Third Report - The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Scotland

The government states it has been engaging widely with stakeholders on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund since 2016 through various events and roundtables, implicitly indicating these efforts address the need for consultation without committing to a new formal public consultation by autumn 2021.

The government accepts the need for collaboration, detailing various ongoing and planned engagement mechanisms with the Scottish Government, including their place in governance structures, regular official engagement, ministerial meetings, and the establishment of an Interministerial Group.

The government states that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund's multi-year funding profile, including annual allocations for the UK and Scotland, will be set out at the next Spending Review and further details published later in 2021.

The government will consider at Spending Review 2021 whether to replace LEADER and EAFRD funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund or other farm support programmes, thereby deferring clarification on how and when this funding will be replaced.

The government states the UK Community Renewal Fund will inform the design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and describes active research and stakeholder engagement to learn lessons, but does not commit to a formal evaluation and publication of findings by March 2022.

The government states it will publish further detail on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year and confirm its funding profile at the next Spending Review, indicating that information will be provided but not explicitly committing to clear and transparent allocation methodology and criteria.

The government clarifies that Scottish local authorities will receive £125,000 for Levelling Up Fund bids and £20,000 for UK Community Renewal Fund bids in priority places, but details on up to £14 million in specific UK Shared Prosperity Fund capacity funding will be released later this year.

The government's response outlines the general purpose of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, but does not address the specific recommendations regarding prioritising academic research funding or collaborating with the Scottish Government to prevent universities from being disproportionately disadvantaged.

The government states evaluation will be central to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund but defers providing further details on how and when this will happen.