Agenda item

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

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Director, Resilient Communities which provided an update on the delivery of the UK Community Renewal Fund (CRF) for Scottish Borders and noted the outcome of the 2021/2022 Fund.  The UK Government announced the Build Back Better Community Renewal Fund in the UK Budget in March 2021.  The Community Renewal Fund (CRF) was a competitive one-off revenue fund with spending required to be undertaken by successful projects initially by the end of March 2022 but this was later extended by UK Government to 31st December 2022. The aim of the Fund was to pilot projects across the UK and prepare the way for the UK Prosperity Fund from 2022/23 onwards.  Projects were required to align with at least one of the following investment priorities:

• Investment in skills;

• Investment for local business;

• Investment in communities and place; and

• Supporting people into employment.

A call was put out for project bids in April 2021 which attracted 29 applications totalling £9million (Local Authorities could bid for up to £3million of UK CRF monies).  Those were assessed by an Independent Panel and a shortlist of projects devised for Council approval in June 2021.  Eighteen project bids totalling £2,999,040 were submitted to UK Government for consideration. The UK Government announced in November 2021 that eight projects were successful, totalling £1,296,814.  All eight projects were successfully delivered by the deadline of 31st December 2022 with final grant funds of £1,251,018 drawn down from UK Government.   In response to a question regarding feedback on the projects which had not been successful, the External Funding programme Co-ordinator, Ms Linda Cornwall, explained that only basic feedback had been received from the UK Government.  Regarding the underspend detailed within the report, Ms Cornwall explained that some of the projects had been able to source materials at a cheaper rate, and that one planned workshop had been unable to go ahead as planned due to the workshop lead being unavailable.  In response to a question poor attendance and malaise at Area Partnerships, Ms Smith outlined that it was hoped that a shift to funding more sustainable projects would take place, and that placemaking and shared prosperity could help improve attendance levels and improve engagement.  The Director – Resilient Communities confirmed that work would be undertaken to provide clarity on the different sources of funding available across the various sources.  Regarding the funding for Borders Employment Advice and Mentoring (BEAM) being separate from existing services, Ms Smith explained that due to the timing of the project and funding source it had not been possible to link the service to other services.  It was not expected that a different funding source would be a barrier to partnership working.  In response to a question regarding four employment coaches at Berwickshire Housing Association as part of the BEAM project, Ms Cornwall confirmed that the coaches had been contracted for the lifespan of the project, and that Berwickshire Housing Association were exploring deploying the coaches in a similar role in the future. 

DECISION

AGREED to note the outcome of the UK Community Renewal Fund in relation to project delivery.