The Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Economic Prosperity Board were scheduled to meet on 24 July 2025 to discuss the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth Shared Prosperity Fund Programme, and to make decisions on funding. The Good Growth SPF Programme has been operating in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (CIoS) since 2022, and is worth almost £187 million.

Good Growth SPF Programme Performance and Commissioning Report

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth SPF Programme Performance and Commissioning Report was to provide key updates on the delivery of the programme. It included case studies of investments made and progress against targets.

The report also contained a recommendation relating to proposed changes to the Project Change, Remediation and Clawback Policy, with the aim of ensuring efficient, effective and compliant programme management of funds. The report stated that if the changes were approved, it was recommended that the updated policy take effect immediately to allow timely decision-making against a short programme delivery window.

The report noted that the CIoS Good Growth Shared Prosperity Fund has a total programme value of £186.6 million, allocated by the government for delivery of the Good Growth Programme across the key themes of Community and Place, Supporting Local Business and People and Skills.

The report stated that for the duration of the programme, three routes to market have been deployed to commission and allocate funding for Yr.1-4 (2022-2026). 70% of funding opportunities were made available through open competition. The three routes have been; open calls or invitations, in-house delivery by Cornwall Council, and strategic commissioning.

The report stated that amendments and changes to contracted schemes are an inevitable part of good programme management, and that the current Project Change Request, Remediation and Clawback Policy contains details on the process undertaken for administering change requests and how these are governed through the decision-making process. The report noted some challenges in working with the current approach and that the team have experienced bottlenecks at decision stage. It was stated that during delivery of Yr. 1- 3 the team processed 186 PCRs with an average process time of 43 working days from receipt to implementation of decision, and that this approach is not conducive for a short, fast paced programme required for Yr. 4.

The new Policy proposed a replacement with a clear 3-tier delegation model:

• Tier 1: Minor
• Tier 2: Moderate
• Tier 3: Strategic

The report stated that the above proposed process is designed to enable faster decision making and enable the programme to adapt to the required timescales for delivery. It will reduce bottlenecks by allowing lower-risk changes to be approved at the operational level and provides clearer Governance by removing ambiguity and clearly stating who approves what and under which conditions.

The report also provided an overview of the Good Growth Principles¹ and how they were embedded into the commissioning approach, through project application and the selection criteria.

Good Growth means shifting the dial to generate deep and long-lasting economic development which is socially inclusive and environmentally beneficial. Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly are committed to ensuring that projects supported through the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) deliver clean and inclusive economic prosperity. That the jobs created are well paid quality jobs, that all of our communities are able to access the opportunities available and that our environment benefits from this economic growth

The report also provided updates on a number of delegated schemes² including:

• Community Levelling Up Programme (CLUP)
• Community Capacity and Facilitation (CCF)
• Town Regeneration and Investment Programme (TRIP)
• Growth Hub
• People Hub

The report also summarised a local programme evaluation, and a national evaluation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund³.

The report also noted that CIoS continues to face structural challenges with its economy, and that SPF ceases on the 31 March 2026, and that the Leader of Cornwall Council wrote to the Prime Minister on 30th June 2025 outlining concern about the future of local growth funding for Cornwall, given no specific mention and a funding focus on mayoral city regions from March 2026.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shared Prosperity Fund Good Growth Programme Funding Decisions

The Board was also scheduled to discuss a confidential report on the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shared Prosperity Fund Good Growth Programme Funding Decisions.