Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what information his Department collects on how the Shared Prosperity Fund has been spent by local authorities; whether his Department has input into the way Welsh local authorities spend that funding; what audits have taken place on the expenditure by local authorities from the Shared Prosperity Fund; and whether Welsh local authorities are required to display UK Government branding on projects funded through the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Wales will receive £585 million through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in the current SR period, replacing in full the amount Wales received in EU Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF).

The Fund empowers communities to identify and build on their own strengths and needs at a local level. Local leaders, informed by their regional investment plans and working with local partners, decide how to spend UKSPF funding to create jobs, improve their local areas and support levelling up in Wales.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) administer the fund. Lead local authorities provide DLUHC with regular progress reports, outlining how UKSPF is being delivered across their region. These include total expenditure, updates on the delivery of individual programmes, and performance metrics with details on the outputs and outcomes generated. Projects funded under UKSPF are required to display UK Government branding.

Information on the performance of UKSPF, and branding guidance for the Fund, is set out online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-additional-information.

I intend to ensure that UKSPF delivers its objectives in all parts of Wales. I shall keep a close eye on how the Fund is being spent and what it is delivering. UKSPF will also be a standing item for my regular meetings with local leaders in Wales.