UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.
The UKSPF will support the UK government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the levelling up objectives:
- Boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging
- Spread opportunities and improve public services, especially in those places where they are weakest
- Restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been lost
- Empower local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency.
UKG’s overarching objective = Building pride in place and increasing life chances.
3 investment priorities:
- Community and Place
- Supporting Local Business; and
- People and Skills
This commitment recognises the key role of community groups and organisations in building resilient places.
The investment priority will enable places to invest to restore their community spaces and relationships and create the foundations for economic development at the neighbourhood-level. The intention of this is to strengthen the social fabric of communities, supporting in building pride in place. The objectives are –
• Strengthening our social fabric and fostering a sense of local pride and belonging, through investment in activities that enhance physical, cultural and social ties and access to amenities, such as community infrastructure and local green space, and community-led projects.
• Building resilient, healthy and safe neighbourhoods, through investment in quality places that people want to live, work, play and learn in, through targeted improvements to the built and natural environment and innovative approaches to crime prevention.
The development of the Investment Plan is the beginning of the Shared Prosperity Fund process.
It must be emphasised that local areas are responsible for the delivery at local levels.
There will be considerable engagement with communities and stakeholders on those local delivery plans.
C3SC aims to build the best possible future for the communities it serves – to foster pride in place and provide opportunities for all to create the life they want to live.
As Cardiff Council begins to explore how the Shared Prosperity initiative will provide support to communities in Cardiff, we want YOU to shape plans and inform our actions at Cardiff Third Sector Council! We know that community leaders, grassroots are the best placed and most knowledgeable on what support would deliver the greatest impact. By engaging with our members to co-produce the programs and projects that level up our communities, we help ensure that resources are used in ways that make sense for the unique contexts that exist in the capital city of Wales.
C3SC will be hosting a number of events over the forthcoming months where you will have the opportunity to hear more about this scheme and more importantly how to be involved.
For further information please refer to the Cardiff Council Shared Prosperity Fund here: https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/Shared-Prosperity-Fund/Pages/default.aspx
