UK Shared Prosperity Fund
In April 2022 the UK Government launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The fund is a central pillar of the UK Government's Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment across the UK by March 2025. It replaces the European funds from 2023 onwards.
The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, as well as people and skills.
View the UKSPF privacy notices to find out what we do with your information.
Investment plan
To access the funding each local authority has been invited to submit a plan for delivery of the UKSPF in their area. View the Aberdeenshire UKSPF Investment Plan (PDF 1.58MB) which was approved by the council in August 2022.
The plan has three priority areas, each with a number of themes:
- Communities and place
- Supporting local businesses
- People and skills
Communities and place
The Place (Capital) Programme (PDF 265KB) prioritises:
- Place based investments for regeneration and town centre improvements
- Support and improvement of community assets and infrastructure
- Improvements to the natural environment and green and open space
- Design and management of the built and landscaped environment
- Support for sport, arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities, projects, facilities and institutions
- Active travel enhancements and other small scale strategic transport projects
The Information and Advice (Revenue) Programme (PDF 205KB) prioritises community measures to reduce the cost of living.
The Place (Revenue) Programme (PDF 138KB) prioritises relevant feasibility studies.
Supporting local businesses
The Business Support (Revenue) Programme (PDF 239KB) prioritises:
- Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) development grants and support programmes
- Strengthening local entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Support for expert business advice and support programmes
- Support programmes for new and existing businesses and start-ups
The Enterprise Infrastructure (Capital) Programme (PDF 218KB) prioritises investing in enterprise infrastructure and employment/innovation site development projects.
The Social Enterprise Support (Revenue) Programme (PDF 195KB) prioritises support for growing the local social economy.
People and skills
The Employability (Revenue) Programme (PDF 269KB) prioritises:
- Employment support programmes for economically inactive people which take account of the No One Left Behind agenda, the Young Person’s Guarantee, Fair Start Scotland and Scottish employability pipeline
- Courses including basic skills, life skills and career skills provision for people who are not economically inactive
- Activities such as enrichment and volunteering to improve opportunities and promote wellbeing
- Support for education and skills targeting vulnerable young people leaving school
The Local Skills (Revenue) Programme (PDF 209KB) prioritises support to address local skills needs.
The Multiply (Revenue) Programme (PDF 211KB) prioritises helping adults improve their numeracy skills.
Deadlines and timeline
The first application round closed on 30th June 2023, with decisions set to be announced at the end of September 2023.
The key dates for the next application round are:
- 15th October 2023 - deadline for expressions of interest
- 29th October 2023 - deadline for full applications
- 17th November 2023 - feedback issued to applicants
- 3rd December 2023 - application resubmission deadline
- 5th January to 7th March 2024 - assessment and decisions on awarding funds
Contact
For enquiries and advice please email ukspf@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.