Research and analysis

Glasgow City Region UKSPF evaluation: impact and value for money findings – executive summary

Updated 28 August 2026

Applies to Scotland

Introduction

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) was launched by the UK Government in April 2022. It provided £2.6 billion funding for local investment by March 2025, with an additional £900 million available for 2025-26. Local decision-makers worked with their local communities and partners to deliver interventions under three investment priorities: Communities and Place, Supporting Local Businesses, and People and Skills. UKSPF empowered places to identify and build on their own local strengths and needs, with a focus on enhancing community pride and increasing life chances.

Glasgow City Region (GCR) is the fourth largest city region in the UK and home to one-third of Scotland’s population. It was allocated a total of £73.9 million under the UKSPF up to March 2025. £23.1 million was allocated to the Communities and Place investment priority, £14.7 million to Supporting Local Businesses and £23.3 million to People and Skills. In addition, £12.7 million was allocated to Multiply. GCR has a modern, service-based economy with strong creative and innovation sectors. However, it faces significant challenges, including high levels of economic inactivity driven by long-term sickness, skills gaps, and the highest percentage of people with no qualifications of the 11 UK Core City Regions. UKSPF interventions were designed to address these challenges by building on local strengths.

Key impact evaluation findings

Communities and Place

Investment in the Communities and Place priority aimed to improve public spaces, community assets, and local infrastructure in East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. The evaluation found strong evidence that UKSPF funding made a positive contribution. 

Improved quality of physical environment and increased footfall

Investment in facilities led to a higher quality physical environment due to new and upgraded infrastructure creating attractive, accessible, and well-maintained community spaces. Capital investment in projects like the East Renfrewshire Dunterlie Multi-Use Games Area (DMUG) converted wasteland into attractive, accessible, and well-maintained community sports facilities. Monitoring data showed that the quantity of public realm space created or improved significantly exceeded forecasts. The new spaces were designed to be multi-use and safe, with features such as improved lighting contributing to enhanced accessibility.

New and improved facilities led to increased footfall and visitors as the attractive, multi-purpose spaces encouraged participation from both local residents and visitors from outside the area. The number of users of facilities and amenities were reported to have increased by 2,618, exceeding the forecast of 135. At the DMUG site, a user survey found that 75% of respondents used the space at least weekly and 68% played more sports as a result. Similarly, footfall across the region increased by over 402,000, surpassing the forecast of 50,260. This was achieved through the creation of attractive, multi-purpose spaces that catered to a wider range of residents and groups, including new users like local childcare organisations. 

Supporting Local Businesses 

Interventions provided technical expertise and financial support to strengthen the knowledge and skills of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in East and West Dunbartonshire. The evaluation found that this support contributed to business growth, innovation, and resilience. 

Adoption of new products, technologies and processes

Business support led to businesses adopting new technologies or products as a result of financial support, training, or advice. Evidence from surveys and interviews showed that expert advice on digital tools, AI-assisted technologies, and website development led to adoption. This was achieved by reducing knowledge barriers and building the confidence of businesses to implement new software and digital marketing strategies, which in turn helped them stabilise and grow.

Job creation and safeguarding

Business support led to the creation of new jobs and safeguarding of existing jobs. Across GCR, 2,719 jobs were reported to have been safeguarded, exceeding the forecast of 85. Interventions like the Expert Help programme provided support to businesses to improve financial management, win new contracts, and enhance compliance. This helped stabilise firms in challenging economic conditions. For some, this stability provided the foundation for new hiring, with survey respondents attributing workforce increases, in part, to the support received. 

Business growth

Business support programmes (including grants, training and advice) supported growth of beneficiary businesses and stimulated investment. Management Information data indicated progress towards growth related outcomes, including large numbers of businesses entering new markets and some increasing export capability. Survey evidence showed that supported businesses had increased sales/turnover, profit margins, workforce size and (for a small number) export volumes. Qualitative evidence suggested that consultancy support enabled businesses to grow or stabilise through enhancements to e‑commerce and digital channels, entry into new markets and securing new contracts. Some firms viewed stability as a positive outcome of the support (rather than growth) given the challenging economic context.

