UK SHARED PROSPERITY FUND (UKSPF)

Apart from the Strategic Economic Plan  and Renewal Action Plan (PDF, 10Mb), the investment plan will also be built on the local priorities of the four South Yorkshire authorities Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, where they align with the three UKSPF priorities; communities and place, local business support and people and skills. All four Local Authorities have individual core strategies that capture their ambitions and priorities.

The Steering Group responsible for developing the required Investment Plan includes senior officer representatives from the four South Yorkshire Local Authorities and the Mayoral Combined Authority. They are being supported by consultants Mutual Ventures. Oversight is provided by the CEXs of all five authorities and ultimate sign off will be sought from elected Members of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. 

Adhering to the guidance provided by government, the Partnership Board will be tasked with overseeing the delivery of the fund locally/regionally once the Investment Plan has been approved. 

The Partnership Board has not been formed yet but is envisaged to convene a diverse range of key regional stakeholders including representatives from business, education and the voluntary sector as well as elected members. Further guidance on government’s requirements around the partnership group can be found on the Gov.uk website. 

The steering group are in the process of identifying those interventions that will have the greatest positive impact on South Yorkshire’s communities and economy. The list of pre-identified interventions can be found on the Gov.uk website. The final selection will be evidence based and made considering the opportunities and threats facing South Yorkshire’s communities and economy, local and regional priorities and ambitions while avoiding duplicating or displacing activity funded through other sources.

The government has committed that the first priority of the Shared Prosperity Fund will be adult numeracy. Multiply will offer easy access to free numeracy courses to gain qualifications and build confidence in using numeracy at work and in everyday life for everyone over 19 years old who does not have maths GCSE at grade C (or equivalent). 

Lead authorities have been asked to submit a separate investment plan to unlock the Multiply funding and the deadline for this was 30 June 2022. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority have submitted a plan to access £7.2m to deliver Multiply.