Decision details

The Portfolio Holder for Resources will be asked to implement the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 2024-2025 allocations to interventions E1, E11, E13, E37, E38 and E39, as set out in Report number: CAB/WS/24/015.

Resolved:

That the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations for 2024 to 2025 be implemented as follows, in line with the Council’s UKSPF investment

plan:

1.       £192,662 for a competitive grant process for improvements to town centres and high streets, including better accessibility for disabled people, including capital spend and running costs (UKSPF intervention E1)

2.       £68,106 for community projects to support capacity building for local civil society and community groups (UKSPF intervention E11)

3.       £34,053 for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector organisations working with the new Community Food Partnership Officers to enable support to be available to the food banks, groups supporting sustainable food and the establishment of a food network (UKSPF (intervention E13)

4.       £20,000 allocation to West Suffolk College (the Council’s strategic partner for skills) to create a new post to engage with employers with under-employed staff and offer skills training and qualifications to enable them to take up full-time jobs, with a focus on those likely to be leaving or not returning to the workplace (UKSPF intervention E37)

5.       £100,000 to West Suffolk College to create new skills training opportunities to enable local people to access local skilled jobs, particularly in areas of shortage and growth (UKSPF intervention E38)

6.       £25,000 to West Suffolk College to extend the access and availability of green skills courses to both employed and unemployed utilising newly created training facilities and qualifications (UKSPF intervention E39)

Utilising delegated authority previously granted, the Portfolio Holder for Resources has agreed to proceed at this stage with the implementation of initiatives under six of the UKSPF interventions identified in the Council’s previously approved UKSPF investment plan, with the remaining interventions to be implemented in due course. The six initiatives are described in section 2 of Report number: CAB/WS/24/015.

The funding available in 2024 to 2025 to West Suffolk Council from

UKSPF funding could have been given to different external organisations. However, the organisations and initiatives chosen and described in this report reflect the new strategic priorities and approach to allocate the funding to local and strategic partners who will be best placed to deliver the desired outcomes to the UKSPF interventions.