Whilst the government may have missed its latest deadline for publishing its promised consultation on the design and administration of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), as reported by The MJ – we have reached out to Institute of Economic Development (IED) members to run our own consultation on the fund. Here we summarise what came back:

Reducing inequality and addressing imbalance

In line with the government’s pledge on the UKSPF, our members say that the main objective is to reduce inequalities between communities. However, if the ethos is really to ensure all areas of the UK are able to prosper (and be a platform that they need to contribute towards the national economy), funding should be targeted at areas which need a helping hand to get there.