Internal Project Approval - December 2022

Introduction:

The programme is part of the Mid Wales Regional Investment Plan, which sets out the priorities for investing the £40.9m UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation in Mid Wales (Ceredigion & Powys).

Powys has a total allocation of just over £26m to deliver by the end of December 2024, with the programme closing on 31/03/25.  The funding is to be delivered over three financial years; the first year being what remains of the current financial year (2022/23).

Project Approval:

93 initial project ideas were first put forward by Powys County Council Officers for projects able to deliver and achieve some spend in this financial year.

Following initial eligibility checks, 46 of these progressed to completing an application form. Each application was assessed using criteria outlined below and on the basis of this assessment, recommendations were put forward at a meeting of the Economic and Development Delivery Group SPF Panel on 15^th December. This resulted in 33 projects being approved.

Each project application was considered and scored against the following assessment criteria:

Strategic fit

• Whether the proposal contributed to the strategic objectives of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund?
• How well the proposal contributed to addressing the key challenges and opportunities set out in the UKSPF Mid Wales Regional Investment Plan?   
• What evidence was there of local support? 
• The selection of projects was informed by the consultations carried out with Members last year and the aims and objectives of the Corporate Plan.

Deliverability

• Is the project able to mobilise quickly and incur expenditure in this financial year?
• Does the applicant (and delivery partner(s) where relevant) have relevant experience in delivering projects of this type?
• Does the applicant have in place the resources necessary to deliver the project, including any match funding?
• Are the milestones realistic and is the project deliverable within the stated timescale?
• Are sufficient processes in place to mitigate against risk?

Effectiveness and efficiency

• the overall effectiveness of the proposal including the proposed outputs and outcomes, project budget and plans for monitoring and evaluation.
• the overall efficiency of the proposal, including Value for Money.

Year 1 (2022-23) Budget and Commitment:

UK Government had stressed that if our Year 1 allocation (£3.4m) was not spent, there was a real risk that we would lose it.  Therefore, like many other local authorities across Wales, a decision was made to open an internal call for projects, that were ready to deliver and spend budget before 31/03/23.  There would not have been time to go out to open call for external applications unfortunately, due to application and appraisal timescales, given the delayed announcement and release of funding.

The table below shows the Year 1 budget allocation for Powys (£3.3m for projects) and the total allocated for approved internal projects for Year 1.  The projects were able to include retrospective expenditure from 1/4/22.  Please see the attached approved project list and Year 1 summary table below.

Core Investment Priorities

• Year 1 Budget Allocation 2,645,140
• Round 1 - Internal Project Totals Approved 2,325,357
• Year 1 Balance Remaining 319,783

Multiply

• Year 1 Budget Allocation 687,737
• Round 1 - Internal Project Totals Approved 328,372
• Year 1 Balance Remaining 359,365

Total

• Year 1 Budget Allocation 3,332,877
• Round 1 - Internal Project Totals Approved 2,653,729
• Year 1 Balance Remaining 679,148

N.B. The approved  Internal Project List (PDF, 218 KB) includes Year 2 and Year 3 expenditure, for projects that require a longer delivery period.  Project performance reviews will be undertaken prior to future year budgets being agreed and released.

Year 1 Carry Forward: Following approval of the internal Year 1 projects, there is a balance of £679,148, which we plan to carry forward to the next financial year, adding to our Year 2 allocation.  In order to carry monies into the next financial year, UK Government requires a 'credible plan' to be produced and approved.

Future projects:

The rest of the programme will be agreed by the Shared Prosperity Local Partnership which has been established and is formed of Council and representatives of local organisations.

For more information email ukspf@powys.gov.uk