November 2014
Welcome to the Partner Update for November which aims to keep you up to speed on the development of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme for 2014 to 2020.
Developments over the last month
ERDF Operational Programme: DCLG have now received formal feedback on the ERDF Operational Programme from the European Commission. We are responding quickly to these and honing down on the key issues we need to resolve to reach agreement. We will share these at the Growth Programme Board on 9 December 2014. Over the coming weeks DCLG will be meeting with the Commission to negotiate these issues with partner input. Should there be a delay in formal adoption, we will have mitigation actions ready, such as looking at the scope to extend some projects from the current 2007-2013 programmes, and starting some project calls when we have in-principle agreement from the Commission, but ahead of formal adoption. We will discuss these fully at the December Growth Programme Board.
ESF Operational Programme: DWP is currently working through the written feedback received from the European Commission with the aim of sending a revised Operational Programme to the Commission as soon as possible.
EAFRD Operational Programme: Defra have also received their formal comments and are continuing with negotiations with the European Commission. Defra are aiming to submit a revised Operational Programme in time to enable the Commission to be ready to agree it by the end of 2014.
Special Partner Update: Earlier this month, a Special Partner Update was issued to partners providing the latest developments on the programme and sight of a number of documents relating to ERDF output definitions, financial instruments, Youth Employment Initiative and EAFRD guidance. Draft forms and guidance on the application process for ERDF and ESF were also provided. A recap on the information provided is below.
Draft Application Process Documents for ERDF and ESF: Partners asked to see details of the type of information required in the application forms and we have therefore shared latest draft versions. The application forms and associated documentation relating to ERDF and ESF are still mainly in draft format and build on the earlier information we shared with partners about the calls process and the implementation plans. All applications for ERDF and ESF will be made on-line, as will all of the business process. The forms reflect the same information that will be contained in the on-line system but they will look different in their on-line format. Not all aspects of the Programme are finalised yet. Therefore some things will change as a result of negotiations on the Operational Programmes. The draft forms and guidance provided include:
Financial Instruments Guide: A new Financial Instruments in the ERDF 2014-2020: Local Enterprise Partnership and Partners Guide was included providing information and the latest position on the models available for use within the 2014-2020 ERDF Programme as well as further information on ex-ante assessments. It also sets out the next steps for development of Financial Instruments for ERDF.
ERDF Output Definitions: A draft output definitions paper for ERDF was shared with the intention for this to form a guide to complement the guidance already available on the EU regulations. The ERDF information from the European Commission is contained within annex 1 of the documents found at the following website and the ESF information can be found here . We wanted to share with partners our current best draft of the definitions, but they are not final. If you would like to provide comments and feedback on the paper can you please send them to ESIFPMC@communities.gsi.gov.uk by the end of December.
Youth Employment Initiative: An updated version of the Youth Employment Initiative paper that was issued to partners in April was provided. The document now includes additional information for LEP areas that are eligible to receive Youth Employment Initiative funding.
EAFRD Guidance: Further guidance is now available on how EAFRD funds can be used within the context of the Growth Programme. The guidance aims to cover the issues that local partners have specifically raised. These include the priorities for EAFRD Growth Programme funding and what it can be used for; how these funds can be used alongside other EU funding; and technical information on EAFRD measures and outputs. The guidance can be found here. Elements of this will be subject to formal approval of the Rural Development Programme.
If you would like a copy of the Special Partner Update sent to you again please email esif@communities.gsi.gov.uk.
England ESIF Growth Programme GOV.UK Pages: The newly developed website pages on GOV.UK are now live. At this very early stage, the pages include a homepage for the England 2014 to 2020 ESIF Growth Programme, the ESIF Growth Programme handbook where all the detail and information about the Programme will be available and a page on the Growth Programme Board. Over the coming months we will add to these initial pages with more detail and documents as they are finalised and ready to publish.
In addition to this, a new UK-wide web portal is being developed which will provide access to information on all the ESIF Programmes being developed across the UK. More details will be provided on this soon.
LEP Sounding Group meeting: The LEP Sounding Group (was the LEP Sounding Board) met on 14 November 2014 and discussions focussed on the progress and timings related to the Operational Programme, ERDF Outputs Definitions, Financial Instruments, retrospective expenditure and collaboration across LEP areas and ESF Opt-Ins.
Community-Led Local Development: Colleagues from DCLG, DWP and Defra are continuing to work together and in consultation with officials in the European Commission to agree detailed implementation proposals for the use of CLLD within ESI Funds. Linked with this, Local Enterprise Partnerships that have included CLLD proposals within their ESIF strategies are being invited to a meeting in December to discuss how CLLD can be taken forward.
The European Commission has sought to reduce the number and financial allocation earmarked for CLLD and agreed criteria in the Partnership Agreement that will tightly define its use at local level. Detailed proposals on CLLD will need to be negotiated in the respective Operational Programmes over the next few weeks.
The agreement reached in the Partnership Agreement on CLLD is also reflected in the Commission’s comments on the ESF and ERDF Operational Programmes. As such CLLD in the ESIF Growth Programme will be required to prioritise the poorest areas by reference to the 20% most deprived areas identified in the Index of Multiple Deprivation in More Developed and Transition Areas. However, the Commission has agreed to consider more flexible proposals for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in recognition of its Less Developed status. This will be negotiated in the individual Operational Programmes. We will continue to update you on CLLD as discussions progress.
On the horizon for December
- Revisions to, and negotiations on, the Operational Programmes reflecting the European Commission's comments.
- Further work with cities to develop Sustainable Urban Development.
- More progress in putting together the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Territorial Development.
- The Growth Programme Board meets to review progress on the OPs and performance management arrangements.
- Moving into advanced phases of building the brand new ESIF IT platform for ERDF and ESF.
