To recommend for approval the acceptance of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) transition year 2025/26 allocation to Tendring District Council (TDC) which totals £563,028, and recommend an approach to its spend, building on the successes of the previous UKSPF programme (past 3 financial years) and which aligns with TDC’s external Grant making policy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

(a)    following the review of the External Funding High Level Framework Grants Checklist, as attached in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.3), accepts £563,028 from UK Shared Prosperity Fund;

(b)    approves the allocation of: £40,000 to commission business support; £26,500 to the continuation of the Local Cultural Education Partnership (LCEP) Officer role; £19,506 to the continuation of the Council’s Town Centre Manager Role; £15,000 for Extend the Season Events Grants; and £25,000 for the Widening Participation Sports Grants scheme, as set out in Appendix B to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.3);

(c)    allocates the remainder of the UKSPF funding via an open call for projects in quarter one 2025/6 under the themes set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report;

(d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism to approve the criteria for assessment of grants under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund;

(e)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism to approve the award of grants to organisations under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and

(f)     authorises the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, to sign the grant agreement and memorandum of understanding for the funding, when they are received from Government.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.3) which recommended acceptance of the 2025/26 UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which totalled £563,028, and the Council’s approach to its allocation and alignment with the adopted External Grant Making Policy.

Members were reminded that the UKSPF programme, established in 2022 by Central Government, was part of a wider programme which had allocated funding nationwide to Councils for locally led delivery. Funding had been delivered via Multiply, the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), and Shared Prosperity Fund Programmes.

As the current programme would draw to a close at the end of 2024/25, a transition year had been announced by MHCLG for 2025/26, for UKSPF only. DEFRA was yet to make a formal announcement regarding any continuation of REPF and therefore this would be brought forward separately if any amount was to be allocated to Tendring. All money had to be spent and fully delivered by 31 March 2026.

It had been announced in December 2024 that Tendring had been allocated £563,028 (made up of £71,771 capital and £491,257 revenue), via an updated funding formula, to be allocated to projects across three themes in 2025/26. The themes were unchanged from the previous programme, and supported by sub-themes as follows:

•    Communities and Place

o   Healthy, Safe, and Inclusive Communities

o   Thriving Places

•    Supporting Local Business

•    People and Skills

o   Employability

o   Skills

As set out in Appendix A, the External Funding High Level Framework Checklist had been considered and completed.

It was proposed that the bulk of the funding allocated for 25/26 be made available via an open call for projects under each of the main three themes, and projects assessed for their value for money and fit into the sub-themes by Officers, continuing business as usual from the previous three-year programme, with one key difference. Rather than allocating specific amounts to each theme and sub theme, it was proposed to instead make the total amount available known and respond to need/demand as evidenced by the applications received, rather than allocating a specific amount per theme then finding that some were over or under-subscribed, or otherwise unable to deliver by the 31 March 2026.

It was reported that applications would be welcomed from external organisations via the open call, as well as Council projects, and all would be subject to the same assessment process. Projects would be reviewed by Officers, to include due diligence on the applicant organisation itself as well as the veracity of the claims made about the project applied for, and in cases where match-funding was applied for, to check other funding sources were in place to ensure delivery of the project to meet the March 2026 UKSPF deadline. Decisions on whether to reject, award, or part-award funding would be made by the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, and subject to call-in by other Members.

As part of the open call for projects, it was proposed to continue specifically two grant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130