Norwich City Council has been “short-changed” by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) compared to the funding the authority previously received under the European Social Fund (ESF).
A report by Cllr Adam Giles, cabinet member for community wellbeing at Norwich City Council, stated that the council has been allocated just over £1.5m from the UKSPF, which is to be spread over three years.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on 6 July, Giles said that this is significantly less than the £9m per year Norwich received under the ESF.
The UKSPF is the government’s post-Brexit successor to European structural funds (including the ESF) and is aligned to the outcomes sought by the levelling up white paper.
He said: “Under the ESF, Norwich was benefitting as a whole from £9m per year. Albeit it certainly wasn’t all coming to the city council, but under the UKSPF we are getting £1.5m split over three years.”
Giles said that some of the former ESF funding was distributed to other councils in the area, but the UKSPF was still “less generous”.
“Although it sounds great that we have this new fund, actually Norwich has been short-changed by the government,” Giles added.
The report said due to the lower-than-expected levels of funding, the council had looked at “what other external and internal funding has been available to align to UKSPF money in order to maximize outcomes for residents”.
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