Those living and working in the countryside could benefit from the government’s new UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the NFU says.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which launched this month, provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025.
It will aim to provide additional funds to Defra specifically for rural communities and will also encourage local partnership groups to have rural representation.
These groups will include people and businesses with local expertise and will advise on where and how funding should be invested.
Responding to the fund launch, the NFU said that the ambition shown by the UKSPF was 'promising'.
The union added that it was 'critical' to enable rural communities to increase job and business opportunities across the board.
NFU President Minette Batters said: "For farming, this means ensuring we continue to have thriving food producing businesses now and into the future which will provide us all with sustainable, affordable food for both home and overseas markets.
“Farming businesses are often the bedrock of rural communities, so having rural representatives advising on local investment will be hugely beneficial to everyone living in rural areas.
"It means local solutions can be found for local issues, including rural development."
The fund's investment plan submissions window runs from 30 June 2022 to 1 August 2022.
The funding period is expected to run between April 2022 to March 2025.
What are the aims of the fund?
The UKSPF will support the UK government’s commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the levelling up objectives:
• Boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging
• Spread opportunities and improve public services, especially in those places where they are weakest
• Restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been lost
• Empower local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency
