Research and analysis

UKSPF intervention-level evaluation final findings report: support for people and skills – executive summary

Updated 28 August 2026

About this evaluation

This report presents findings from the intervention-level evaluation of selected UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) People & Skills projects. The report was prepared by Frontier Economics and BMG Research for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). The findings are intended to support policy makers and local authorities in decisions on future funding and programme design. More detailed findings are presented in the final findings report, with further information on the methodology and analysis provided in the technical annex.

Local areas used UKSPF funding to support economically inactive people (defined as working aged people who are not working, actively seeking employment or in education or training) to move closer to, and into, employment. The nine projects in this evaluation provided £30 million of support to around 8,000 economically inactive participants across the UK. Each locally designed and delivered project delivered a combination of support activities to between 110 and 2,250 people.

Support usually began with a one-to-one diagnostic consultation with an advisor or mentor, to identify participants’ needs and barriers. Projects then tailored support, including training, qualifications, coaching, mentoring and referrals to external services.

The evaluation pooled participant data into a single dataset after distinctions between projects and their objectives became less clear. Participants were analysed by barriers to employment, soft skills, education and personal characteristics, enabling clearer assessment of what worked for different groups.

The concept of “distance travelled” towards employment was central to the evaluation. This recognises that participants start from different positions and that progress towards work can take several forms including employment, qualifications, improved soft skills, reduced barriers and greater readiness for work.

A key focus was to understand the link between soft skills and movement towards employment. This evaluation used a novel approach to measure perceived improvements in soft skills, and their correlation with employment outcomes. It also examined what support was delivered, who it reached, what outcomes were achieved and to what extent the support plausibly contributed to those outcomes.

A contribution analysis evaluation approach was used, underpinned by a theory of change. Seven contribution claims were tested using monitoring data, qualitative evidence and survey responses from 799 participants who received support.

For each claim, the analysis considered changes in outcomes, participants’ own assessment of the influence of the support, evidence on how the support led to change, and other factors that could also explain the outcomes. As no counterfactual group was available, the approach assessed whether the support plausibly contributed to the outcomes rather than establishing causality.

Evidence strength for each contribution claim was assessed using a structured framework. This considered the quality, volume and consistency of evidence, and the extent to which alternative explanations could be ruled out. Findings were classified high-, medium- or low-strength. All findings included in this report are rated as either “high-strength” or “medium-strength”, meaning that it is at least reasonably clear that the support contributed to the outcomes.

The evidence captures short-term outcomes only, usually around a month after UKSPF support ended for each participant. Longer-term outcomes may not yet have emerged. The findings are based on selected projects and should not be read as representative of the whole UKSPF People & Skills programme but provide an initial evidence base that can be tested and expanded over time.

Key findings

Cohort	Funded support contributed to…	Evidence strength
All participants	Moving closer to and into employment	High
All participants	Improvements in wellbeing	Medium
Recently inactive participants	Overcoming personal barriers to employment	Medium
Recently inactive participants	Moving into active job search and securing employment	Medium
Long-term inactive participants	Overcoming personal barriers to employment	Medium
Long-term inactive participants	Moving into active job search and securing employment	Medium
Hard-to-reach/ disengaged young people (not in education, employment or training)	Re-engagement with the education system	Medium

High-strength evidence shows that the support contributed to participants moving closer to, and into, employment.

Across all projects, personalised one-to-one support helped individuals move into employment or closer to work. Within around one month of support ending:

• 35% of participants had entered employment; and

• A further 53% had made progress towards employment, for example by gaining qualifications, receiving job offers or improving soft skills.

Together this means that around 90% of participants reduced their distance from the labour market. This is notable given that support targeted economically inactive people, who are often further from work than participants in other employment support programmes.

Medium-strength evidence from qualitative sources shows that support contributed to improvements in wellbeing across all types of participants. For some participants, wellbeing improvement was an outcome in its own right. For others, it was also an enabler of progress towards employment or training. Quantitative evidence on wellbeing was not available for analysis because, when the survey was designed, wellbeing was not identified as a priority outcome and the limited survey space was instead used to measure soft skills, barriers, perceptions of support and employability outcomes.

Outcomes varied depending on participants’ starting points, including their soft skills, time spent economically inactive and the nature of the barriers to employment they faced. Medium-strength evidence shows that support contributed to:

• Recently inactive participants overcoming personal barriers to employment, moving into active job search and securing employment. Reported barriers reduced by 38%, from 2.0 barriers before support to 1.3 after support on average. Half (50%) of recently inactive individuals moved into employment or active job search after support: 32% secured employment and 18% were actively seeking work or had a job offer.

• Long-term inactive participants overcoming personal barriers to employment, moving into active job search and securing employment. Reported barriers reduced from 2.2 barriers before support to 1.6 after support on average: a 27% reduction. Over half (57%) of long-term inactive individuals moved into employment or active job search after support. This included 31% who secured employment and 26% who were actively seeking work or had a job offer. This was similar to the recently inactive cohort, despite a higher level of starting barriers.

