Agenda item

(Lead Member: The Mayor, Director: Alan Reiss)

That the Combined Authority note the progress made on implementing the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Investment Plans.

That the Combined Authority notes the update on the new Rural England Prosperity Fund and authorises the Chief Executive to finalise and submit the Local Investment Plan Addendum to Government, on behalf of the Combined Authority, in consultation with the Mayor, Leaders of each constituent Council and the Interim Chair of the LEP, given the timescales for submission.

That members note and approve the recommendations made by the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Partnership Group which are:

·       the Hyper-Local £30m LA Allocation Business Justification Case, noting the need to be clear on the intended deliverables, outputs and outcomes, have strengthened equality targets, strong governance and to be clear that UKSPF is for additional/new activity. This includes £1,227,000 for fund management. Formal approval is sought under Item 9.

·       support for the £310,000 Flood Innovation Programme - advice and feedback to be fed into the business case development as it progresses through the Combined Authority’s assurance process, part of the Climate and Environment Plan pipeline – wave 1 business case.

·       approval of the rationale for the Women and Girls Programme, the proposed criteria for accessing the funding, the process and milestones in the funding decision process, to allow officers to progress the work further.

·       broad agreement with the proposed funding envelopes for Pillar 2 Business Support, and key policy areas for intervention using UKSPF - to be developed further with the Business, Economy and Innovation Committee and Local Partnership Group

·       approval to the Chief Executive of the Combined Authority in line with the revised AEB (and Multiply) table of delegations as set out in Appendix 1 – for Multiply Community Focussed support. The Combined Authority will then enter into Grant Agreements for this provision with each Local Authority.

·       to consider, that the limited funding from the Rural Fund should be targeted at rural micro and small businesses, with some sector specialism, for example focusing on the food supply chain, and that Rural engagement is key to delivery of this programme and therefore the LPG to should be expanded to include rural representation.

That members note and approve the delegation from the Combined Authority to the Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee for approvals required in relation to the UKSPF implementation and delivery of the Local Investment Plan, following advice provided by the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Partnership Group.

That members note and approve the updated AEB (and Multiply) table of delegations.

The Combined Authority considered a report to set out progress on implementing the UKSPF local investment plan. Officers explained that since last meeting of the Combined Authority, an additional £2.5 million of funding has been made available from the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The Combined authority is working with the Local Partnership Group and wider stakeholders to submit the investment plan by the end of November 2022. Officers clarified that the rural element of the funding does not limits how much funding can go to rural areas, and it is just additional to the main allocation of funding.

Resolved:

That the progress made on implementing the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Investment Plans be noted.

That the update on the new Rural England Prosperity Fund be noted, and authorisation given to the Chief Executive to finalise and submit the Local Investment Plan Addendum to Government, on behalf of the Combined Authority, in consultation with the Mayor, Leaders of each constituent Council and the Interim Chair of the LEP, given the timescales for submission.

That members approved the recommendations made by the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Partnership Group which are:

·       the Hyper-Local £30m LA Allocation Business Justification Case, noting the need to be clear on the intended deliverables, outputs and outcomes, have strengthened equality targets, strong governance and to be clear that UKSPF is for additional/new activity. This includes £1,227,000 for fund management. Formal approval is sought under Item 9.

·       support for the £310,000 Flood Innovation Programme - advice and feedback to be fed into the business case development as it progresses through the Combined Authority’s assurance process, part of the Climate and Environment Plan pipeline – wave 1 business case.

·       approval of the rationale for the Women and Girls Programme, the proposed criteria for accessing the funding, the process and milestones in the funding decision process, to allow officers to progress the work further.

·       broad agreement with the proposed funding envelopes for Pillar 2 Business Support, and key policy areas for intervention using UKSPF - to be developed further with the Business, Economy and Innovation Committee and Local Partnership Group

·       approval to the Chief Executive of the Combined Authority in line with the revised AEB (and Multiply) table of delegations as set out in Appendix 1 – for Multiply Community Focussed support. The Combined Authority will then enter into Grant Agreements for this provision with each Local Authority.

·       to consider, that the limited funding from the Rural Fund should be targeted at rural micro and small businesses, with some sector specialism, for example focusing on the food supply chain, and that Rural engagement is key to delivery of this programme and therefore the LPG should be expanded to include rural representation.

That the delegation from the Combined Authority to the Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee for approvals required in relation to the UKSPF implementation and delivery of the Local Investment Plan, following advice provided by the West Yorkshire UKSPF Local Partnership Group be noted and approved

That the updated AEB (and Multiply) table of delegations be noted and approved