Agenda and draft minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

 

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Economy and Infrastructure Service Transformation Committee held on 13 June, 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Strategic Economic Regeneration Manager presented an update on the Shared Prosperity Fund.  The Shared Prosperity Fund formed part of the response of the previous UK Government administration to partial replacement of European Structural Funds following the exit of the UK from the European Union. Each local authority in the UK received a fixed allocation of funding under the Programme, for Swansea this equated to £40m over a 3-year period. 

 

In Wales, the additional requirement for regional co-ordination was added. Swansea Council had acted as the ‘lead authority’ and banker for the South West Wales region. Whilst regionally administered, allocations remained local and no virement of funds between local authority allocations was possible. The Programme had been regionally planned by the four constituent local authorities, with delivery and decision making delegated to local level. Funding for the region equated to £138m over a 3-year period.

 

The Programme had been designed to align with certain core areas of delivery in local authority partners through a series of ‘anchor’ projects, with the headline menu agreed in principle at regional level in the context of the South West Regional Economic Delivery Plan adopted by all four LAs, but also the Regional Investment Plan prepared for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which used the REDP as its base.  A further factor influencing the menu of anchor projects was the known pressures needing support in the region. Anchor provision also took account of relevant Welsh Government Programmes and was designed to wrap around and enhance delivery:

 

·       Business development and funding

·       Employability from pre-16 to adult

·       Supporting Communities

·       Placemaking investments

·       Culture and Tourism

·       Rural development

 

Each of these anchor projects contained a mixture of staff delivery of support and activities, along with tailored grant routes for businesses and other organization to access a wide range of support.

 

Skills development sits in the context of the Regional Leaning & Skills Partnership and the regular Skills Needs Assessments, so the funds available under this theme were offered via open call to Further Education and its partners to come forward with local consortia to deliver a package of activities based on the recently published Skills Needs Assessment. A separate allocation of ‘Multiply’ funding focused on numeracy skills was offered on a similar basis

 

Finally a broader open call was made at the start of the Programme inviting third parties to bid for funding to deliver activities to complement and not duplicate the anchor project provision.

 

Evaluation of the Programme had been emphasised as a keenness to test and understand delivery approaches to local economic and community development to enable investment in ‘what works’ going forward. Local economic development was a challenging area of work with a balance to be struck between ensuring ‘depth’ versus ‘breadth’ of investment. Fewer larger strategic investments can result in ripple effects, whereas a larger number of smaller investments are felt more readily by a larger number of businesses and communities receiving direct support. In practice, a balance of these investments was required. Smaller scale investment had been limited for a considerable time, so the ability to invest using sustainable support measures had been a welcome change from previous funding arrangements.

 

The SPF Programme arrangements had been swift into implementation when compared with previous programme arrangements such as those under EU funding which have often taken 2-3 years to bed in. Feedback on SPF Programme arrangements to-date had been very positive across the region and more widely across the UK, but concern was now mounting about what future funding arrangements may look like, if there was any funding forthcoming following the next UK Government spending review.

 

The most recent Swansea Quarterly Monitoring Report was attached for information to reflect the breadth of Programme delivery and progress to date.

 

The Programme had achieved good results despite a very short timescale from announcement by Government to designing a complete governance and administration framework from scratch. The Programme design did however draw on approaches and learning from previous programmes, with the key design principle being regional planning with local delivery, maximizing delegation and flexibility whilst ensuring regional consistency.

 

The Programme had generated a range of qualitative and quantitative outcomes. Some key headline achievements to-date were highlighted below.

 

·        £1.3m invested in 132 small businesses, £800k paid out to date, with £1m match funding levered from the private sector businesses supported.

·        £1m invested in securing the future of a range of heritage structures across the county

·        £3.6m invested in skills development

·        £3m invested in a range of third sector/community organisations and activities

·        Over 2000 people have received employability support via the Pathways to work partnership, with 195 going into work, 304 achieving qualifications/training and 115 going into education.

·        Over £4m invested in a Skills consortium led by Gower College Swansea

 

The current direction of travel was a timely official end to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with any successor arrangement to be determined through the next Comprehensive Spending Review. Indications suggested that any such arrangement will filter via the Welsh Government or Growth Deal (City Deal) structures, not directly to local government as with the current Programme. Such arrangements are unlikely to offer the flexible approach and level of delegated decision-making that has been possible with UK SPF. Indications are that there will be some form of announcement in the October Budget Statement.

 

In response to a Member question, the Strategic Economic Regeneration Manager stated that projects were progressing at pace, £13m had already been paid and all money was fully allocated.  Whilst money could not be carried forward, Officers were confident there were ways to extend part of the program and reallocate spending pressues. Furthermore, a budget statement was due in October 2024 and whilst there had been a change in UK government, it was anticipated that there would be a successor fund. 

 

The Chair thanked the Strategic Economic Regeneration Manager for his informative report.

 

Resolved that a further update report be submitted to the Committee on 12 December, 2024.

The Chair stated presented the Draft Committee Work Plan 2024/25 and referred to the items contained within the Draft Plan.

 

Resolved that

 

1)    the Work Plan 2024/25 be approved.

2)    An update on the Shared Prosperity Fund be scheduled for the meeting on 12 December 2024.