Allocations from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) have been cut by 40% to £900m for a ‘transitional' 2025-26 ahead of wider local growth funding reform.

In a letter to English council leaders, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner wrote: ‘Given the importance of this programme to investment and job creation in many parts of the country, it is our intention that this transitional arrangement will allow places to continue investing in local growth priorities in advance of wider funding reform.