Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the methodology to determine which (a) places and (b) lead authorities were prioritised for capacity funding to help prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

At Budget 2021, the UK Government published a prospectus for the UK Community Renewal Fund: an additional £220 million funding for 2021/22 to help local areas prepare for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022.

The UK Community Renewal Fund aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches. It will invest in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.

As set out in the prospectus published on 3 March, we have identified 100 priority places based on an index of economic resilience across Great Britain which measures productivity, household income, unemployment, skills and population density. We are committed to transparency and a methodological note will be published explaining how the index of economic resilience was developed.