I am pleased to report that Shropshire is to receive £12.255 million from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support levelling up initiatives in the county. The additional funding will help the local authority tackle many of the challenges that it faces as the country’s largest inland county with a sparse population spread over a huge area.
The funding is split into two elements – £10.845 million from the prosperity fund, while a further £1.4 million has been awarded under the Government’s Multiply programme to help support people with low or no maths skills back into work.
The main funding is to support initiatives such as tackling economic decline, helping more people into decent jobs and regenerating high streets – helping to revive communities and reverse geographical disparities.
Shropshire Council will now pull together a partnership to look at how this funding can be best used in the county and it is required to submit an investment plan by August showing how it would spend the money. The first payments could be made from October and cover a three-year period.
The UKSPF has been set up to match the previous EU funding from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund. However, it will be much more flexible and locally led, with more freedom and discretion on what the funding can be used for and with no requirement for match funding.