Investment plans for a range of community activities across ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute as part of the final year of the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) have been approved by councillors.
The successor to previous EU funding schemes, the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute UKSPF investment plan focuses on three key priorities: communities and place; supporting local business; and people and skills, with activities being delivered by a mixture of council teams and third-sector external partners.
The UK Government has already announced that the final transitional year of UKSPF funding will be reduced by 40% from previous years. A replacement scheme is likely to run from 2026/27 onwards.
For 2025/26, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has been allocated £1.4 million from the UKSPF.
As the funding available for the year ahead is 60% of the previous year’s allocation, councillors have decided not to create any additional activities for the new funding. Instead, the focus will be on projects from the first phase of the UKSPF. These will include further investment in a range of initiatives such as:
- Vibrant and living places
- Business support
- Work placement training
- Flexible Food Fund
- Community hubs
- Adult literacy
- Supported employment
Councillor Math Campbell-Sturgess, the council’s Policy Lead for Business Development, said: “UKSPF funding has been invaluable in enabling us to deliver additional support for local businesses, people and skills and further investment in our communities.
“With a significant reduction in this year’s allocation, we believe the best use of the funds available is increased support for a range of existing successful projects.â€