Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to (a) initiate a consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and (b) publish a timetable for the commencement of that Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund pre-launch guidance document published on 2nd February 2022 provides further information on the overall focus of the fund, geographies over which the fund will operate and a summary of its investment priorities. This information will enable places to start planning and preparing for the full launch later in spring 2022, where the UK government will publish a full prospectus for places to be fully equipped to write an investment plan.

The Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s ambitious 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, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. This recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support.