Agenda item

Purpose of report

To present the proposed interventions for inclusion in the Investment Plan, for submission to the Government, which detailed projects that met the requirements of the funding programme and supported the growth and prosperity of the district.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Recommends to Full Council the proposed interventions, as set out in Appendix A to the report, to form the basis of the South Kesteven UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan, with the intention this be submitted to the Government by 1 August 2022 for consideration.

2.    Delegates authority to the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and the appropriate Director, to allocate funding between the approved interventions within the Investment Plan.

Alternative options considered and rejected

An alternative option would be to commission an external provider to develop the bids on behalf of the Council with no local knowledge or partnership links. This option was discounted because the Government had placed importance on leveraging options from the locality when selecting communities and place and supporting local business interventions to fund.

Reasons for decision

The primary goal of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund was to build pride in place and increase life chances across the United Kingdom. Underneath this overarching aim were the following three investment priorities:

·         Communities and place

·         Supporting local businesses

·         People and skills

Details relating to the three investment priorities, a summary of objectives and example interventions were set out in paragraph 1.14 of the report.

In order to allow flexibility, it was permissible to select ‘bespoke’ interventions which did not necessarily feature in the menu of options available. This would require the Council to provide evidence to support the bespoke intervention, including a logic chain or theory of change and demonstrate alignment with the investment priorities.

The funding was allocated annually and must be invested by March 2025, with most of the funding being available in the final year of the programme. It was mainly a revenue-based fund, with limited allocation for capital projects.

In order to secure the 30-month funding allocation, an Investment Plan had to be submitted to the Government by 1 August 2022. In developing its Investment Plan, the Council was working in partnership with Councillors, Members of Parliament and local stakeholders, including businesses and residents.

An internal officer group initially met to consider suggested interventions and activities. On 18 May 2022, Cabinet Members considered the outcome of this work and mapped out the interventions against the Council’s Corporate Plan to decide which meaningful local activities, based on need, should be considered for inclusion in the Investment Plan. This had resulted in over 40 suggested interventions and activities relating to both the communities and place and support local businesses priorities.

On 8 June 2022, several of the district’s business support practitioners and representatives were consulted on the proposed local businesses priority. Unanimous support for the suggested proposals was received.

Further engagement with the Council’s elected Members had taken place throughout June 2022 and early July, including four locality-based virtual sessions held in Bourne, Grantham, Stamford and The Deepings which included representation from local ward Councillors and representatives from the respective Town Councils and Chartered Trustees.

Engagement had also taken place with the voluntary and community sector umbrella groups who had been provided with an overview of the local intervention headers and an invitation to partner with or put forward suggestions to add to the Investment Plan. Further consultation with these groups was planned in the coming weeks.

In presenting the report, the Leader of the Council took the opportunity to pay tribute to officers for the work undertaken in accordance with tight timescales. They highlighted that this initiative represented a significant opportunity to secure substantial investment in the district, of benefit to all four towns and rural areas.

The following comments were noted during discussion:

·         The potential for match-funding associated with the initiatives in the Investment Plan would ensure the Council could get the most out of the funding being made available, encourage further investment and aid stimulation of the local economy

·         A question was raised regarding the role of the Programme Manager as paragraph 1.11 of the report stated the individual selected was also writing proposals for two other authorities. It was reported that once the formal transition had been made the Programme Manager would have responsibility for the overall integrity and coherence of the Council’s programme, with any services to other authorities ceasing at that stage

·         A question was raised regarding the Business Growth Hub and how monitoring would take place to ensure that businesses benefited equally from the Shared Prosperity Fund. The number of businesses currently engaged with the Business Growth Hub, and their various sizes of respective employees was referred to, with 400 businesses supported through the Business Growth Hub and 600 having actively engaged with the Hub. The Council needed to be assured that it was receiving value for money from the investment which it could shape as the initiative developed. The close relationship between the Council and the Business Growth Hub was emphasised

·         The £3.9million would act as significant leverage for other funding which had the potential to increase the amount available for investment. Whilst match-funding was not a mandatory requirement as part of the initiative, it was agreed that it should be encouraged