Research and analysis

North East Lincolnshire UKSPF evaluation: impact and value for money findings – executive summary

Updated 28 August 2026

Applies to England

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.

North East Lincolnshire (NEL) is a predominantly urban and coastal borough. The area faces challenges such as high deprivation and skills gaps, but also presents opportunities in sectors like renewable energy, logistics, and manufacturing. NEL was awarded £5.3 million from UKSPF across the three investment priorities: Communities and Place (£2 million), Supporting Local Businesses (£2 million) and People and Skills (£1 million). An additional £1.0 million was awarded for the Multiply programme during the same time period, and further funding of £1.9 million was allocated for 2025/26. Between 2022-2025, UKSPF supported 96 intervention projects targeting town centre vitality, culture and heritage activities, increased community capacity, business support, and employment and skills development.

Key impact evaluation findings

Communities and Place

Improved perception of place

UKSPF-funded interventions, particularly arts and cultural events and tourism campaigns, were shown to have contributed to improved perceptions of the local area. Qualitative feedback from interviewees highlighted increased community pride; this aligned with data from the Your Community Your Say survey, which found that satisfaction levels amongst residents of NEL were generally positive. However, social media analysis indicated some persistent negative sentiment, suggesting ongoing challenges to be addressed.

Increased footfall and visitor numbers

UKSPF allowed NEL to host a wide range of local events; 2,935 activities and events were supported, far exceeding an initial target of 544. Locally-collected data showed measurable spikes in town centre footfall during key events. UKSPF provided the local authority with a budget to run focused tourism campaigns for the first time. Locally-collected tourism data showed that while overall visitor numbers have not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, economic impact from tourism increased by 3.8% in 2024, and there was a high level of positive sentiment from tourists and visitors.

Increased community capacity

UKSPF supported 811 volunteering opportunities and provided grants to 66 organisations. Additionally, 521 community organisations received non-financial support. The evaluation found that these measures had strengthened the voluntary and community sector, and that capacity-building initiatives leveraged additional funding and increased sustainability for local groups.

Supporting Local Businesses

Business births and growth

NEL’s UKSPF programme supported 230 potential entrepreneurs and facilitated the creation of 72 new enterprises, exceeding initial targets. There was good evidence that tailored business support and grants had helped micro and small businesses to start, survive, and grow, with a focus on improved resilience in a challenging economic climate.

Decarbonisation

Focused decarbonisation support funded by UKSPF led to the development of 125 decarbonisation plans and an estimated 609 tonnes of CO2e reductions, far exceeding targets. The evaluation evidence showed that grants had enabled businesses and community organisations to install energy-saving technologies, improving sustainability and reducing costs.

People and Skills

Individuals upskilled

People and Skills activity supported 750 individuals to engage in life skills provision. 72 people attained basic skills following support, while 473 people experienced reduced structural barriers into employment and into skills provision. Delivery stakeholders highlighted a clear link between the support offered by the UKSPF People and Skills projects and improved soft skills such as confidence.

Progression towards employment

UKSPF supported 674 people to gain qualifications, and 90 people moved into employment or self-employment. Stakeholders reported clear links between the support offered by the UKSPF interventions and individuals’ progression journeys towards job-related outcomes.

Reducing skills gaps

UKSPF interventions were closely aligned with local employer skills needs, particularly in key sectors such as health and social care, engineering, and hospitality. Projects addressed local skills shortages by providing sector-specific training and supporting both entry-level and upskilling opportunities. 133 people attended training sessions, 121 of which were focused on support to retrain into key sectors.

Key economic evaluation findings

The UKSPF programme in North East Lincolnshire demonstrated high value for money across the 4Es framework.

• Economy - High: The programme attracted a high volume of suppliers through open calls and robust procurement processes, ensuring interventions were commissioned at the required quality and cost. Despite initial challenges with funding delays, proactive management enabled the council to launch and deliver interventions largely on budget, with 100% of the total allocation spent.
• Efficiency - High: Interventions across NEL largely exceeded their output targets (within the allocated budget overall), and there was a successful combination of funding across multiple sources to add value to UKSPF investment.
• Effectiveness - Adequate: the UKSPF investment in NEL demonstrated an adequate level of value for money. There was variation in the extent to which outcomes had been achieved across investment priorities; for example, there was some underperformance on targets related to the implementation of capital projects and some Supporting Local Businesses projects. However, there was strong qualitative evidence across all investment priorities that activity met local needs.
• Equity - Good: The interventions funded by UKSPF were well targeted to different groups to support the area’s vision of building an inclusive economy. However, it was harder to validate actual reach due to the availability of related data, although qualitative evidence suggests that delivery providers generally reached the groups they were aiming for.

Key learning

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

• Flexibility in the UKSPF funding and delivery models enabled the local authority to hold open calls for proposals which responded to local needs. However, this approach required strong assessment processes to ensure interventions provided value and were effective.
• Partnership and collaboration between the local authority, voluntary sector, and businesses were critical to success in NEL. A cross-sector investment panel ensured that local voices and needs were represented, and stakeholders reported that collaboration had been a particular strength of the NEL approach.
• Capacity-building support for community organisations and social enterprises proved to be essential for sustainability and longer-term change. Approaches such as the provision of matched funding for grant applicants leveraged additional funding into the area, and decarbonisation initiatives contributed to reduced running costs and improved sustainability for community organisations.