European Funding - ESIF Richard Norton Voluntary Action Leeds

ESIF ESIF - European Structural Investment Funds 2014-2020 (delivery to 2023) Combines ERDF and ESF (+ EAFRD) Single growth programme through LEPs €390m (c£340m) for LCR plus equal match Some national match (Opt-Ins) but much to be found locally Managing Authorities – CLG, DWP (+ DEFRA)

Role of LEPs Managed through Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and ESIF Local Sub-Committees (LSCs) Sectoral representation Leeds City Region (exc Barnsley for ESIF) Programme has to align with LEP’s Growth Programmes and Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)

Leeds City Region Functional economic area Largest city region outside London Largest regional financial centre UK’s largest manufacturing employment base 3m population; 1.3m workforce 100,000+ businesses £50 billion+ economy 4%+ of UK GVA 4

UK Investment Priorities Emphasis on creating jobs growing business growing the economy reducing unemployment 10 ‘thematic objectives’ – 7 ERDF, 3 ESF

Thematic Objectives - ERDF Innovation ICT Competitiveness - Small and Medium sized Enterprises Low Carbon Climate Change Environmental Protection Sustainable Transport

Thematic Objectives - ESF Employment Social Inclusion Skills

Opt-Ins (National Match) DWP for part T8 Employment BIG for part T9 Social Inclusion SFA for part T10 Skills Activities have to be agreed with Opt-In provider but then fully matched Will have own commissioning processes (NB BIG will award grants)

Commissioning Will be done through “calls” on national websites – initial 3-year contracts mostly 2-stage process Fully competitive Decision-making between ESIF LSCs (local fit) and MAs (technical compliance etc.) Mainly (but not all) large contracts at combined LA or LCR level, esp for Opt-ins

Commissioning - LSC role Agree ESIF spend programme and Local Implementation Plan (LIP) Approve draft calls – based on ESIF Strategy and Sounding Groups Approve final calls Assess fit with LCR Strategic Assessment Framework (SAF) Role in decision-making – but variance with different Opt-ins

Third sector opportunities Parts of T8 Employment and T10 Skills T9 Social Inclusion – BIG Opt-In New migrants e.g. Roma Early intervention programme T9 Social Inclusion – currently unmatched Community grants type programme Community-Led Local Development

Community–Led Local Development (CLLD) Delivery of small community-based projects Delivered by small community-based organisations Areas with 10,000-150,000 population Can allocate up to 5% to CLLD (LCR higher) Recommends minimum of £1m per CLLD area (may increase)

Community Led Local Development (CLLD) Requires a Local Action Group (LAG) Public, private and third sector partnership LAG develops a Local Development Strategy Strategy approved by Government Funding available for strategy development Accountable Body required Further guidance awaited

Engage with ESIF! Small BIG-funded project January – June 2015 VAL with CVS partner/s in each district Initial district-level engagement events Further events in response to demand – possibly cross-district/thematic New web pages/site, mailing list/s

Issues How to access – scale of contracts May need to work across LA boundaries ?Lead bidders/primes to sub-contract to third sector – LAs, colleges, large TSOs (?3sc) Cash-flow – payment in arrears and by results Detailed Monitoring requirements Audit and clawback risks “Community grants” a good option for small orgs and CLLD if secured locally

More information National: https://www.gov.uk/england-2014-to-2020-european-structural-and-investment-funds-growth-programme LCR LEP: www.the-lep.com/our-work/european/ Doinggoodleeds: http://doinggoodleeds.org.uk/new-european-funding.html