Communities in Wales handed control of £585m to level up

EU requirements for match funding abolished

Glamorgan Star news 13/04/2022

3 minutes read

Communities in Wales handed control of £585m to level up

Communities in Wales will benefit from £585m of funding being allocated today to help spread opportunity and level up the country.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will see places in the Vale that need it most draw up plans this year to deliver on their local priorities, based on a conditional allocation of funding over the next three years.

This could include high streets in the area being regenerated, the fighting of anti-social behaviour and crime, or helping more people into decent jobs – helping to revive communities, tackle economic decline and reverse geographical disparities in the Vale and across Wales.

Spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of the UK through community-led investment, local areas in Wales will see £585 million made available under the fund.

Fund will be more ‘flexible and locally led‘

The UK Government’s says the funding delivers on commitment to match the previous EU funding from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund. However, the fund will be much more flexible and locally led, freeing communities in the Vale of Glamorgan from the bureaucratic, rigid and complex processes of the EU Structural Funds.

Bureaucracy will be slashed, and there will be far more discretion over what money is spent on. EU requirements for match funding, which impacted on poorer places, will be abolished. Instead of regional agencies, funding decisions will be made by elected leaders in local government, with input from local members of parliament and local businesses and voluntary groups.

The new fund also includes over £101m for Wales for an adult numeracy programme, Multiply, which will support people with no or low-level maths skills get back into work. The scheme will offer free personal tutoring, digital training, and flexible courses to improve adults’ confidence and numeracy skills.

Driving forward the missions in the government’s Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is in addition to other levelling up funding for Wales, including the Community Ownership Fund and the Levelling Up Fund, which has already invested £121m into Wales, and £790m for city and growth deals.

This is in addition to the record £18 billion per year block grant settlement announced by the UK Government for Wales – the largest since devolution over 20 years ago and an increase of £2.5 billion.

Simon Hart, MP, Secretary of State for Wales.

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “This is a huge boost for people across Wales, who will now have access to this fund to level up their communities and make decisions about where they want to see the money spent. The Shared Prosperity Fund will bind together the whole of the UK, while tackling inequality and deprivation across all four nations.

“I’m sure that the proposals for spending the fund will lead to substantive improvements to people’s lives in Wales, especially in areas where there is the greatest need.

“People in every nation and region want to see politicians acting together on the common challenges we all face and I look forward to working closely with the Welsh Government.”

The allocation formula for UK Shared Prosperity Fund considers both the local population data, and a broadly based measure of need, including factors like unemployment and income levels. This is to ensure the most amount of money is going to areas which will truly benefit from the fund.

A spokesperson for the UK Government added: “Funding will be increased from £400m in 2022/23 to £1.5 billion in 2024/25, at which point it will match the EU funds it has replaced.”