Agenda item

Consider report by Director Resilient Communities.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Director Resilient Communities seeking the agreement of Council to the approach to submission of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) bid to the UK Government by 1 August 2022.  The report explained that the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) was a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up policy agenda.  A Prospectus for UKSPF was published on 13 April 2022 setting out its investment priorities which were communities and place, business support, people and skills, and Multiply which was about improving numeracy for employability purposes. Each local authority in Scotland had been given two separate allocations over the financial years 2022/23 – 2024/25 for their administrative areas to be used to meet SPF investment priorities and Multiply objectives respectively.  The Scottish Borders funding allocation was £4,442,628 for SPF and £927,345 for Multiply.  This funding was divided into around 85% revenue and 15% capital.  To access the monies local authorities were required to submit an investment plan setting out measurable outcomes and interventions to meet their priorities to the UK Government between 30 June 2022 and 1 August 2022.  It was anticipated that these would be agreed in October 2022.  There was a need to work collaboratively on the investment plan with local partners and to receive support for this work by the local Members of Parliaments.  There was also strong encouragement to develop investment plans using regional economic geographies.  It was proposed to submit a Scottish Borders investment plan by 1 August 2022.  This plan would use the investment priorities of the South of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy (RES) and its Delivery Plan which was overseen by the South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership (REP).  It would also link into the opportunities provided by the Regional Prosperity Framework of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Partnership and the work of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.  The Multiply part of the investment plan would be developed from the employability work being carried out by Scottish Borders Council and its local partners through the Scottish Borders Local Employability Partnership.  It was planned to gain input of the REP as part of the development of the investment plan.  The investment plan would need to be put together during Scottish Borders Council’s summer recess period and a proposal for delegating the development and agreement of the local investment plan was set out in the report’s recommendations.  Mrs Craig answered Members’ questions and advised that the position beyond the next 3 years was not known but gave the assurance that as much as possible would be done and all collective opportunities were being considered.

DECISION

AGREED to:-

(a)     lead the development of a local investment plan for the Scottish Borders for accessing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund based on the priorities in the South of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy and use the governance structure of the South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership to assist in this process; and

(b)     delegate authority to the Chief Executive, Director Resilient Communities and Director of Finance & Corporate Governance, in consultation with the Council Leader, the Executive Member for Community and Business Development, the Convener and Leader of the Opposition, the responsibility to oversee the development and agreement of the Scottish Borders UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for submission to the UK Government by 1 August 2022.