Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that recipients of the European Social Fund in Northern Ireland continue to receive funding under the Shared Prosperity Fund after March 2023.

The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will provide support for projects across Northern Ireland, focusing on people and skills, communities and place, and local business for the period 2022-23 to 2024-25. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is leading delivery of the UKSPF in Northern Ireland and is in the process of designing a Northern Ireland Investment Plan for UKSPF that sets out the specific interventions it will support, and how it will bring them to market. The Department is working closely with Northern Ireland partners through a Partnership Group comprising representatives from the voluntary and community sector, business, higher education and skills, and local authorities to develop this Plan.

As the Department considers how to deliver the UKSPF, it is considering the wider funding landscape, including activities funded via predecessor funds and other programmes, and the best way to deliver impactful funding that addresses the needs of Northern Ireland. Alongside this, the Department has held workshops and engaged with over 150 representatives of the voluntary and community sector, many of whom receive funding for projects currently, as well as business organisations and local councils across Northern Ireland.

The Department expects to conclude the plan shortly and will publish further information on funding opportunities in Northern Ireland later this year.