LGA Governance


Agenda item

Agenda item

European Structural and Investment Fund update - verbal update

Minutes:

The Chair asked Paul Green, Adviser, to give his update.

 

Paul’s update covered two areas:

·         No deal preparations. A meeting had been held between MHCLG and Resources Board Lead Members and the Brexit Taskforce to run through Brexit preparations for the European Regional Development Fund. The information mirrored the advice that is available on the gov.uk Local Government Brexit Preparedness page and was outlined to members when the Director of European Programmes attended the Resources Board in February. At the briefing, members had stressed the need for details of the design and delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to be released and for it to be closely aligned with other local growth funding.

·         Performance and Dispute Resolution National Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee had met on 14 November and the main item for discussion was the administration of the reserve fund. Key points raised were the difficulty of finding public sector match funding; difficulty in obtaining value for money  due to distance from the labour market; and that the UKSPF needed to more effectively enable the targeting of resources to those furthest from the labour market.

Members expressed the following concerns:

·         Areas which didn’t yet have a Local Industrial Strategy would miss out on funding. Paul said that he had raised this at the Performance and Dispute Resolution National Sub Committee and was given assurances that alternative evidence, as well as the 2014-20 ESIF strategies could also be used for funding bids as well as other local evidence.

·         The lack of detail on the UKSPF was becoming a real problem. Paul said that this point was being regularly raised through the EU Exit Ministerial Delivery Board and the Brexit Taskforce, as well as though LGA press work.

 

Decision:

 

·         Resources Board members noted the update.