December 2020
Welcome to this December issue of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds Programme Bulletin. This month, alongside the usual Programme updates, we reflect on the year and look towards priorities for the year ahead for our ESIF Programmes.
Feature article
Celebrating our project case studies
Last month we published our annual case study collections for ERDF and ESF where we share news on what has been delivered and achieved over the year, along with a wide variety of case studies. These have helped to throw a spotlight on the benefits and impact ESIF funding has made to people and communities across the breadth of the country, and through different priority themes. We also look at work and initiatives put into place as part of the ERDF and ESF response to COVID-19. The full collections can be viewed on GOV.UK through the links above, however, here are a few highlights.
Highlights of the year, summary and future priorities
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
2020 has been an extraordinary year. Despite the challenges, the ERDF programme continued to play a key role in supporting growth in places through a wide range of projects - from helping businesses remain sustainable and develop, creating new or improved infrastructure, to supporting local communities, and our environment.
One of the biggest investments to have got off the ground in the last few months is the £38 million ERDF supported Internationalisation Fund. Managed through the Department for International Trade, and with funds focussed in the key areas of the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine, the South, and London; over the next three years 7,600 businesses in England will be helped to grow their overseas trading and strengthen their business sustainably by exporting. You can read about many other projects delivering local growth in the case study booklet shared through the article above.
Overall, the programme has continued to deliver.
COVID-19 has been a dominant factor during the year. We worked closely with projects to adjust or repurpose their project activity to respond to emerging needs and adapt to delivering services online; whilst maintaining the flow of ERDF payments to our grant recipients. At programme level, our teams worked closely across government, with national and local organisations, and with the European Commission, to develop measures that played an important part in helping communities respond to pressures created by the pandemic. This translated into the development and launch of £80 million of ERDF funded emergency government COVID-19 response activities, providing investment for our businesses and places, supporting the safe reopening of our high streets and businesses in the visitor economy and other sectors.
Looking towards the months ahead, there is still a huge amount of work set to take place for the 2014 to 2020 Programme. Our ERDF funded projects will continue to invest to maximise impacts on local areas. We will also be working with our partners and stakeholders to ensure that remaining funding within the programme is efficiently and effectively deployed to support key priorities, including COVID-19.
The Spending Review at the end of November signalled a shift in the way Government wants to approach local growth funding across the UK. Of note is the £600 million of the new £4 billion Levelling Up Fund that will be made available to all local areas in England next year. Beyond that, and in preparation for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022, an additional £220 million additional UK funding will be provided next year to support our communities to pilot programmes and new approaches. More information on these funding streams will be available in the new year.
European Social Fund (ESF)
2020 has been another busy year for the ESF programme, which for DWP projects, stakeholders and delivery partners, has been shaped by how each has needed to adapt in response to COVID-19 pandemic related challenges. More details of specific measures DWP has implemented are provided later in this article.
DWP recognises that many delivery activities have, for the time being, changed substantially and would like to acknowledge the wide range of innovative solutions that those who are managing projects have developed to ensure participants continue to receive support. In many cases this includes additional measures that have helped people address and overcome often difficult COVID-19 issues they face. For example, this can include measures to combat social isolation and support to meet practical needs. More great examples can be found in this year’s ESF case study booklet.
ESF funded projects across the country continue to make a positive difference -helping people improve their employability, gain new skills and move towards and into work. As of September 2020, ESF has helped 1,250,363 participants, of these 141,661 started employment when they left the programme. DWP continues to work hard with stakeholders and partners to commit remaining Programme funds to address local Growth priorities in line with COVID-19 Recovery Plans. In support of this it has streamlined appraisal processes and recruited additional staff, with recruitment continuing into the New Year.
There are still live calls for ESF on GOV.UK, with closing dates until early in the New Year.
In 2020, DWP introduced a range of implementing measures to help existing projects get through the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples include:
Future Priorities
The ESF Managing Authority is working with stakeholders to identify how the remaining ESF funds are prioritised to support local LEP Areas COVID-19 Recovery Plans and to ensure the remaining funds are fully utilised. It will continue to identify improvements to streamline processes, in order to maximise the time by which the delivery of support can commence. Other priorities include processing claims, finalising audit activity and continuing to respond to emerging pandemic challenges.
And finally, recognising that ESF is about improving people’s lives, the Managing Authority would like to celebrate the work of the Positive People and Motiv8 projects which have recently won National 2020 Festival of Learning Awards:
The Positive People project in Cornwall, features in the 2020 ESF booklet and also operates across Devon and Somerset. Positive People won the National ‘Presidents Award’ for it’s work providing a learning lifeline to the most socially excluded and vulnerable people in society. Read more about the national 2020 Festival of Learning Award won by Positive People and view an inspiring film about the project.
The Motiv8 project in Greater Manchester, which featured in the 2018 ESF booklet, won the National ‘Project Award’ for its work to help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable residents overcome deep-rooted barriers to employment. Read more about the national 2020 Festival of Learning Award won by Motiv8 and view a film which showcases the work and the impact the project has on society.
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
Overall, under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme, 709 projects have so far gained funding worth £122 million and £80 million has been paid to projects. To date, 1,391 full time jobs have been created with a total of 4,258 contracted which has surpassed our programme target of 4,075.
In addition, 20 contracts for funding totalling £76.9 million have been awarded under the Rural Broadband Infrastructure offer. Eight of the projects are in the delivery phase and the first has made a claim for payment.
In terms of funding rounds and award, the highlights include:
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our rural businesses. Defra remain keen to be as constructive and flexible as possible in managing existing projects and running the current Growth Programme offer. Here are a few ways help is being provided:
Looking forwards, the Rural Payments Agency have completed appraisal of the first and second batches of Full Applications received over the summer and aim to have all appraisals on the third batch complete this month with decisions communicated to applicants before the end of January 2021. To date, 60 projects have been contracted worth £9.3 million.
Now that the scheme has closed to Full Applications, we know that the maximum grant request level is £107 million. As such, we are now able to approve some projects from batches 1 and 2 that were deferred due to the higher level of potential competition for funding that existed at that time.
End of the transition period messages
The end of this month marks the end of the Transition Period for the UK’s departure from the European Union. Under the EU’s Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020, the UK continues to participate in EU programmes under the normal rules. This includes the ERDF, ESF and EAFRD Programmes.
In practice this means that ERDF, ESF and EAFRD continue to provide growth funding for communities, businesses and people across the country to support the economic and inclusion priorities of places until the programmes end in 2023 – this is unaffected by the end of the transition period. All project partners should continue to deliver activities in line with funding agreements, including all provisions relating to State Aid and procurement, and project beneficiaries should continue to claim funds in the usual way.
Applicants and grant recipients may be required to use UK-based systems alongside EU systems such as the OJEU process. We will be issuing additional guidance to provide information on the process for this shortly.
Guidance updates
In addition to the
COVID-19 Q&As published on GOV.UK, other updates to guidance include:
| ERDF and ESIF |
Details of new or updated ERDF and ESIF wide guidance can be found in the latest ERDF Practitioner Network Bulletin.
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| ESF |
Details of new or updated ESF guidance is as follows:
ESF Action Note 055/20, Updated ESF National Eligibility Rules and Programme Guidance. New Simplified Cost Options Guidance, was published on 17 November 2020 and is available on GOV.UK.
To receive the ESF Action Notes, email here.
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| EAFRD |
There have been no updates to guidance recently.
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