Research and analysis

Wyre 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.

Wyre received a total of £3.9 million of UKSPF funding between April 2022 and March 2025, allocated across the three investment priorities: Communities and Place (£3.5 million), Supporting Local Businesses (£0.4 million) and People and Skills: (£52,000). An additional £0.9 million was made available for the period 2025-26.

Wyre is located in Lancashire, on the West coast of northern England. It comprises urban town centres, rural villages and coastline with a population of 116,994. The area faces population based socio-economic challenges, notably high levels of deprivation concentrated within certain areas and increasing levels of economic inactivity among the working age population.

Key impact evaluation findings

Communities and Place

Perception of place

Some positive improvements were observed in perception of place, with data from the Community Life Survey and Life in Wyre survey showing improved perceptions of Wyre. Stakeholders described the expectation that these initial effects would be reflected in wider improved perceptions over time. Data collected in the Community Life Survey and Life in Wyre survey also point to improvements in perceptions of place. However, social media sentiment analysis did not demonstrate improvements in perception and it was challenging to attribute any changes in the perception of Wyre to the UKSPF projects.

Increased footfall

There was evidence that UKSPF interventions had led to increased footfall, visitor numbers and the use of local facilities and amenities in Wyre. While elements of the supported programme of events are likely to have taken place in the absence of UKSPF, these would have been smaller in number, conducted at a reduced scale, and would have been unlikely to offer the additional volunteering and improved capacity and capability benefits reported in the qualitative fieldwork.

Community capacity and volunteering

There was evidence that the UKSPF investment had led to increased participation in volunteering in Wyre for both established and new volunteers, which in turn supported the delivery of UKSPF interventions. Participating organisations also saw improvements in their ability to apply for and deliver externally funded projects. Improved community capacity was identified at both improved individual and organisational capacity.

Jobs created and safeguarded

Data suggests that improvements to town centres and new and improved local facilities led to new jobs being created and existing jobs safeguarded; there is clear evidence that the new jobs created within the Active Wellness Suite can be attributed to the developments made to the Suite itself, using UKSPF funding.

People and Skills

Skills development

For the Shaping Brighter Futures project (delivered in schools), pupils participating in the sessions achieved a range of positive learning outcomes. These included improved listening, presentation, problem solving, leadership and teamwork skills, with improvements also being reported in terms of improved confidence and resilience. Interviews with beneficiaries at Positive Futures project found that those supported reported improved skillsets and achieved qualifications as a direct result of their participation. One beneficiary reported the main benefit being improved levels of confidence, not solely in seeking employment opportunities.

Employability

Evidence from programme management information, stakeholder interviews, and direct beneficiary feedback indicated that the Positive Futures and Shaping Brighter Futures initiatives significantly enhanced employability. Positive Futures participants reported increased job search activity and confidence, exceeding their activity targets by 175%. Shaping Brighter Futures helped pupils develop a deeper understanding of vocational pathways and personal attributes required, boosting future career optimism.

Employment

Positive Futures support led to eight individuals securing employment and all were economically inactive prior to joining the intervention. This was despite local challenges such as reduced entry level vacancies which would be particularly suitable for many of the Positive Futures cohort. The intervention leads reflected that it was likely that, for many participants, the full benefits of the provision will be realised once they have had more time to put their improved employability skills into practice.

Key economic evaluation findings

UKSPF in Wyre demonstrated adequate value for money across the 4Es framework. There was some variation across the investment priority areas and the sub-topic areas within the framework.

• Economy - Adequate: Interventions faced challenges in attracting a diverse range of suppliers due to the limited local provider base. The procurement processes supported the selection of suppliers able to meet quality, time, and budget expectations. Most interventions adhered to set timelines and budgets despite delays, spending 99.8% of the allocated funds. However, additional spending was necessary for some projects due to unforeseen costs, all within approved budgets.

• Efficiency - Adequate: UKSPF interventions in Wyre successfully delivered strong performance against output targets. Most outputs were achieved within the UKSPF budget and on time. Qualitative insights and quarterly reviews helped keep the project aligned towards achieving outputs. Additional funding sources were utilised, yet inaccuracies in reported values limited precise evaluation of their contribution.

• Effectiveness - Adequate: Outcomes were largely achieved within the UKSPF budget, showing particularly strong performance in Communities and Place and People and Skills interventions. Qualitative insights from stakeholders emphasised planning, ongoing support, and the strategic reallocation of underspend as pivotal to maximizing outcomes achieved. The interventions were well-aligned to local needs.

• Equity - High: The interventions were effectively delivered to the target beneficiary groups outlined in the initial plans. Stakeholder consultations confirmed success in engaging the intended demographics, such as Positive Futures participants with employment challenges, and schools in deprived and rural areas for Shaping Brighter Futures. The targeted approaches were well-aligned with local priorities, ensuring that the intended groups were the most appropriate to receive support.

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 intervention design, commissioning and planning to enable the necessary stakeholder engagement and consultation. Stakeholders in Wyre commonly reflected that without well-developed and costed intervention plans in place in advance they would not have achieved the successes.

• Allow sufficient resources for central planning and programme management. In Wyre these allocations were exceeded, but resources also require local experience base in terms of large-scale multi-stranded funding programmes.

• Continue to offer flexibility to enable local areas to move resources between interventions to reflect need, respond to unexpected cost variations, and target underspend towards interventions which are performing well.

• Consider wider dependencies (such as lower and upper tier authorities) in national-level allocations. Experiences in Wyre where delays with planning agreements and associated issues were due at least in part to the increased loading imposed by UKSPF programmes across the county.

• Ensure that details of outputs, outcomes and the mechanisms through which data will be collected and shared with the government are in place and working sufficiently well to enable accurate data reporting and to capture the range of outcomes resulting. Clear guidance should also be provided on expectations and approaches around measuring more challenging outcomes.