To receive a verbal report.

The Chairman welcomed Saul Farrell, UKSPF Programme Manager to provide Members with an update on the Development of the Community Reserve and Investment in Villages, Parishes and Market Towns across East Lindsey.

Members received a tabled briefing note which outlined the proposals (a copy is attached at Appendix A to the Minutes).

The Chairman requested clarification on whether there was a protocol in place for distribution of the Community Reserve funds to town and parish councils.  In response, the UKSPF Programme Manager explained that funds that were obtained through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural Prosperity Fund (RPF) were distributed according to grant assessment criteria which were produced in alignment with UKSPF national guidance and with the investment plan that ELDC has agreed with central government.  It was confirmed that the investment criteria was the same across the main programme and the delegated scheme that the Council manages through the Lincolnshire Community Foundation.

The UKSPF Programme Manager further advised Members that the criteria for the distribution of grants considered value for money, deliverability by the end of 2025, financial and operational risk to the Council, diligence undertaken on community organisations and parish councils and the impacts that were demonstratable to central government.

For the Council’s UKSPF investment and assessment of projects, the UKSPF Programme Manager explained to Members that targets and metrics had been agreed with central government to outline what benefits were being obtained for communities such as the creation of jobs and the number of businesses supported.  The UKSPF Programme Manager assured Members that the assessment of grants across both schemes had robust processes in place for the allocation of funds. 

In conclusion the UKSPF Programme Manager confirmed that across the community reserve and future investment funding, £228,000 currently remained for ELDC to distribute and that requests were being examined to top-up the amount of funding available. 

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

·         The Chairman queried whether there were any plans to share and adopt the same protocol across the Partnership.  In response, the UKSPF Programme Manager confirmed that the Section 151 Officer was leading a piece of work to extend the protocol with Boston and East Lindsey and for his team to provide a Partnership wide service. 

·         The Chairman requested clarification on the timescale for adoption and queried the request for the Committee to examine the protocol before it was adopted. The UKSPF Programme Manager informed Members that clarification would be requested from the Section 151 Officer and the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Infrastructure.

·         A Member spoke in the support of the proposal to utilise the community reserve to support parish councils and local groups and queried whether the proposed rate was 1% over base rate.  In response, the UKSPF Programme Manager confirmed the rate was correct.

·         A Member commented that it was beneficial for Councillors and members of the public to be informed of the results and outputs of projects that have received funding and referenced the example of the Old Bolingbroke Gas House.  In response, Councillor Gray as Portfolio Holder for Communities and Better Aging spoke in support of the value of investment in small rural communities and highlighted that the injection of funds for Old Bolingbroke’s Gas House and Church had created valuable interest in the local area by encouraging community engagement and raising the profile of the site on English Heritage’s radar which had provided a springboard for further investment. 

·         The Chairman requested clarification on whether further details on specific projects funded by this initiative could be provided in future reports and updates.  In response, the UKSPF Programme Manager informed Members that a new  website app was being launched to display a paragraph on each project which detailed what the projects were, who was participating, who the lead organisation was and what the project intended to deliver for the local community.  The UKSPF Programme Manager concluded that Old Bolingbroke was a good example of leveraging further investment and that the future for community investment was looking very positive.

No further comments or questions were received.

The Chairman thanked the UKSPF Programme Manager for his informative update.

N.B. The UKSPF Programme Manager left the Meeting at 10.52 am.