Through a generous package of incentives, Freeports will unlock private investment and catalyse job creation within their regions. As part of this package, full business rates relief will be available to eligible business in Freeport tax sites in England, once designated. Relief will be available to all new businesses, and certain existing businesses where they expand, until 30 September 2026. The government will, in line with the eligibility criteria set out in the business rates relief: local authority guidance , reimburse local authorities that use their discretionary relief powers under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (as amended), to grant this relief. Local authorities will also retain business rate growth on Freeport tax sites above an agreed baseline over a 25-year period, empowering them to invest in local economic priorities.

The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will support the UK Government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the levelling up objectives. The Fund will be delivered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), working closely with Northern Ireland partners through a Partnership Group to design a Northern Ireland Investment Plan.

DLUHC have established the Northern Ireland UKSPF Partnership Group with representative groups for key sectors, including the voluntary and community sector, business, higher education/skills and local authorities, as well as the Northern Ireland Office. A record of the first meeting, and subsequent meetings, will be published on GOV.UK in due course. We are also engaging with other stakeholders through workshops and meetings to maximise thematic and sectoral insight.

Its membership will be reviewed on conclusion of the Investment Plan process, as the Fund moves into its delivery phase. The organisations currently represented on the Northern Ireland Partnership Group are:

We are in the process of recruitment and more details will be available in due course.

This Government is committed, through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to empower local authorities to reinvigorate their high streets and town centres.

High Street Rental Auctions will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.

Through the Register of Overseas Entities which is being developed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, local authorities will be able to gather information on overseas landlords. If overseas landlords own UK property via an overseas entity in scope of the Register of Overseas Entities, they will be required to register details with Companies House, including about their beneficial owners.

I am delighted to have opened the application portal for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund on the 15 July.

We recognise that what constitutes priority investment will vary across local authorities and geographies, including in rural areas of the UK.

I am keen to see a diverse range of bids come forward so that this government can continue to invest in Levelling Up urban and rural communities across the UK.

This Government recognises the role that EU Structural funding plays in supporting people and businesses up and down the UK. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue this through empowering places to identify local priorities and deliver investment for their communities, where it is needed most.

There remains a long tail of investment from EU Structural Funds, tapering off in 2024/25 to be replaced solely by UKSPF.

Lead authorities have the freedom to invest across a range of interventions, which includes specific support for community and voluntary sector groups. This funding can be backdated to the 1st April 2022. Further detail can be found on GOV.UK.

Freeports bring together a broad coalition of local private and public sector partners to drive investment, innovation, and job creation across their regions. Each Freeport has a Governing Body formed of those partners, which is responsible for delivering the Freeport as agreed with the UK Government, and a nominated local authority, accountable to DLUHC for managing UK Government funding for the Freeport and ensuring the Governing Body operates effectively. In the case of the Thames Freeport, the accountable local authority is Thurrock Council.

Wales has been allocated a total of £585 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund over this Spending Review period. This equates to £89 million in 2022/23, £153 million in 2023/24 and £585 million in 2024/25. I am pleased to say that this provides Wales with a real-terms match of funding previously received from the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund. We have published a full breakdown of the allocations on GOV.UK.

Funding after 2024/25 will be a matter for the next Spending Review.

This second round of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will allocate further funding to infrastructure projects that will improve everyday life for residents across the United Kingdom.

I am aware that applicants across the UK have been working hard to develop ambitious bids to this second round of the Levelling Up Fund. I am therefore delighted to confirm that the application portal opened on Friday 15 July. To allow adequate time for the submission of bids, the portal will remain open until noon 2 August.

I am delighted to have opened the application portal for the second round of the Fund on the 15 July. I am aware that applicants across the UK have been working hard to develop ambitious bids. I am pleased that they have benefitted from some extra time, enabling them to make further use of the support materials provided to them including guidance and technical teach-ins. I look forward to announcing the outcome later this year, which will see much needed further investment awarded to places in need of levelling up.

Shrewsbury will benefit from over £12 million of funding that was allocated to Shropshire from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund supports the UK Government's wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK.

The second round of the Levelling Up Fund is now open for applications and will look to build on the success of round one, which saw £1.7 billion awarded to 105 successful projects across the UK. I would encourage Shropshire Council to bring forward any projects they feel may be suitable for the Fund prior to the application deadline of midday on 2 August.

We want to see thriving towns and high streets that are accessible to all. We set out how we will do this in the National Disability Strategy, published in July 2021.

In addition, our national planning policy framework and design guidance encourages local planning authorities to set out local policies and plans that aim to create places that are safe, inclusive and accessible. My department is also embedding accessibility within our criteria for how we design and allocate investment to local regeneration projects.

Round two of the Levelling Up Fund is currently open, with projects in scope including: accessibility improvements to local transport networks, the enhancement of infrastructure to help make town centres and high streets more accessible, and accessibility improvements to key cultural and heritage assets.

The Government is investing £2.4 billion through the Towns Fund and £830 million through the Future High Streets Fund. This will help to renew and reshape town centres and high streets and incentivise further private investment. It includes £16.3 million for Trowbridge town centre and £9.3 million for Salisbury city centre through the Future High Street Fund which will leverage £456,000 of private sector investment.

The Government is also investing in local areas through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and has allocated £7.8 million to Wiltshire over the next three years. The Fund will seek to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. Proposed interventions include funding for improvements to town centres and high streets.

Investment in regeneration and town centres is also one of the three investment themes for the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund which is currently open for round two bids and the £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund is designed to support investment in housebuilding including infrastructure, enabling and bringing properties back into use. The Fund is now open for applications and private and public sector local partners will be supported by Homes England, the Government's housing accelerator.

Other measures to support private investment in town centres include proposed new legislation in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which the Government announced on 11 May and will support bringing vacant units on the high street back into use by requiring landlords to rent out long-term vacant properties to prospective tenants such as local businesses.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies for the Future High Street Fund and Levelling Up Fund are available on Gov.uk. These set out the department's plans for measuring and evaluating the impact both funds and the impact they have had on tackling inequalities.

We plan to publish the Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy for UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year. These set out the department's plans for monitoring and evaluation for the fund.

Current plans are to collect monitoring data to the end of the fund periods for the three funds. Plans for measuring longer term impacts beyond the end of the fund periods are currently being developed.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies for the Future High Street Fund and Levelling Up Fund are available on Gov.uk. These set out the department's plans for measuring and evaluating the impact both funds and the impact they have had on tackling inequalities.

We plan to publish the Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy for UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year. These set out the department's plans for monitoring and evaluation for the fund.

Current plans are to collect monitoring data to the end of the fund periods for the three funds. Plans for measuring longer term impacts beyond the end of the fund periods are currently being developed.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Strategies for the Future High Street Fund and Levelling Up Fund are available on Gov.uk. These set out the department's plans for measuring and evaluating the impact both funds and the impact they have had on tackling inequalities.

We plan to publish the Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy for UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year. These set out the department's plans for monitoring and evaluation for the fund.

Current plans are to collect monitoring data to the end of the fund periods for the three funds. Plans for measuring longer term impacts beyond the end of the fund periods are currently being developed.

This Government is committed, through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to reinvigorate high streets and town centres.

We want to see thriving town centres and high streets. Government has taken strong action by cutting business rates for many retail, hospitality and leisure properties and providing billions in regeneration funding, however more is needed to help places to reinvent their high streets and town centres.

High Street Rental Auctions will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.

Rental rates reflecting market value will allow a broad spectrum of tenants to occupy town centre properties, who might otherwise not have been able to afford higher rents. For example, local SMEs and community groups. In turn this will increase vitality, footfall, pride in place and business growth.

This Government is committed, through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to reinvigorate high streets and town centres.

We want to see thriving town centres and high streets. Government has taken strong action by cutting business rates for many retail, hospitality and leisure properties and providing billions in regeneration funding, however more is needed to help places to reinvent their high streets and town centres.

High Street Rental Auctions will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.

Rental rates reflecting market value will allow a broad spectrum of tenants to occupy town centre properties, who might otherwise not have been able to afford higher rents. For example, local SMEs and community groups. In turn this will increase vitality, footfall, pride in place and business growth.

This Government is committed, through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to reinvigorate high streets and town centres.

We want to see thriving town centres and high streets. Government has taken strong action by cutting business rates for many retail, hospitality and leisure properties and providing billions in regeneration funding, however more is needed to help places to reinvent their high streets and town centres.

High Street Rental Auctions will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.

Rental rates reflecting market value will allow a broad spectrum of tenants to occupy town centre properties, who might otherwise not have been able to afford higher rents. For example, local SMEs and community groups. In turn this will increase vitality, footfall, pride in place and business growth.