help your business or your local community.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK government's Levelling Up agenda and a significant component of its support for places across the UK. It provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025. It is the domestic replacement for the European Structural and Investment Programme (ESIF).
The main aim of this fund is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. This will be done through 3 'core' investment priorities (interventions):
Communities and Place
Strengthening our social fabric and fostering a sense of local pride and belonging and building resilient and safe neighbourhoods.
People and Skills
Boosting core skills and supporting adults to progress in work, by targeting adults with no or low-level qualifications and skills in maths, and upskilling the working population, supporting disadvantaged people to access the skills they need to progress in life and into work; supporting local areas to fund local skills needs and supplement local adult skills provision; and reducing levels of economic inactivity and moving those furthest from the labour market closer to employment This includes the Multiply programme, which is described below.
Supporting Local Business
Creating jobs and boosting community cohesion, promoting networking and collaboration and increasing private sector investment in growth-enhancing activities.
20 projects have been approved with 9 capital and 11 revenue projects being supported. In 2023-24 revenue funding will be provided to 11 projects including a number of community events held in Barrhead, Clarkston and Giffnock. 2 capital projects will also receive funding during this period and will see the renovation of a Multi-use Games Area (MUGA) in Dunterlie and improvements to the pathways in Cowan Park complementing wider investments in the park.
14 projects have been approved and building on the provision that was delivered through European Structural Funds further employability programmes and partnerships will be delivered. The additional programmes being delivered include the Individual Placement and Support programme which supports people with severe and enduring mental health problems into employment, and the personalised learning programme Your Employability Skills, for individuals with multiple barriers to employment and education.
The Support Local Business Growth Grant Programme has been awarded funding to assist businesses to adapt and thrive. 5 grants have been approved and include funding to support a business making the move from home working to being clinic based with training space and clinic room rental. This move will initially create new employment for one individual and provides growth for the business. A grant has also been approved for a new interactive and multi lingual website development fora multi-national marketing agency based in East Renfrewshire.
A new government-funded programme to help adults across the UK to brush up their numeracy skills and boost their number confidence. It is an element of Pillar 3, People and Skills, within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to which up to £559m of the £2.6bn total UKSPF has been allocated by government to local areas. East Renfrewshire Council has been awarded £568,227 for the Multiply programme.
The Multiply Programme will be managed by the Education Department and will feature both local and regional elements. The overall objective of Multiply is to increase the levels of functional numeracy in the adult population across the UK. The following success measures have been identified for the whole programme at national level:
- more adults achieving maths qualifications courses (up to, and including Level 2/ SCQF Level 5) and an increase in participation in numeracy courses.
- improved labour market outcomes e.g. fewer numeracy skills gaps reported by employers, and an increase in the proportion of adults that progress into sustained employment and/or education.
- increased adult numeracy across the population- this overall impact, which goes beyond achieving certificates or qualifications, will track both the perceived and actual difference taking part in the programme makes in supporting learners to improve their understanding and use of maths in their daily lives, at home and at work - and to feel more confident when doing so.
Busby Community Council carried out a survey which found that the local community was supportive of planned changes, with respondents agreeing they thought Easterton Avenue playpark would benefit from being more accessible and that new safety gate and railings would make it safer to use. The Local Action Plan for the area also highlighted this as a priority.
An application for funding was submitted to UKSPF, Communities and Place to improve accessibility issues at the playpark.
The project was seeking grant funding to:
- remove the existing steep narrow access path and install an accessible tarmac path and handrail
- widen the entrance and path so that playpark will be accessible to all
- install a self-closing gate at the entrance to ensure the safety of everyone in the park
£39,216 of funding was secured from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to complete the work.
Before
After
