During 2022, the council developed and submitted its’ UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Investment Plan and in December 2022, following Government approval, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Government to release UKSPF funding.
As part of the UKSPF planning process the council committed to the development of Green Book (Government standard) compliant business cases for each of the three Government investment priorities (Communities and Place, Supporting Local Businesses and People and Skills). The business cases confirm the case for local investment, set out how UKSPF will be invested locally and identify the management and monitoring arrangements for the fund -ensuring UKSPF is utilised/distributed effectively in West Lindsey.
The council has approved the three business cases and will now move to the delivery phase of the UKSPF Investment Plan, which has a value of £4.7m (including match funding contributions) and extends until March 2025.
Councillor Owen Bierley, Leader of West Lindsey District Council, said:
“I am delighted to announce we have reached this significant milestone in our preparations for local UKSPF delivery and are now in a position to launch the operational phase of our UKSPF programme.
"Although we await final Government sign-off of our plans for the Rural England Prosperity Fund, we expect approval will follow shortly and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the West Lindsey District Council UKSPF Team for all their hard work – reaching this stage in the process has taken a substantial effort and I am convinced our diligent approach to utilising UKSPF will result in excellent outcomes for our communities and businesses”
Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities, Sally Grindrod-Smith, said:
"Approval of the business cases marks the culmination of our UKSPF preparatory work, providing us with the solid governance foundations from which we will start to deliver our UKSPF programme.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mutual Ventures who have supported us through-out the development and submission of our UKSPF Investment Plan and more recently with the composition of the supporting business cases. We are now in a position where we have the authority to start to commission and deliver local activity and I anticipate the launch of schemes, including grant funds, from April (2023) onwards.”
For more details on the fund visit the Government’s website (Rural England Prosperity Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).