‘The UK Government must deliver a new deal for people living in left-behind places, so that they can build a better life for themselves and their families.’
This is from an October 2018 report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on the funding and design of the promised UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The report looks at the Government’s ‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund’, which is proposed to make up for the loss of £2.4 billion in European Union (EU) Structural Funds after Brexit. The report looks at how the Fund can best invest in places that have been left behind by economic change.
Its recommendations include:
- Matching, at a minimum, the £2.4 billion per year that currently flows to UK communities as a result of EU Structural Funds. This should use long-term funding cycles in order to provide for certainty.
- Allocating funds on the basis of need and targeting these using economic measures that account for standard of living.
- Devolving these to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and parts of England with strong governance arrangements.
- Operating the fund as a ‘single pot’ that enables capital and revenue streams to be coordinated. This would promote inclusive growth and enable areas to respond flexibly to local priorities.
- Combining investments in enterprise, economic growth and good jobs with programmes to connect people on low incomes to new opportunities.
Read the full report on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.
