Shared Prosperity Fund

After Brexit, the UK will no longer receive structural funding worth some £2.1 billion per year from Brussels. This funding has been used to boost several aspects of economic development, including support for businesses, employment, skills, agriculture and fisheries. So, what will happen after Brexit?

The government has pledged to establish a Shared Prosperity Fund to tackle inequalities between communities by raising productivity. The fund will operate across the UK and Local Enterprise Partnerships are being asked to prepare Local Industrial Strategies to prioritise long-term opportunities and challenges to increasing local productivity. 

What is not clear is how the new fund will operate, what its priorities and objectives will be, and how it will be allocated. In my view the new fund needs to be simplified and integrated with local priorities. It needs to be administered in the regions and not centrally in Westminster, and it needs to be allocated fairly rather than purely on a competitive basis. 

Although the government has not yet published its consultation on the fund, most organisations involved in its planning agree that it should be maintained at the current funding level, and that it should largely be allocated based on need, with close involvement from local authorities and partners. 

If it is anything like Brexit, it will not happen quickly, but we will update with further information when it becomes available.