People and Skills 

This priority focused on promoting inclusive participation in the labour market by providing targeted support to help people progress towards education, training, and employment in North and South Lanarkshire, and Glasgow City.  

Reduced barriers to employment

Employment and skills support services, such as personalised employability guidance, digital and literacy support, financial or welfare advice, and flexible delivery, reduced barriers to provision for target groups. Interventions like Working4U in West Dunbartonshire were highly effective at reducing barriers for those furthest from the labour market. This was achieved through personalised, one-to-one keyworker support that addressed psychological barriers (e.g. low confidence) and practical barriers (e.g. transport, housing, and financial worries). The flexibility of the fund allowed for tailored assistance, such as providing bus tickets and food vouchers, which enabled individuals to engage with services. 

Increased engagement

Keyworker outreach led to increased service engagement because beneficiaries gained personalised guidance and continuity. The keyworker model proved highly successful in boosting engagement and helping people into employment. The number of economically inactive people reported to be engaging with keyworker support was 2,435, which was more than double the target. This was driven by proactive outreach and the provision of a trusted, consistent point of contact. This support translated into employment, with nearly a quarter of survey respondents moving into work. The number of people sustaining employment for six months was more than double the forecast. 

Increased employment

Training and support led to more people gaining employment because participants’ skills aligned with job requirements. Monitoring data and local delivery reports indicated that entry to employment and six‑month sustainment exceeded forecasts for key target groups. Evidence across the survey and qualitative research found that most of those entering work reported that UKSPF support had made a difference. A substantial proportion of participants remained out of work, often due to ongoing basic skills gaps, health and confidence barriers, or a lack of suitable vacancies. Wider labour‑market conditions and national programmes may also have contributed to observed job outcomes.

Key economic evaluation findings

The UKSPF programme in GCR demonstrated adequate value for money across the 4Es framework.

• Economy - Adequate: The devolved, allocation-based funding model was viewed positively, as it was less resource-intensive than competitive bidding and allowed LAs to direct funds to local priorities. However, tight government timelines for submitting investment plans limited the potential for competitive tendering, which may have hindered initial efforts to optimise Value for Money (VfM).
• Efficiency - Adequate: The programme was efficient in converting inputs into outputs, with 63% of all output targets across the three main priorities being met or exceeded. This was achieved using UKSPF alongside other funding streams (such as Scottish Government’s No One Left Behind). This enabled local authorities to use the funding to address gaps in provision, deliver more holistic support and enabled participants to move between programmes as needed.
• Effectiveness - Adequate: The programme was effective in turning outputs into intended outcomes, with 64% of all outcome targets met or exceeded. The interventions were strategically aligned with GCR’s key economic challenges, particularly in relation to tackling economic inactivity and skills gaps. The targeting of support to the most vulnerable groups and struggling businesses helped maximise benefits through marginal utility.
• Equity - Adequate: The programme successfully delivered support to its intended beneficiary groups. The People and Skills interventions reached vulnerable young people and those furthest from the labour market, while the Supporting Local Businesses interventions were targeted at SMEs.

Key learning

The following key learning and lessons have been identified, which will support design and delivery of future local growth funds:

• The flexibility of the fund was a key enabler, allowing for adaptability to local circumstances, which was crucial for targeting support to those most in need. The importance of long-term funding was also identified as essential for ensuring the continuity of service provision, providing sustained support for individuals, and enabling greater staff retention through longer-term contracts.
• The GCR-wide collaborative approach enabled local authorities to benefit from mutual support, share best practice, and pool resources for region-wide interventions.
• The evaluation faced challenges in gathering evidence for the Communities and Place investment priority due to being unable to identify and reach beneficiaries of the interventions. Future evaluations of similar public realm projects could consider incorporating site visits into the design.
• There were limitations with the monitoring data collected for UKSPF. Future programmes would benefit from simpler indicators, clearer guidance on realistic target setting, and more robust requirements for reporting on how interventions were selected to improve accountability. Measuring the additionality of the fund was also difficult, as UKSPF often continued existing services and baseline data was unavailable for comparison. The evaluation’s focus on a small selection of interventions made it challenging to assess the net benefit to the Glasgow City Region as a whole, highlighting a need for broader scope in future studies.