• The re-engagement of disengaged young participants with the education system. Around four-fifths (79%) of young people gained qualifications, while almost a quarter (24%) moved into employment.

Participants who addressed barriers and improved soft skills were more likely to progress towards employment.

How support contributed to change

Addressing barriers was important: across all participants, barriers reduced by 38% on average. Barriers were reduced through confidence-building, practical employability support, and signposting or advocacy with wider services.

Those who no longer reported barriers were more likely to enter employment than those whose barriers persisted. This link between reducing barriers and moving into employment was seen for those starting with high levels of barriers, not just those with low starting levels of barriers. Further, not all barriers needed to be removed to progress towards employment.

Improving soft skills was a key outcome, often facilitated through reducing barriers. Eighty-five per cent of recently inactive participants and 72% of longer-term inactive participants said the support had helped at least one soft skill.

Improving soft skills was a route to moving into employment. Participants who had improved their soft skills were more likely to move into employment: a one-point increase in soft skills was statistically significantly associated with a 6% higher likelihood of moving into employment. These skills increases mattered because they affected whether participants felt able to attend appointments, engage with training, contact employers, apply for jobs or follow through on referrals.

Delivery models based on trusted relationships between advisors and participants, combined with the flexibility to tailor support, were central to achieving these outcomes. Advisors were able to exercise judgement over the intensity, sequencing and type of support provided. Flexible budgets for advisors also helped address practical barriers, such as transport.

This flexibility enabled projects to reach participants in accessible ways, including through meetings in community settings rather than formal or centralised locations. Strong local partnerships with specialist providers also helped projects address a wide range of barriers in a coordinated way.

For many participants, particularly those with more complex needs, progress involved stabilising their circumstances before employment or training became realistic. This included addressing issues such as mental health, housing or financial challenges, alongside building skills and confidence.

Types of outcomes varied across different groups

The types of outcomes achieved varied across participant groups. Participants closer to the labour market, such as those with higher initial skill levels or shorter periods of economic inactivity, were more likely to move directly into jobs. Younger participants and those further from the labour market were more likely to progress by gaining qualifications, entering education, improving skills or increasing their readiness for work.

Support was effective for a wide range of individuals, including those with complex needs. Participants with lower starting skill levels or more complex barriers often experienced some of the largest improvements in soft skills and reductions in barriers, even where this did not translate into immediate employment within the evaluation period.

Wellbeing improvements were also widely reported in qualitative evidence. These were both a direct benefit of support and, for many participants, an important enabler of engagement with employability activities and future labour market progression.

This reinforces that progress is not expected to be uniform across participants and success should be judged both by employment outcomes and by credible progress towards work, particularly for participants starting further from the labour market.

Delivering value for money

Overall, the findings suggest that UKSPF-funded personalised support for economically inactive individuals can deliver positive outcomes and represent medium value for money, even within a relatively short timeframe. The evidence indicates that these outcomes were associated with relatively intensive, tailored forms of support.

Value for money was assessed using methods appropriate to each type of intervention over a five-year period by comparing project costs with observable benefits, consistent with relevant sector best practice, HM Treasury Green Book guidance and MHCLG value for money categories. Given differences in methods and evidence, estimates should not be interpreted as directly comparable across interventions.

Employment and wellbeing benefits were monetised where possible and non-monetised benefits were also considered.

These findings should be interpreted cautiously. The analysis reflects short-term outcomes, excluding some wider benefits that could not be robustly monetised, and remains uncertain given the limited time since project completion. Further evidence would be needed to confirm whether these benefits are sustained over time.

Continuity of provision and the retention of experienced delivery staff were identified as important enablers of effective delivery. This suggests that stable funding and delivery arrangements can help maintain the advisor skills, local relationships and flexible support models associated with positive outcomes.

Implications for policy makers

Key findings include:

• Protect trusted one-to-one advisor relationships. The evidence consistently points to trusted relationships between participants and advisors as a central feature associated with positive outcomes. Delivery models that allowed advisors to build sustained relationships, exercise judgement, tailor support and signpost to other services appear to have underpinned effectiveness.

• Maintain flexibility to address practical barriers. Funding flexibility, including the ability of advisors to use budgets to address practical barriers such as transport, was regarded as key to success. Local partnerships with specialist providers were also important, enabling projects to address a wide range of barriers to employment in a coordinated way.

• Support continuity in funding and delivery. Longer funding periods would support continuity of provision and help retain experienced delivery staff. These staff skills, relationships and local knowledge were seen as important for effective delivery.

• Recognise that personalised support can offer value for money. Supporting economically inactive individuals with a range of needs can be done in a personalised way while offering value for money. Even under conservative assumptions and within a short observation window, the monetised benefits are expected to exceed costs, with additional benefits likely to emerge over time.

• Value and monitor progress towards work, not only job entry. Programmes of this type would not be expected to move all participants into employment within a short period. Future programmes should track intermediate outcomes such as reduced barriers, improved soft skills, qualifications and wellbeing, as these can be meaningful steps toward future employment.