The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF)

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is the government’s domestic replacement for the European Structural and Investment Programme (ESIF). It provides local authorities funding for communities, places, businesses, people and skills.


The Levelling up agenda has seen changes to the approaches to funding local regeneration, businesses and employment and skills. The end of the European Structural and Investment Fund Programme (ESIF) sees the introduction of the government’s domestic replacement, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The Government has allocated £2.6 billion over two years and three months, with at least £1 million to every lead authority, as well as the allocations for the Multiply Programme. Lead authorities (combined authorities, districts, and unitary authorities) have responsibility for a range of activities involved in the development and delivery of the UKSPF within their local area. This ranges from determining the scale of interventions and assessing applications, to day-to-day monitoring and evaluation ensuring outcomes are delivered for local communities. 

The main aim of the fund is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the country.

This aim is to support the ambitions of the Levelling Up White Paper. Lead authorities are encouraged to work across boundaries and with different levels of local government to agree and commission provision across a wider geography. 

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. 


Rural England Prosperity Fund

DEFRA has launched the Rural England Prosperity Fund (Rural Fund), a top up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund worth up to £110 million for 2023/24 and 2024/25. It is the domestic replacement for the European funded LEADER Programme used to support the development of rural economies. 

More information about the Rural Fund prospectus is available from the government.


The UKSPF's three investment priorities: 


Crosscutting themes 

As the UKSPF is a delegated fund with some levels of flexibilities, lead authorities are able to develop interventions that deliver outcomes across the three investment priorities, better meeting the needs of a place. Bringing together communities, place, business support, people and skills interventions enable a place to have strategic oversight with programmes collaboratively delivering the same objectives and outcomes. 

The LGA have identified the following cross cutting themes below with resources to support local government embed relevant themes across the different priorities.