Questions and answers for the public webinar held on 22 June 2022, 2pm to 4pm
Investment plans and delivery
1. If successful in our Expressions of Interest (EOI), can we adapt our approach and requests in a formal bid? We have submitted an EOI, what is the next step and when should we expect a response?
It is important to note that the call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) was not a formal bidding process.
The EOIs have informed us of local opportunity, this is a vital part of our approach to determine the level of interest, demand and ask within the Plymouth area. We have used these, as well as our webinar and evidence base, to identify common themes of work that both address significant issues in Plymouth and that local organisations feel is important for the city.
All of this will allow Plymouth City Council to complete our Investment Plan which must be submitted to Government for approval by 1 August. This document needs to identify the challenges and opportunities that we will look to address in Plymouth, under each investment priority. We will need to provide evidence for why these were selected. Following this, we need to identify the interventions and specific outputs and outcomes we will look to deliver to meet our challenges and opportunities.
Government have indicated the first Investment Plans to be approved will likely be from October 2022 onwards. We will set out next steps closer to this date.
2. What is the bid writing process and deadline please? Will a template be sent out?
The Government has given lead local authorities the flexibility to choose the best way in which projects can be brought forward to deliver the fund, this can be mix from a range of options from procurement, commissioning, in house delivery or competitions for grant funding.
As mentioned in the response to Q1, the process will be determined later this year and information on the chosen processes and requirements will be released after the submission and approval from Government on the Investment Plan later this year. We do not expect to run this part of the UKSPF approach until after October 2022 as detailed below.
Please consider the below regarding UKSPF timeframe and milestones:
- 22 June 2022: Plymouth City Council Webinar
- 30 June to 1 August 2022: Investment Window open for submissions of Investment Plans.
- October 2022 onwards: Anticipated date for investment plan approval and first payment from Government to Local Authorities.
3. If the investment plan is only themes, do we have an idea at what point this will drill down into specific projects?
As per previous responses, Government have indicated approved Investment Plans will likely only be provided back from October 2022 onwards. Given the Investment Plan requires the identification of broad challenges and opportunities for the city, we will need to wait for approval before being able to identify the specific projects and details of what and how they will deliver.
4. Can you be involved in multiple bids as an organisation?
Yes, you can be involved in multiple EOIs. However, please be aware this is not a formal bidding process – further detail in the response to Q1.
5. Under the Local Business IP, can larger organisations be supported or only SMEs?
No, the UKSPF prospectus does make any exclusions of sectors
6. Are there any sectors that cannot be supported through SPF (e.g. ESIF couldn't support agriculture or retail)?
No, the UKSPF prospectus does make any exclusions of sectors.
Allocations, capital and revenue split
7. Can you define the difference between capital and revenue and do successful projects have to have the same split. Could some projects be mostly capital and others mostly revenue?
Minimum Capital and Revenue split detailed below:
Yearly allocation for 2022 to 2023
Plymouth - £380,026
Core UKSPF: revenue - 90%
Core UKSPF: capital - 10%
Portion of allocation which is capital - £38,003
Portion of allocation which is revenue - £342,023
Yearly allocation for 2023 to 2024
Plymouth - £760,051
Core UKSPF: revenue - 87%
Core UKSPF: capital - 13%
Portion of allocation which is capital - £98,807
Portion of allocation which is revenue - £661,244
Yearly allocation for 2024 to 2025
Plymouth - £1,991,335
Core UKSPF: revenue - 80%
Core UKSPF: capital - 20%
Portion of allocation which is capital - £398,267
Portion of allocation which is revenue - £1,593,068
Total allocation
Plymouth - £3,131,412
Portion of allocation which is capital - £535,077
Portion of allocation which is revenue - £2,596,335
This is a minimum proportion of spending. The UKSPF process has allowed for flexibility within this and therefore projects can express how much of their project is capital or revenue.
However, Government has advised that they would want to see a strong justification as to why projects may be mostly capital or vice versa.
Government have indicated they will provide additional technical guidance over the summer of 2022 which will likely include specific indications of the kind of activities that fall under capital and revenue spend.
8. Is the £3.1m split evenly across the three priorities?
No, it is at the discretion of the Local Authority to decide how the total funding is allocation. A combination of factors will influence how Plymouth’s allocation will be split.
The interventions we want to prioritise will be informed by the expressions of interests, feedback and continued engagement with stakeholders and the local partnership group as well as by the collated evidence base and key issues identified by the data.
Match funding
9. Is it true that the level of match funding will not influence which projects will obtain the funding?
There are no stipulations set out in the UKSPF prospectus on the level of Match funding for this Fund. UKSPF guidance states that Match Funding is not required and will not be a part of the investment plan assessment criteria. Government have also said that there are no exclusions to Match Funding.
10. Do politicians and MPs have a say?
Yes, this has been stipulated within the UKSPF guidance. As such, we will be presenting to Scrutiny and Cabinet on both our process and the identified challenges and opportunities we are including within our Investment Plan, we will then be looking for their recommendations and approval.
The guidance also stipulates the need for the local authority to reach out to Members of Parliament for the area and for our Investment Plan to demonstrate local consensus.
11. Is there an opportunity for organisations to collaborate with projects/ideas in order to make the most significant impact with the funding available?
Yes, we are encouraging collaboration throughout this process and will be looking to facilitate this between relevant organisations/individuals wherever possible.
Breakout rooms - common themes and questions
Investment priority and lead
- Communities and Place - Anna Peachey
- Local Business Support - Julia Blaschke
- People and Skills - Mike Page
Common themes discussed
- Net Zero
- Collaboration