UK Shared Prosperity Fund to continue business and job support

Article date: March 11 2025

Cabinet is set to vote on claiming its share of UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) money from Government that will support a range of projects targeting businesses and employment needs.

The one-year extension of the UKSPF follows on from more than £2.4 million invested over the last two years to provide the borough with a wide range of activities including green space enhancements, cultural events like As the World Tipped, town centre activities such as the pop-up markets, Street and a Half, the social and creative business incubator run by Kindred and much more.

The funding over that time also supported the Ways to Work Service in helping people across the borough find training and employment opportunities and has supported The Growth Company in providing support to businesses.

The Government announced UKSPF would run for a further single transitionary year as it looks at a new method to deliver support for councils.

The report recommends that the majority of the new allocation is ringfenced for programmes that deliver the most direct economic benefit, which are the Business Support and Employment Support (Ways To Work) strands. These are the schemes that will yield direct business and employment outcomes. 

The report said "The UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been extended for a transitional year as Government moves toward new funding arrangements from 2026. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme represents a significant opportunity for the Council to continue to visibly and positively, deliver on its Policy Framework objectives, particularly those set out in Our Borough Strategy and the St Helens Borough Inclusive Growth Strategy."

Find out more about the proposals, which will be discussed at Cabinet on Wednesday, 19th March here: St Helens Borough Council Committee Report