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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding will be made available to small and medium size businesses when transitional arrangements for the Rural England Prosperity Fund end.

After March 2026, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will end. Beyond this, the government is providing targeted, long-term local growth funding to support growth across the UK, completing the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This includes:

• Establishing a new local growth fund, including a 10-year capital settlement from 2026‑27 to 2035‑36, for specific mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands with the highest productivity catch-up and agglomeration potential.
• Investing in up to 350 deprived communities across the UK, to fund interventions including community cohesion, regeneration and improving the public realm.

For local government as a whole, the government's funding reforms will move funding to the places that need it, ensuring that funding is targeted effectively at the places and services that need it most and allocated in a way that empowers local leaders to deliver against local priorities.

DBT will lead on the broader SME strategy setting out the government's vision for SMEs and we will work across government to ensure effective support.

Funding related to the Rural England Prosperity Fund is a matter for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.