Issue - meetings

To seek Cabinet’s approval to enter into a Collaboration and Funding Agreement with the local authority partners that together comprise the North Essex Economic Board (NEEB), and to allocate 10% of the North Essex Councils’ Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding in support of the Board’s COVID-19 recovery interventions.

To also seek Cabinet’s agreement to give authority to the Portfolio Holder for Business & Economic Growth and the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to approve future projects agreed by the NEEB that fall within this 10 percent of the District’s ARG funding.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    approves the maximum allocation of £293,000 from the Additional Restrictions Grant Fund (ARG) to Essex County Council for the purposes of delivering the projects identified by the North Essex Economic Board (NEEB) on the terms and conditions, as set out in the Collaboration and Funding Agreement, attached as Appendix A to item A.5 of the Report of the Business & Economic Growth Portfolio Holder; and

(b)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Business & Economic Growth and the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance to agree future projects agreed by the NEEB that fall within this 10 percent of the District’s ARG funding.

Cabinet had before it a report of the Business & Economic Growth Portfolio Holder (A.5) which sought its approval to enter into a Collaboration and Funding Agreement with the local authority partners that together comprised the North Essex Economic Board (NEEB), and to allocate 10% of the North Essex Councils’ Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding in support of the Board’s COVID-19 recovery interventions.

The Cabinet’s authority was also sought for the Portfolio Holder for Business & Economic Growth and Corporate Finance and Governance to be authorised to approve future projects agreed by the NEEB that fell within this 10 percent of the District’s ARG funding.

Members were aware that the Government had made funding available to local authorities through its Additional Restrictions Grant scheme (ARG) in order to support businesses that had been severely impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions.

It was reported that, at its meeting held on 11November 2020, NEEB had determined (subject to constituent member approval) to establish a pool of top sliced ARG funding (10 percent of each District’s allocation) in support of sub-regional (North Essex) business support and skills interventions approved by the Board in order to support the area’s COVID-19 recovery. Ten percent of Tendring District Council’s (TDC) ARG grant equated to £293,000.  However, it was not expected that this full amount would be required as TDC and other Councils had already spent funds on ‘Click It Local’ which had formed part of this agreement and Essex County Council (ECC) was currently taking forward the Business Support element of the programme which had come in below the anticipated budget of £150,000 per Council thereby reducing the budget to £120,000 per District for this programme. In addition, Braintree District Council were leading the skills element of the programme.

Cabinet was informed that, with all North Essex Councils contributing to the ARG pool, the Board would have a project fund of £1.65m.  ECC had not received ARG funding, but had contributed a further £220,000 to cover elements of the programme that the ARG could not pay for such as staffing and marketing costs.

Members were reminded that NEEB was a partnership of local authorities comprising: Braintree, Maldon, Tendring, Uttlesford, Colchester, Chelmsford, and Essex County Council.  TDC’s representative on the board was the Portfolio Holder for Business and Economic Growth (Councillor Mary Newton) plus Officer support from the Council’s Economic Growth Team.

By pooling resources it was felt that the partners would be able to implement a range of sub-regional project interventions that together would have a positive impact on the economic recovery of North Essex. Interventions would also focus on the delivery of skills necessary to support businesses and to get residents of working age back into employment.

It was reported that the partners had endeavoured to provide business support that complimented localised projects currently running within their Districts which included such schemes as Tendring’s Business Support Service which had been delivered by Colbea.  The programme of support to business had been developed to align with the Council’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60