Agenda item

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

To approve and authorise the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and Cabinet Members, to accept Sandwell’s allocation of UKSPF funding.

Decision:

Agreed:-

 

(1)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education, in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Cabinet Members for Finance & Resources, Children & Education and Regeneration and Growth, be authorised to accept Sandwell’s allocation of UKSPF funding, as a result of the Investment Plan submission to the Department of Levelling Up Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and enter into the necessary grant funding agreements;

 

(2)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and Cabinet Members, be authorised to carry out commissioning of UKSPF funding, including any procurement activity as required;

 

(3)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and Cabinet Members for Finance & Resources, Children & Education and Regeneration and Growth, be authorised to implement the final arrangements for the 4% administration allocation.

Minutes:

Approval was sought to accept Sandwell’s allocation of UKSPF funding, as a result of the Investment Plan submission to the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities and to enter into the necessary grant funding agreements.

 

UKSPF was a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda. Its primary goal was to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, with three key investment priorities:

 

• Community & Place

• Supporting Local Business

• People & Skills (including adult numeracy programme, Multiply).

 

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) was the lead authority and accountable body for UKSPF across the region, with responsibility for developing its investment plan, and for administering the funding. The WMCA had committed to lead a strategic and joined-up approach, working with local authorities to identify local and regional investment priorities that support ‘Levelling Up’ ambitions.

 

It was stated that the £88m in funding was comparable to previous EU funding

 

The investment plan was based on the WMCA retaining 50% of the funding allocation to assist the local business development. This would be in partnership with local authorities in the region. The remaining 50% will be allocated to Local Authorities directly.

 

The Chair of the Safer Neighbourhoods and Active Communities, questioned how many jobs would be created by the Sandwell Valley Education and Community Engagement Outreach Programme. Clarification was also sought on where the job opportunities would be located and what the average salary would be.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Growth highlighted that officers were currently working to establish external partnerships with education providers, with the objective of ensuring pathways from training to employment in grounds maintenance, green spaces jobs, and arboriculture and countryside maintenance. Priorities would be to target these opportunities for training and pathways to employment in Sandwell, including Sandwell Council. The number of job creations over the three year scheme could not be confirmed; this was currently being scoped with partners. The scheme would create 4 additional roles over the next three years, and at least five additional apprentices (including two that were targeted at care experienced young people) as part of the three year project. This number does not include the pathways to employment that would be created following the full implementation of the scheme.

 

Further questions were asked regarding how much funding the European Support Fund provided to Sandwell’s voluntary organisations to deliver employment Support Provisions. It was confirmed that voluntary and community support (VCS) organisations in Sandwell received approximately £750,000 of funding per year from the European Social Fund (ESF). In 2022/23, the Council had profiled expenditure of £50,000 as the majority of ESF provision was continuing until March 2023. In 2023/24 there was £300,000 profiled expenditure to the Voluntary sector for community engagement activities. The VCS split for 2024/5 had not yet been determined but it was anticipated that where would be an increase in the allocation to VCS organisations from 2024/25 to deliver employment support based on the pre-determined expenditure profiles being weighted to the final year of delivery.

 

The Chair of the Safer Neighbourhoods and Active Communities, in reference to the appendix, asked which pipelines projects were associated with the £1.6m allocated to improvements to town centre and high streets. Clarity was also sought in relation to which pipeline projects were associated with the £1m for community and neighbourhood infrastructure projects

 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Growth responded that the appendix included the standard example on pages 2 to 6. It was the standard example that shows £1.6m allocated to improvements to Town Centres and High Street and £1m for Community and Neighbourhood Infrastructure Projects. The Sandwell specific allocations started on page 7 of the appendices and showed Sandwell allocations in line paragraph 4.18 of the report. The Cabinet Member highlighted how this could have created some confusion and confirmed there was no spend profiled within the Town Centres and High Street or Community and Neighbourhood Infrastructure Projects interventions under Sandwell’s UKSPF proposals.

 

                  Reasons for Decision

The funding period for UKSPF commenced financial year 22/23 and concludes financial year 24/25. Upon confirmation that the WMCA UKSPF Investment Plan has been approved, Local Authorities will need to mobilise quickly to achieve the UKSPF spend profile for 22/23.

 

Alternative Options Considered

There were no alternative options to consider.

 

Agreed:-

 

(1)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education, in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Cabinet Members for Finance & Resources, Children & Education and Regeneration and Growth, be authorised to accept Sandwell’s allocation of UKSPF funding, as a result of the Investment Plan submission to the Department of Levelling Up Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and enter into the necessary grant funding agreements;

 

(2)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and Cabinet Members, be authorised to carry out commissioning of UKSPF funding, including any procurement activity as required;

 

(3)     that the Directors of Regeneration & Growth; Borough Economy; and Children & Education in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and Cabinet Members for Finance & Resources, Children & Education and Regeneration and Growth, be authorised to implement the final arrangements for the 4% administration allocation.

 

Supporting documents: