Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Executive on the United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund (UKPSF).

(1)    Cabinet agreed that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) and the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and Executive Member (Planning and Resources), to authorise, submit and amend any subsequent changes to the UKSPF Investment Plan.

(2)  Cabinet noted that the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member (Planning and Resources) will adjust the Council’s budget once the UKSPF Investment Plan is approved, under his general delegated powers and in accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations.

Report of the Chief Executive on the United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund (UKPSF).

(1)        The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(unanimous)

(1)  Cabinet agreed that delegated authority is given to the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation) and the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and Executive Member (Planning and Resources), to authorise, submit and amend any subsequent changes to the UKSPF Investment Plan.

(2)  Cabinet noted that the Executive Director (Finance and Transformation), in consultation with the Executive Member (Planning and Resources) will adjust the Council’s budget once the UKSPF Investment Plan is approved, under his general delegated powers and in accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations.

(2)       Reasons for the Decision

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) was launched on 13 April 2022. It sits within the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. The total value of the fund is £2.6bn, of which Welwyn Hatfield’s allocation is £1,468,506. The fund will run until March 2025.

Each local authority is required to prepare and submit an investment plan in order to access the fund.  However, the process is being run on quite a short timescale, with a deadline for submissions of 1 August 2022.

The fund can be used for three areas of investment priority, which were intended to complement Levelling Up missions, with an overarching mission of “Building pride in place and increasing life chances: Community and Place, Supporting Local Business and People and Skills.

There was a requirement for local authorities to convene a local partnership group. To assist swift decision making given the tight deadline, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council had formed a focussed Partnership Group, chaired by the Leader of the Council. The members of the group were Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council, the University of Hertfordshire, Oaklands College, the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Partnership Group had met and had decided to support a number of projects for various sums of money. Examples of projects to be included were: Hatfield Market Place Public Realm Regeneration, Anniversary Gardens, Welwyn Garden City, Campus West, Digital Information Screens and Herts Growth Hub.

It was envisaged that the investment plan would be determined by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in around October 2022 and payment will only be made once the plan is approved.