UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The previous Government's Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) on 13 April 2022.
The UKSPF was a central pillar of the Government's Levelling Up Agenda and provided £2.6bn of funding for local investment by March 2025.
The total Lancashire allocation was £54m funding plus £7.5m for Multiply (adult numeracy and employability).
Preston received a conditional allocation of £5,243,004 to invest in the city from 2022/23 to 2024/25.
In December 2024, the current UK Government announced a one-year extension to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for the 2025-26 financial year (SPF2.0). This extension is a transitional period as the government develops its approach to future regional funding.
The fund aims to support local communities and businesses across the UK, and will contribute to the delivery of the government's Five Missions:
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 2 (M2): Make Britain a clean energy superpower
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
- Mission 5 (M5): Build an NHS fit for the future
What is the aim of the fund?
Our goal is to deliver a wide-reaching and impactful programme of activities that will build pride of place in Preston and increase life chances in the city, in line with the overall goals of the UKSPF. This will be delivered via three investment priorities, as defined by the Government:
- Communities and Place
- Supporting local business
- People and skills
Preston's SPF 2.0 programme will be delivered through 8 programmes, which must be completed by 31 March 2026.
The allocation for Preston City Council, accepted by Full Council on 6 March 2025, is £2,462,651 (£2,145,966 Revenue, £316,685 Capital) for 2025/26.
A revised investment plan was not required. However, consideration has been given to Preston's existing Investment Plan (IP) for 2022-25, as well as Achieving Preston's Priorities, the delivery of the Council's Community Wealth Building strategy CWB 2.0, and the Council's target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, when deciding which priorities, themes and sub-themes (new for 2025/26), linked to the Five Missions (see table below), and therefore programmes and projects should be supported.
Communities and Place
Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities
- Mission 2 (M2): Make Britain a clean energy superpower
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
- Mission 5 (M5): Build an NHS fit for the future
Thriving Places
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
Healthy: Improve health and wellbeing
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
- Mission 5 (M5): Build an NHS fit for the future
Safe: Reduce crime and the fear of crime
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
Inclusive: Bring communities together, tackling homelessness
- Mission 2 (M2): Make Britain a clean energy superpower
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
Development of the visitor economy
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
High streets and town centre improvements
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
Supporting Local Business
Support for Business
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
Advice and support to business
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
Enterprise culture and start up support
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
Business sites and premises
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
People and Skills
Employability
Supporting people to progress towards and into employment
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
Support for young people who are, or are at risk of being, NEET
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
Skills
Essential skills (including numeracy, literacy, ESOL and digital)
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
Employment related skills
- Mission 1 (M1): Kickstart economic growth
- Mission 3 (M3): Take back our streets
- Mission 4 (M4): Break down barriers to opportunity
With the introduction of the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA), it now takes Lead Authority status for SPF 2.0, and therefore all 14 authorities across the county submitted 2025/26 proposals in April 2025 for approval.
Preston City Council has received confirmation that its projects have been approved by the LCCA.
Preston City Council will now report to the LCCA, through Blackpool Council, which has taken on the role of coordination / administration on behalf of the LCCA.
Blackpool Council will have responsibility for reporting to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
The Council is responsible for ensuring that necessary submissions and monitoring are submitted to the Lancashire Combined Authority in line with the required deadlines.
The Assurance Framework sets out the necessary arrangements in place to achieve this.
Legal agreements with internal departments and external organisations will include specific monitoring requirements to ensure the Council has the necessary up-to-date information to complete the submissions to the Lancashire Combined County Authority.
Visit GOV.UK - UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2025-26: Technical note
Contact Details
For more information, please email UKSPF@preston.gov.uk
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