Research and analysis

Southend-on-Sea 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.

Southend-on-Sea received £1.3 million of funding for UKSPF for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25 across three investment priorities: Communities and Place (£0.6 million), Supporting Local Businesses (£0.3 million), and People and Skills (£0.3 million). An additional £0.4 million was allocated for 2025/26 which falls outside this study’s scope.

Southend-on-Sea (Southend, from here after) is a large coastal area in South East Essex, situated 40 miles east of Central London. Whilst Southend has affluence, it also has areas of deprivation. Roughly a quarter of all residents live in the top 20% most deprived areas in England. The biggest challenges facing businesses in the area include rising costs, securing bank loans, uncertainty caused by supply chain issues, regulatory challenges, and implementing low carbon initiatives. Recruitment and retention of workers also pose ongoing difficulties, especially in drawing highly skilled employees who are typically attracted to higher-paying job opportunities in London. Southend has lower labour productivity (output per hour worked) than the regional and national averages and many residents are employed in lower paying jobs. Altogether, UKSPF interventions in Southend aimed to support the most vulnerable members in society and increase local economic opportunities.

Key impact evaluation findings

Communities and Place

UKSPF projects in the Communities and Place investment priority focused on building a sustainable volunteer network capable of effectively supporting various community action initiatives. Funding was allocated to voluntary organisations in the local community to support hiring staff, recruiting, training and supervising of volunteers.

Increase volunteering

UKSPF-funded capacity building support for voluntary organisations created local opportunities and increased volunteering. Analysis of the monitoring data suggests that UKSPF funding supported the creation of 1,258 new volunteering posts, more than half of which were successfully filled. Without UKSPF funding, interviewed delivery providers noted that they would have continued looking for alternative funding, although this would have likely resulted in reduced service provision or delays in achieving the same targets.

Improved volunteer outcomes

UKSPF-funded projects supported improvements in volunteers’ wellbeing, skills, and employment outcomes. Interviewed delivery providers noted that all volunteers received onboarding and training to support them in delivering services to their fellow residents. More sensitive roles, which required working with families and children, included comprehensive guidance through formal courses prior to volunteering, whereas other volunteering opportunities included on-the-job training. The volunteer survey showed that most volunteers (81%, 36 out of 44) learnt new skills through their training and/or work experience and 77% (34 out of 44) reported an improvement in their confidence and self-esteem. Half of respondents also reported that volunteering enhanced their employment potential. Of the 17 individuals who reported that they were either unemployed or economically inactive when they first started volunteering, six have since secured paid employment, with all of them stating that their volunteering experience contributed to a large extent to this outcome.

Improved wellbeing

UKSPF funding supported the community and contributed to improvements in participants’ overall wellbeing. Participation in volunteer-run support services was reported to directly contribute to improvements in participants’ overall wellbeing. Shared testimonials and case study examples demonstrated how Southend residents received support to manage family problems, tackle food insecurities, deal with loneliness or a mental health condition. The Southend Museum project also enhanced the museum’s capacity to host events and tours, showcase its collections, and offer additional cultural engagement activities for residents.

Supporting Local Businesses

UKSPF has funded business support programmes tailored to assist businesses and entrepreneurs at different stages of growth. Support included diagnostic assessment and referral services to connect businesses with growth resources as well as tailored support and capital grants worth £1,000 to help start-ups grow and create local opportunities.

Business births

Monitoring data shows that UKSPF business support services have contributed to the creation of 48 new businesses. Examples provided during the interviews included a hangout venue for young people, along with a business teaching English to non-native speakers who are training in the NHS. To enable this outcome, entrepreneurs received strategic support in developing business strategies and segmenting customers, as well as more practical advice on finding a suitable business location and securing a business loan.

Adoption of new processes

Business support services supported improvements in skills/knowledge and the adoption of new to the firm processes or improved business models. A survey with supported businesses shows that the projects have helped strengthen core skills and knowledge, encouraging the adoption of new ways of working. The findings show that 6 out of 9 respondents reported that their knowledge in relation to identifying funding options to support growth improved at least to some extent, while 5 out of 9 respondents reported new skills in applying marketing and branding approaches. Monitoring data indicates that 47 businesses have adopted new to the firm processes following UKSPF support, slightly higher than the original target of 44 businesses. Evidence on the effects on productivity were limited to testimonials and case studies. For some, productivity gains were achieved through coaching and strategy advice that translated into new ways of working, while for others the capital grants scheme enabled them to invest in productivity improving equipment.

Job creation and safeguarding

Business support services supported the creation and safeguarding of jobs. Monitoring data shows that UKSPF funded business support interventions in Southend have contributed to the creation of 47 new jobs and the safeguarding of 49 existing positions, with both outcomes surpassing their initial targets of 30 jobs.

People and Skills

UKSPF funded projects in the People and Skills investment priority aimed to support both unemployed and economically inactive individuals in securing employment, as well as helping employed individuals improve their productivity through upskilling. Projects encompassed various activities including courses on basic skills (such as Math, English), retraining to improve career progression, and one-to-one mentoring/coaching to develop employment skills (such as CV writing, interviewing support). For socially excluded individuals, such as homeless people or those experiencing mental health problems, support also extended to developing essential life skills that prepared individuals to begin engaging with the labour market.

Skills development

UKSPF interventions helped beneficiaries gain life/soft skills and/or formal qualifications. The monitoring data indicates that 129 beneficiaries improved their basic skills, while 110 individuals gained a formal qualification due to UKSPF funded support. Our survey findings suggest that all 15 respondents gained at least one type of soft skill related benefit due to engagement with the support services, with most reporting improvements in confidence and self-esteem (10 respondents) and interpersonal and communication skills (9 respondents).

Employability

UKSPF interventions improved career prospects and lead to progress towards employment (e.g. job searches and interviews). Monitoring data indicates that 189 unemployed or economically inactive individuals supported through UKSPF funded projects in Southend have engaged in job searches following support, and 81 individuals have secured paid employment. There is evidence to suggest that the support provided developed soft skills, although the long-term impacts on economic activity may not be fully captured at this stage of the evaluation.

Key economic evaluation findings

The UKSPF programme in Southend demonstrated high value for money across the 4Es framework.

• Economy - High Southend delivered UKSPF activities on time and within budget.

• Efficiency – High: Southend made good progress against target outputs, with most indicators meeting or exceeding targets. Outputs were achieved at lower costs compared to similar initiatives.

• Effectiveness – High: In most instances, Southend either met or exceeded outcome targets. Outcomes were achieved at lower costs compared to similar programmes.

• Equity - High: Southend showed a clear focus on targeting UKSPF investments at the people and areas most in need of help. Interventions were clearly targeted at the priority groups identified in the investment plan.

Key learning

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

• Allow sufficient time for local planning and project delivery. Future programmes need to provide enough time for investment planning to prevent rushed consultations and decisions. Similarly, project delivery would benefit from longer timelines to allow additional time for project setup, including procurement and staff recruitment for project implementation.
• Allow more flexibility in investment decisions. As People and Skills interventions were not allowed until Year 3 (an MHCLG decision), the staff and resources that had been built up with previous funding sources couldn’t be maintained. This in turn led to lost expertise and discontinuity of service for priority interventions that experienced high demand from residents. Future programmes should allow flexibility in local decisions to prevent the discontinuity of important services.