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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in delivering UK Shared Prosperity Fund programmes effectively in rural constituencies.

UKSPF provides a total of £3.5 billion of funding for local investment over four years (2022-26), with all places in the UK receiving an allocation via a funding formula. The Fund has a light-touch delegated delivery model that empowers local authorities to deliver interventions in line with their local priorities, including rural area priorities.

We also administer the Rural England Prosperity Fund via UKSPF (2023-26). It supports activities that specifically address the particular challenges rural areas face. It is complementary to funding used to support rural areas under the UKSPF.