There will be £2.6 billion for local investment by March 2025 to fund the Government's levelling up agenda.
It aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the country. This will be through investment in three areas:
- Communities and Place.
- Supporting Local Business.
- People and Skills .
West Yorkshire will get £83,054,057.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) will administer the fund in our area.
To access the UKSPF, WYCA have made a local Investment Plan, which includes:
- the plan for the Rural Prosperity Fund;
- and a Multiply Investment Plan.
These set out the local priorities and how they will be delivered. For more details, please visit: UK Shared Prosperity Fund (WYCA).
UKSPF in Calderdale
Multiply
A funded programme to help adults across the UK to brush up their numeracy skills and boost their number confidence.
Multiply has the potential to reach all adults, which includes Calderdale's residents, to improve their numeracy skills. People who improve these skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages and have better well-being.
A level 2 maths qualification (or similar) will allow progress to higher levels of free training. This will help secure a skilled job in our economy.
In Calderdale, the total value for these services will be around £204,530 for a 2-year programme (£102,265 per year).
- 25% of these will be delivered the Council.
- 75% will be via partners.
Activity supported under Multiply falls within three main themes.
- Courses designed to help people use numeracy to manage their money.
- Numeracy activities, courses or provisions developed in partnership with community organisations and other partners aimed at engaging the hardest-to-reach learners.
- Courses for parents wanting to increase their numeracy skills to help their children and help with their own progression.
All Multiply provision is locally designed, tailored training provision to engage those furthest from the workplace or learning. All programmes are planned and delivered by (or in partnership with) organisations that have strong links to local residents.
The Government is committed to this first priority of the fund. For more details, visit: Multiply: funding available to improve adult numeracy skills (GOV.UK).
Local Authority Hyperlocal funding
We have received £2.8 million from the fund to invest in the Communities and Place. This is known as 'hyperlocal' funding. It is for us to use to strengthen what matters and what is strong in communities. We have also added extra funds to this amount.
Last year, Cabinet agreed that the UKSPF would target our communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. These will be:
- Illingworth;
- Mixenden;
- Ovenden;
- Park;
- King Cross;
- Highroad Well;
- Pellon;
- and Boothtown.
Funded projects will be led by the community and co-produced to:
- empower communities;
- impact on health and economic inequalities;
- and build community wealth, and legacy.
Women and Girls Outreach Programme
This part of the fund will support the delivery of the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Safety of Women and Girls strategy. This was launched on 23rd November 2022.
We will get £85,669 from the fund for this. It will be used by the Community Safety Partnership to to create safer spaces for Women and Girls within Calderdale and deliver against the Mayor's four key themes:
- Educate and Prevent.
- Behaviour Change.
- Safe Spaces.
- Support the Sector.
Supporting local business
- Create jobs and boost community cohesion;
- promote networking and collaboration;
- and increasing private sector investment in growth-enhancing activities.
Managed by WYCA, with benefits for Calderdale and the whole of West Yorkshire. This is to support businesses to start, sustain, grow and innovate.
People and skills
Boost core skills and support adults to progress in work.
- Target adults:
- with no or low-level qualifications and skills in maths;
- upskill the working population;
- and support disadvantaged people to access the skills they need to progress in life and into work;
- Support local areas to fund local skills needs and supplement local adult skills provision.
- Reduce levels of economic inactivity and move those furthest from the labour market closer to employment.
This includes the Multiply programme.
This also is managed by WYCA. The focus is to support people into jobs and increase access to activities like volunteering, to improve opportunities and well-being.
For more details about any of the above, please visit: UK Shared Prosperity Fund (WYCA).