UK Shared Prosperity Fund (including Multiply and the Rural England Prosperity Fund)

What is the UK Shared Prosperity Fund?

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda. The fund will invest in domestic priorities and target funding where it is needed most: building pride in place, supporting high quality skills training, supporting pay, employment and productivity growth and increasing life chances.

The UKSPF replaces the support that local authorities previously accessed through the European Structural and Investment Funds prior to the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The full UKSPF prospectus can be found on the government’s website:

GOV.UK - UKSPF Prospectus (external website)

How much has the East Riding been allocated from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund?

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, as the lead local authority, has received an allocation of £10.4 million covering the period 2022 to 2025. The allocation comprises mostly revenue funding, with allowance for a small amount of capital expenditure.

What is the Multiply Fund?

Part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Multiply aims to improve adult (those aged 19+) numeracy skills and, therefore, supports the Levelling Up mission to ensure that, by 2030, the number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the UK. This programme is 100% revenue funding.

How much Multiply funding has the East Riding been allocated? 

The East Riding has been allocated £1.5 million from the Multiply programme over the next three academic years (2022 to 2025). For more information, the Multiply prospectus can be found on the government’s website here: 

GOV.UK - Multiply: funding available to improve adult numeracy skills (external website)

How will the council access the UKSPF and Multiply funding allocations?

To draw down the UKSPF and Multiply funding allocations, the council submitted investment plans setting out how it intends to use and deliver the funding for approval by the government.

Between May and August 2022, these plans were developed in conjunction with local stakeholders through a combination of webinars, focus meetings and workshops. A consultative local partnership board was also established to provide local insight and expertise, identify and address need and opportunity, and ensure that the right solutions were selected for the East Riding. In addition, local MPs were engaged as part of this investment planning process. 

Both plans were submitted by their respective deadlines of 1 August (UKSPF) and 30 June 2022 (Multiply) and both have been approved by the government.

What opportunities are available through the Multiply programme?

The council currently has two tender opportunities open for the Multiply programme. They are:

• Intervention B only -  Courses designed to help people use numeracy to manage their money (Contract period: 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 / Value: £60,000 / Deadline for submission of tenders: 20 March 2023)
  
• Intervention C only - Innovative numeracy programmes delivered together with employers, including courses designed to cover specific numeracy skills required in the workplace (Contract period: 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 / Value: £50,000 / Deadline for submission of tenders: 17 March 2023)

Email: ukspfund@eastriding.gov.uk

What is the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF)? 

The REPF supports the aims of the government’s Levelling Up White Paper and Future Farming Programme. It will fund capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure in order to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.

The REPF is integrated into the UKSPF and supports activities that address the particular challenges rural areas face, including lower productivity rates, poorer connectivity and poorer access to key services.

The allocation from REPF for the East Riding is £1.8 million to be spent in 2023-24 and 2024-25. In order to draw down this funding, the council submitted an addendum to its UKSPF investment plan by 30 November 2022 outlining how the funding would be spent. Government approval of these proposed plans is still outstanding.

For more information about the REPF, please consult the government's prospectus for the fund:

Rural England Prosperity Fund Prospectus (external website)

Where can I find out more about the REPF?

The council hosted a webinar regarding REPF for groups, organisations and businesses interested in finding out about the fund on Monday 10 October. To watch a recording of the webinar, please click on the link below:

YouTube - Rural England Prosperity Fund webinar (external website)

Local stakeholders were invited to submit project ideas that meet the REPF priorities and align with the East Riding of Yorkshire Rural Strategy 2022-2027 to inform development of the council's addendum to the UKSPF investment plan. 

For REPF purposes, eligible activity must take place in rural areas, which are defined as:

• towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside
• market or ‘hub towns’ with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services

To find out which areas are eligible, you can use the link below to access a map where you can enter a postcode and determine its eligibility:

East Riding REPF Eligibility Map (external website)

The council is still awaiting government approval on the REPF addendum. 

How do I get further information about the UKSPF, REPF and Multiply activities in the East Riding?

If you have any questions about the implementation of these funds at a local level, please contact us via email.

Email:  ukspfund@eastriding.gov.uk