Recommendation 1

Despite announcing the Shared Prosperity Fund more than three years ago, the Government appears to have made negligible progress in developing its replacement for European Structural and Investment funding. Its repeated promises of a consultation and of imminent announcements have failed to materialise, demonstrating a lack of priority. Although we acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Ministers to reprioritise and refocus their attention, this does not excuse the lack of progress as a significant amount of time had passed before the COVID outbreak became a factor.