Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to hold a formal consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and whether any such consultation will include a framework for the Fund to ensure that it is accountable and transparent in its distribution principles.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto commits to creating the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a programme of investment to bind together the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations.

The Government has been engaging with key stakeholders on the design and priorities of the fund since 2016, including holding a series of engagement events. Our engagement events have taken place across the UK including in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Over 500 stakeholders attended these events across a variety of sectors including; businesses, public bodies (such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, Mayoral Combined Authorities, local governments), higher education institutions, voluntary and charity sector and rural partnership groups.

Final decisions on the allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be taken after a cross-government Spending Review.