Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth submitted a report that updated Members on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which was now approaching the final 12 months of delivery, having officially begun on 1^st April 2022.

The Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy set out the wider background to the shared prosperity funding dating back to 2016 following the Brexit referendum.

Members were advised that shared prosperity funding would still be coming through, and the programme would exist until 31 March 2025.

The Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy said that East Herts was not an area of need based on a range of metrics such as employment and skills. He said that East Herts had issues in certain areas and levelling up meant different things to different places.

Members were advised that every area had an allocation based upon a population formula and the East Herts allocation was £1.77m payable over the three years.

The Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy summarised the work that had taken place starting in the summer of 2022 culminating in a workshop at Fletchers Lea in Ware. He said that four different priority areas had been identified where the money should be spent and these priorities had been agreed at Council in January 2023 alongside a series of individual projects agreed for that year.

The Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy said that the May 2023 elections had resulted in the Council decision being revisited in consultation with some of the portfolio holders who were now responsible for allocating that money. Members were advised that the steer from the Executive Members was that they were broadly happy with the decision from January 2023 and the overall direction of travel. 

Councillor Andrews welcomed the idea of supporting town and village centres. He mentioned the importance of keeping track of business support for Hertfordshire businesses in the villages that employed fewer than 20 people.

Councillor Redfern referred to a table on page 27 of the report and expressed her concern at the £50k of levelling up funding allocated to skills and transport projects. She said that the European fund for helping people develop literacy and digital skills had not been replaced.

The Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy said that the government had been very clear in the guidance that the skills theme was to have no money spent on it until year 3, on the basis that the EU structural funding for skills and employment-based projects was still being honoured until 2023/24. He emphasised that East Herts Council would not be a major deliverer of any skills-based projects and there were other funding streams to support skills.

Councillor Nicholls said that she had raised the subject of UK Shared Prosperity Funding (SPF) at a Buntingford Town Council meeting. The Councillors there had not heard about it and as a result had missed the opportunity of receiving funding when they had a project that was ideally suited.

Councillor Nichollssaid that Officers had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 366