Agenda item

Report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture that indicated that Coventry City Council (CCC) had been successful in its application to the West Midlands Combined Authority for £751,306 to be allocated through the Community Renewal Fund (CRF) to enable the delivery of a pilot project (expected to be 7 months duration) up to 30th June 2022, which would support the continued growth and competitiveness of cultural sectors in Coventry, not least through realising the unique opportunities presented by UK City of Culture 2021, the 2022 Commonwealth Games and associated Legacies.

Through the CRF Pilot, CCC would lead a partnership to deliver an integrated business, skills and employment support package to Coventry’s cultural sectors, which included creative industries, tourism and hospitality, events, and businesses/freelancers supplying these sectors. 

The CRF was announced at the March 2021 Budget. It was principally revenue funding and had four themes: Investment in Skills; Investment for Local Businesses; Investment in Communities and Place; and Supporting People into Employment. A key purpose of CRF was to deliver pilot initiatives (including new innovative concepts) that could act as the forerunner for activities that could be potentially delivered through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF - the Government’s successor to European Regional Development Fund - ERDF and European Social Fund - ESF), which was expected to be launched in either 2022 or 2023.

Through the successful application, CCC (working with Delivery Partners) would be able to build on its extensive track record of delivering successful economic and social development programmes through ERDF and ESF, and also pilot new ways of delivering business, skills and employment support services which could then be taken forward through UKSPF – this was expected to be an important funder of many of CCC’s economic and social development activities after ERDF and ESF funding in the UK ended in 2023.

CCC would engage in a contracting process with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) who were the Lead Authority for the overall funding received from Government.  Following the signing of this Funding Agreement, it would also need to develop Grant Aid Agreements with its Delivery Partners before project activities could formally start.

The report provided information on the bid and sought approval for the Council to accept the grant allocation in order to deliver the pilot project.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Approves the acceptance and drawdown of the grant funding totalling £751,306 for the Community Renewal Fund to be utilised in delivering the City’s priorities, as set out in the report.

2)  Delegates authority to the Director of Business, Investment and Culture, following consultation with the Director of Finance, the Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, to negotiate the final terms and approve entry into:

a)  the funding agreement with West Midlands Combined Authority for Community Renewal Fund funding allocation; and

b)  back-to-back agreement with such delivery partners as is deemed necessary to deliver the City’s priorities, as set out in the report.

3)  Following completion of the actions set out in recommendation 2) above, delegates authority to the Director of Business, Investment and Culture, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to manage the administration of the Community Renewal Funf Grant Funding Agreement with the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Grant Aid Agreements with the delivery partners, to ensure compliance in accordance with their terms.