John has welcomed the news that South Oxfordshire and Cherwell, which cover the Henley constituency, will benefit from over £1.2 million in new funding from the Government to support local businesses and create jobs to grow the rural economy. South Oxfordshire and Cherwell will benefit from £733,241 and £526,831 respectively.
This Rural England Prosperity Fund is a top-up of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It will give £110 million in extra funding to local authorities across the country to help support local businesses and community organisations to invest in farming, helping to boost rural tourism and improve community infrastructure projects. Eligible councils will begin to deliver on their plans in the coming weeks and receive the extra investment between 2023 and 2025.
Projects benefitting from the additional funding will improve community facilities and support arts and culture to grow local tourism. Agricultural businesses looking to expand their remit and rural businesses looking to launch or grow will also receive investment.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund gives local leaders more say over the spending of funds in their area than previous EU funding for rural areas and is delivering on the commitment to allow England to take back control of its own growth investment.
The extra funding builds on the Government’s commitment to level up rural areas by delivering major upgrades to connectivity through Project Gigabit. The share of rural premises with access to gigabit capable connects has already increased by 11 per cent since January 2021 alone.
John said: “Rural areas hold unique opportunities for growth and with the right investment and support we can harness that potential to create jobs and help deliver on our priority to grow the economy. That is why I welcome the Conservative Government’s investment of £733,241 into South Oxfordshire and £526,831 into Cherwell as part of £110 million in extra funding for councils across the country to grow local tourism and support rural businesses looking to start-up or expand. This extra funding will help to support communities while unleashing the potential of areas by creating new jobs and boosting the rural economy.”
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Secretary Therese Coffey said: “Driving investment in rural areas is a vital part of our vision for levelling up the country. The new Rural Prosperity Fund replaces the bureaucratic EU funding system - allowing us to work closely with local leaders to direct funding where it is most needed to close the rural productivity gap, create job opportunities and protect the English countryside. This confirmed spending will allow local authorities to deliver on their plans to level up businesses and communities in rural areas from today, in line with their residents’ priorities.”
Notes to Editors
The Government is delivering £110 million in extra investment to level up rural areas, creating new jobs and boosting the rural economy. The Rural England Prosperity Fund will deliver £110 million to eligible councils to grow local tourism and support rural businesses between 2023 and 2025 (DEFRA, Press Release, 7 April 2023, link).
The Government is investing £2.6 billion of levelling up funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, reviving communities and creating jobs to grow local economies. The extra funding is boosting all parts of the UK. Areas across England will see £1.58 billion, Scotland £212 million, Wales £585 million and Northern Ireland £127 million made available under the Fund (DLUHC, Press release, 13 April 2022, link).
The Government is empowering communities through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, directing funding to local leaders to deliver what their communities need. Giving community leaders autonomy over this spending will help to reduce bureaucracy and support communities in seizing new opportunities (DLUHC, Press release, 13 April 2022, link).
The Government is providing £168 million of financial support for farmers, supporting sustainable productivity whilst growing our rural economy. The £168 million Farming Investment Fund is supporting UK farmers to boost productivity and make their operations more sustainable, while enhancing our environment and improving animal welfare (Mark Spencer, Speech, 21 February 2023, link).
The Government is supporting rural areas with accelerated funding through the Sustainable Farming Incentive, putting farmers are at the heart of our economy. The Sustainable Farming Incentive will provide funding for farmers for managing hedges for wildlife, planting nectar-rich wildflowers, and avoiding harmful insecticides – financially supporting making our food production more sustainable (DEFRA, Press Release, 26 January 2023, link).
The Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit has ensured 70 per cent of homes and businesses across the UK now have access to gigabit broadband. Seven in ten UK properties can access the fastest and most reliable internet connections needed for families and businesses to take full advantage of revolutionary new advances in technology in the coming decades (DCMS, Press release, 30 August 2022, link).
