What did UKSPF set out to achieve?
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund was launched in 2022 by the previous UK Government’s Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities. The fund was setup as a central pillar of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda which aimed to reduce regional inequalities and support increased economic growth across the UK. In particular, the fund aimed to improve pride in place, community resilience, and economic prosperity, and to support local businesses, skills development, and community infrastructure.
UKSPF succeeded European Union structural funds after Brexit, providing £3.5 billion of funding from 2022 to 2026 (including the extension year). The fund was not a direct replacement of EU funding, with it being designed to improve on previous funds by focusing specifically on UK priorities, and giving more direct accountability to local leaders. However, the overall effectiveness of the fund compared to EU funds is debated, while the overall amounts of UKSPF funding have been significantly lower than funding received under EU schemes.
Since the introduction of UKSPF, there have been four different Prime Ministers, a change of political party in Downing Street, and continued changes in the global context. Under the Starmer Government, the Levelling Up phrase was dropped and UKSPF was extended for a final transition year for 2025-26.
What were some of the key successes and challenges of UKSPF?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has recently published 34 UKSPF place-level evaluations and an interim evaluation synthesis report reflecting on the key challenges, successes and lessons of UKSPF. The synthesis report identified a number of successes and challenges, all of which could provide important lessons for future schemes. Some of these key takeaways included:
What has this meant for the delivery of UKSPF in local places?
While many of the successes and challenges of UKSPF are common across places, there have also been some variations across the country. The strength and depth of existing relationships and programmes in local areas has often been important to this, with strong foundations supporting continuity. From our experience at GC Insight delivering evaluations for combined authorities and local programmes, we’ve seen first-hand how strong partnerships and early investment in data systems can transform outcomes.
The interim evaluation synthesis paper highlighted that successful delivery of UKSPF was “almost always built on pre-existing, and established foundations.” As part of this, working with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector was important, as was working with established governance boards, delivery partners and other stakeholders. The continuation of interventions previously funded through other schemes was also a common feature across local areas.
UKSPF marked a significant shift from previous programmes, with funding decisions being delegated to local leaders. Many areas chose to collaborate on the coordination and delivery of UKSPF, while some areas had more structured regional approaches through mayoral combined authorities. The interim evaluation and other evidence has highlighted mixed results on collaboration with these often creating efficiencies but also leading to challenges with the misalignment of local and regional priorities. There have also been tensions in some places where there are disagreements over particular interventions funded by UKSPF that have been delivered more centrally.
Different types of geographical areas have also faced particular challenges, with rural areas highlighted in interim evaluations as facing higher delivery costs and increased barriers to accessing support which has posed challenges to the participation in projects.
What next following the end of UKSPF?
The end of UKSPF is fast approaching and there remain many questions as to what will happen next to a variety of schemes that support local people, businesses and wider prosperity. Two new funds are due to launch in 2026 – the Pride in Place Programme, and the new Local Growth Fund.
The Pride in Place Programme aims to address issues within some of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods, with projects needing to align with 3 core objectives: to build stronger communities, to create thriving places, and, to empower people to take back control. The fund will provide up to £20 million of funding and support over the next 10 years to nearly 250 local areas – with the funding to be managed through boards consisting of residents, local businesses, grassroots campaigners, faith leaders, workplace representatives, community organisations, and other local leaders.
The Local Growth Fund will introduce long-term flexible settlements for selected Mayoral Strategic Authorities (and funding for devolved administrations) with a focus on boosting regional productivity. Funding will support three interconnected themes of infrastructure investment, business support, and skills development.
As these new funds begin and UKSPF ends, there will be a period of change for the economic development sector which will likely take some time to fully work through. Exactly what support will be available for people and businesses in local places from April is currently unclear. However, UKSPF has provided some initial lessons as future programmes are designed (with full evaluations to follow from the central Ipsos evaluation team involved in UKSPF). In particular, recent years have shown that when funding is devolved to lower levels such as through UKSPF, strong collaborations in local and regional areas can bring benefits, although they also need to be managed carefully to ensure effective and successful delivery. As new funding schemes begin, there is additionally a need for national and local policymakers to recognise the potential for increased variations in the scale of funding and abilities to manage it locally as the Government’s devolution plans continue to take shape.
At GC Insight our team designs and delivers evaluations for central government, its agencies, local government and other organisations delivering publicly-funded policies and programmes. We have been involved in a number of combined authority and programme-specific local evaluations. If you’re planning for Pride in Place or Local Growth Funds, talk to us about designing programmes and evaluations that deliver impact. To learn more, visit Evaluate success | GC Insight
