Issue - meetings

Report number:     CAB/WS/22/038

Portfolio holders: Councillor John Griffiths and Sarah Broughton

Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

Recommended to Extraordinary Council (26 July 2022):

That:

1.       The West Suffolk UK Shared Prosperity Fund investment allocations (at Appendix B to Report number: CAB/WS/22/038) be recommended to Council for approval, for submission to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Note: Appendix B did not include outcomes and outputs for the funding allocations – these will follow in the report for Council on 26 July 2022.

2.       Officers be requested to complete the full DLUHC investment plan template in line with the details contained in this report, CAB/WS/22/038.

3.       Delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive, to make minor adjustments to the investment plan allocations before submission to Government, in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

4.       Delegated authority be granted to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Property to implement the approved investment plan once funding has been received from DLUHC, including implementing minor variations in the funding amounts for each intervention, in order to respond to changing circumstances over the lifetime of the Fund.

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought to recommend to Council, approval of the West Suffolk UK Shared Prosperity Fund investment plan allocations.

The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) was part of measures for implementing the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper and was the successor to EU Structural Funds covering the period 2022 to 2025.

The vision for the fund was that ‘it will lead to visible, tangible improvements to the places where people work and live, alongside investment in human capital, giving communities up and down the UK more reasons to be proud of their area.’

The report set out the requirements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and how West Suffolk Council’s respective funding allocation must be spent on specific ‘interventions’ listed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) under three main investment priorities, as listed in paragraph 1.5 of the report. In order to access the total funding allocation of £1,943,467 (spread over three years as set out in paragraph 1.9), the investment plan was required to be submitted to the DLUHC by 1 August 2022.

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including that the Council’s approach would see this funding supporting a range of initiatives to help:

-        the local economy, in particularly in the district’s high streets and rural areas

-        residents gain new skills and better job prospects

-        community projects and groups that would make a real difference to the prosperity and wellbeing of people in their area, including tackling the cost of living crisis

Reaching this point involved a large amount of work in order to meet the Government’s criteria, especially in terms of engagement with stakeholders. Councillor Griffiths thanked those that had replied and engaged in this process, which had been invaluable in shaping the report presented. Engagement would continue as work progressed into more detailed delivery.

It was noted that once the funding had been split across three years and the range of priorities, the amounts were in some cases quite modest, and it would therefore be impossible to fund every initiative that was put forward during the engagement stage. 

Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Property, seconded the motion and demonstrated her support for the proposed investment plan allocations. Any new funding from Government was welcomed and this would go some way to support the Council’s own strategic priorities; however, it was also recognised that this funding would form only part of much larger existing Council investments and would sit alongside funding streams already in place.

The Cabinet expressed their support for the proposed investment plan allocations, which following completion of the outcomes and outputs of the funding allocations set out in Appendix B, would be presented to Council on 26 July 2022 for approval. To ensure the process could continue in a timely manner, the Cabinet also agreed that certain matters should be resolved under delegated authority.

Recommended to Extraordinary Council (26  ...  view the full minutes text for item 383