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<p>The UK Government is committed to strengthening the Union, levelling up every part
of the UK and has committed to replacing EU Structural Funds with the UK Shared Prosperity
Fund. <br> <br> The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local areas
on the future of local growth funding and of providing clarity on the UKSPF. We remain
committed to creating the UKSPF to succeed European structural funds and provide vital
investment across the UK as we support the recovery, renewal and levelling up of local
economies following Covid-19. <br> <br> Now we have left the European Union, we have
an opportunity to replace European structural funds with a UKSPF which binds together
the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our
four nations. The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to, at minimum, matching current
levels of funding for each nation from EU structural funds.</p><p><br> Over the coming
weeks, the Government will be assessing the impact of Covid-19 and how best to support
economic recovery. We will need to work closely as one United Kingdom to understand
the changing needs of local and regional economies and tailor our response to the
impact of Covid-19. We have a real opportunity through the UKSPF to design a fund
that is driven by domestic priorities. The Government will set out further plans for
the fund at the Comprehensive Spending Review.</p>
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