Multiply In Scotland, Wales And Northern Ireland - Uk Shared Prosperity Fund - The Replacement For European Funds

25th April 2022

Most people barely new about European Funding and how it worked. This probably partly explains how we ended up with Brexit.
The new system being introduce by the UK government means that Scotland will have many millions of pounds less in future. The Scottish Government has already severely criticised the new system.

Independent candidate in the local council elections Bill Fernie standing for Wick and East Caithness and previously a council Budget leader said, "In coming years we will unfortunately see a loss from losing European funding compared to its replacement from the UK government. Highland in a particular has gained from several EU programmes that affected for example roads, bridges, mountain areas and coastal areas.

Check out the new system.....

Multiply is a new up to £559 million programme to help transform the lives of adults across the UK, by improving their functional numeracy skills through free personal tutoring, digital training, and flexible courses. Multiply provision should complement but not duplicate existing provision.

With the launch of Multiply, all local areas across the UK will be able to receive funding to deliver bespoke adult numeracy programmes over the next three years.

Through Multiply, we want to see these local areas invest in meaningful participation that boosts people's ability to use maths in their daily life, at home and work - and enable adults to achieve formal qualifications that can open doors for them (such as career progression, or progression to further study). Adults who need to improve their numeracy (up to and including Level 2/SCQF Level 5) will be able to access free flexible courses that fit around their lives - whether that be in person or online, at work or in the evening, part time or intensive. The prospectus sets out how.

The Department for Education will also launch a programme to test innovative approaches to reducing adult learning barriers and improving adult numeracy to build an evidence base on what works.

Multiply success measures
The overall objective of Multiply is to increase the levels of functional numeracy in the adult population across the UK. We have identified the following success measures for the whole programme at a national level:

1. More adults achieving maths qualifications / participating in numeracy courses (up to, and including Level 2/ SCQF Level 5).

2. Improved labour market outcomes e.g. fewer numeracy skills gaps reported by employers, and an increase in the proportion of adults that progress into sustained employment and / or education.

3. Increased adult numeracy across the population - this overall impact, which goes beyond achieving certificates or qualifications, will track both the perceived and actual difference taking part in the programme makes in supporting learners to improve their understanding and use of maths in their daily lives, at home and at work - and to feel more confident when doing so.

In Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland, Multiply will be delivered as part of the single UKSPF investment plan developed by areas. This prospectus has set out the total allocation for each Region/Local Authority linked to Multiply and we will expect areas to set out how they intend to deliver Multiply interventions in line with that level of funding in their UKSPF investment plans.

They should take account of the aims, objectives and priorities of Multiply when developing local plans for people and skills interventions.

Multiply interventions
To support local places to identify the right provision, we have designed a menu of interventions that local areas can choose to select from, or design new options that lead to a mix of interventions that best suit their areas.

This menu is based on the growing evidence base on the barriers that hold people back from addressing their numeracy skills and what works in tackling poor adult numeracy, as well as engagement with local places, providers and other numeracy organisations. See the list of interventions.

General principles for use of Multiply funding
Target audience
Target learners are adults 19+ who have not previously attained a Level 2/ SCQF Level 5 or higher maths qualification. They can either be working towards a maths Level 2/ SCQF Level 5 or Functional Skills Qualification, need specific numeracy skills for their work or progression, or just want to brush up on the skills to help them get on in life and work.

Existing arrangements
Interventions should not displace, replace and / or duplicate any existing adult numeracy provision. Multiply boosts funding for adult numeracy, enabling local areas to deliver more innovative approaches and reach more people. We expect local areas to demonstrate how this is complementary and different to existing interventions, in their investment plans.

Funding allocations
See all funding allocations, including each place's Multiply allocation.

Partnerships
Each area should submit their own UKSPF investment plan. We welcome joint interventions carried out between two or more places where there is added value in these. We also encourage local places to develop interventions in partnership with providers and employers, as well as other partners in their local area as we see this as important to maximising value for money and ensuring delivery of effective learner solutions.

Funding non-learning activities and capacity support
In recognition of the need to establish the programme on a successful footing, local areas will be permitted to use a proportion of funding for administrative expenditure, in order to build the necessary capacity for successful delivery. This is set out in the UKSPF prospectus for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Department for Education will implement the local element of Multiply in England, a UK-wide digital numeracy platform, and randomised control trials and evaluation activity to test innovative approaches to reducing adult learning barriers, and build the evidence base on what works. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will work with lead local authorities and the devolved administrations to deliver Multiply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UKSPF allocations

Every part of the UK will receive an allocation for the years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, for both the core UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and for the adult numeracy programme, Multiply. The figures shown below are the sum totals for all three years.

In England:

Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) will receive an allocation of both core UKSPF funding and Multiply.
Unitary councils will receive an allocation of both core UKSPF funding and Multiply
In two tier areas of England:

Lower tier authorities (districts and boroughs) will receive an allocation of core UKSPF funding only
Upper tier authorities (county councils) will receive an allocation of Multiply funding only (with the exception of North Yorkshire and Somerset which are subject to unitarisation, and which will receive an allocation of core UKSPF and Multiply funding).
In Scotland and Wales:

We have published individual councils allocation of both core UKSPF funding and Multiply
We will also publish regional totals setting out how much is available across Regional Economic Partnership geographies (Scotland) and regional strategic geographies coterminous with City and Growth Deal areas (Wales), to reflect and support plans to work together across these strategic geographies.
In Northern Ireland:

Recognising the different role Local Authorities play there compared to England, Scotland and Wales, we are not allocating below the Northern Ireland level.
Tables below also show how totals for MCAs are arrived at via local authority totals.

See the allocations at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/ukspf-allocations