What is the UK Shared Prosperity Fund?

The Fund aimed to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local businesses, and providing opportunities to boost people and skills.

UKSPF replaced the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). These funds previously supported job creation, skills programmes, innovation and carbon reduction in the city-region.

From April 2025, UKSPF is part of Greater Manchester’s Integrated Single Settlement – bringing together previously separate funding streams into a more flexible, place-based approach.

The main aims of UKSPF were to:

• Boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards
• Spread opportunities and improve public services
• Restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging
• Empower local leaders and communities

Greater Manchester UKSPF funding allocation

Under the previous funding arrangements (before the move to the Integrated Single Settlement in April 2025), Greater Manchester was allocated a total of £98,235,287 in UKSPF funding. This included £83,850,595 for core UKSPF activity and £14,384,692 for GMCA’s Multiply programme.

Core UKSPF funding was used to support communities and place, local businesses, and to boost people and skills. Multiply is a government-funded national programme designed to help adults aged 19+ who do not already have a Level 2 in Maths/Numeracy (or equivalent) to improve their numeracy skills.

A full breakdown of Greater Manchester's original funding allocation is shown below. You can find the full list of UKSPF allocations on the UK Government website.