Background To the New Programmes John Hacking

Members of the European Union

EU growth since to 12 to 15 to 25 to 27 to ?? Impact? – re focus of money from last programme to accession countries.

Where does the money come from? The European Union budget is made up of a proportion of the VAT charged on goods and services in the Member States, a share of each countries gross national product and custom duties from non-EU countries on goods which are imported into the EU These resources are redistributed into four Structural Funds and used to bridge the gap between the developed and less developed regions The North West receives funds, mainly, through two of these funds.

Priority Context of Main European Funds We will look at the funds as follows –European Union level –National level –Regional level

Policy Context –European Level Lisbon Agenda Its aim is to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment by 2010" “More jobs, better jobs” National Level Increase growth via employment and productivity Despite good macroeconomic performance, address any regional disparities and low employment and skills Reduce gaps in growth rates between regions and stretch employment and skills targets

Policy Context –Integrating Employment and Skills –Leitch review (2007) examines the UK’s long term skill needs, with the aim to increase skill attainments at all levels by 2020 –the review argues that "the UK must urgently raise achievements at all levels of skills and recommends that it commit to becoming a world leader in skills by 2020, benchmarked against the upper quartile of the OECD. This means doubling attainment at most levels of skill. Responsibility for achieving ambitions must be shared between Government, employers and individuals". –Worklessness (Freud Report 2007 ‘Reducing Dependency, increasing opportunity: options for the future of welfare to work’)

The Freud Report aims at 80% employment rate. This would mean getting 1.3 million people off long term benefits* and into work (*on benefits for more than a year) This would include 300,000 lone parents. The scale is large

Regional Level Major challenges in the North West in relation to workless and economic activity rates - 80,000 additional workers to achieve UK norms Alignment of ESF to other mainstream investment in skills NEET is persistent and challenging Focus on priority sectors Reduced ESF funding results in a very targeted approach to the ESF programme NW Skills for Jobs Framework –Maps and links existing skills and employment provision. Additional provision commissioned to fill gaps and support smoother, continuous skills development for workless adults from pre-employment training through to continued up-skilling in the workplace. (“Client Journey”)

What are the Main European Funds?

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Broad Description at EU Level ERDF - The ERDF aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. The EU says that ERDF funds: –Direct aid to investments in companies (in particular SMEs) to create sustainable jobs; –Infrastructures linked notably to research and innovation, telecommunications, environment, energy and transport; –Financial instruments (capital risk funds, local development funds, etc.) to support regional and local development and to foster cooperation between towns and regions; More here

European Social Fund (ESF) Broad Description at EU Level ESF - Provides financial support for vocational training schemes, guidance and counselling projects, job creation measures and other steps to improve the employability and skills of both employed and unemployed people –adapting workers and enterprises: lifelong learning schemes, designing and spreading innovative working organisations; –access to employment for job seekers, the unemployed, women and migrants; –social integration of disadvantaged people and combating discrimination in the job market; –strengthening human capital by reforming education systems and setting up a network of teaching establishments. More here

Put extremely simply! ERDF is about creating jobs ESF is about getting people into them

European Funds in the North West

Funds Available (£)

ERDF ERDF is used to provide help in the form of grants, loans, or venture capital. There is a £41m capital fund in the NW ERDF programme As a general rule the EU contributes no more than 50 per cent of the eligible cost. The remainder of the funding, known as 'match funding', comes from other sources such as the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), local authorities, other Government schemes, other public bodies and/or the private sector. For the first time, there is a single ERDF Programme for the Northwest, known as the Northwest Operational Programme (NWOP). The ERDF programme is not geographically restricted although targetting is part of the rationale.

ERDF The ERDF programme in the NW is managed by the North West Development Agency. The ERDF programme enhances and supports the competitiveness of the Northwest economy and supports the EU ‘Growth and Jobs’ agenda and the Northwest Regional Economic Strategy. (RES) The programme will also support the creation of the right conditions of growth and employment and enterprise in local areas for local people.

ERDF The North West Operational Programme (NWOP) has 4 Priorities (sections) and under each of these Priorities there are a number of more detailed Action Areas. Beneath each Action Area sits more detailed Investment Framework which identifies: –the type of activity that could be supported under the ERDF Programme and –the types of organisations that are best placed to deliver these projects. You can find the Investment Frameworks here:

ERDF Priorities in the NW

PRIORITY 1PRIORITY 1 - Stimulating Enterprise and Supporting Growth in Target and Markets ACTION AREA 1-1ACTION AREA 1-1. Developing high value new enterprise ACTION AREA 1-2ACTION AREA 1-2. Developing higher added-value activity in target regional sectors ACTION AREA 1-3ACTION AREA 1-3. Increasing sustainable consumption and production

PRIORITY 2PRIORITY 2 - Exploiting Innovation and Knowledge ACTION AREA 2-1. Exploiting the science and R&D base of the regionACTION AREA 2-1 ACTION AREA 2-2. Encouraging innovation to improve productivity in all companiesACTION AREA 2-2

PRIORITY 3PRIORITY 3 - Creating the Conditions for Sustainable Growth ACTION AREA 3-1ACTION AREA 3-1. Exploiting the economic potential of major gateways in Merseyside ACTION AREA 3-2ACTION AREA 3-2. Developing high quality sites and premises of regional importance ACTION AREA 3-3ACTION AREA 3-3. Supporting the improvement of the region’s visitor offer and image

PRIORITY 4PRIORITY 4 - Growing and Accessing Employment ACTION AREA 4-1ACTION AREA 4-1. Stimulate enterprise in disadvantaged communities and under-represented groups ACTION AREA 4-2ACTION AREA 4-2. Supporting linkages to key employment areas ACTION AREA 4-3ACTION AREA 4-3. Supporting employment creation for areas of regeneration need

ESF Priorities in the NW

ESF The ESF Programme is based on two main Priorities Priority 1 Extending employment opportunities Priority 2 Developing a skilled and adaptable workforce Priority 1 - Extending Employment Opportunities: The objective of Priority 1 is to increase employment and to reduce unemployment and inactivity. It will help to tackle barriers to work faced by disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities and health conditions, lone parents and other disadvantaged parents, older workers, ethnic minorities, and people with no or low qualifications. It will also aim to reduce the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

ESF Priority 2 - Developing a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce: The objective of Priority 2 is to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce by; reducing the number of people without basic skills; increasing the number of people qualified to level 2 and, where justified, to level 3; reducing gender segregation in the workforce developing managers and workers in small enterprises. There will be a particular focus on the low skilled.

Community Grants (ESF) DWP has confirmed that up to 2.5% of the total ESF funding can be distributed as ESF grants to a ceiling of £12000 per project.. -Community Grants will be available to small third sector organisations and will support a range of activity to assist disadvantaged or excluded groups move closer to the labour market by improving their access to mainstream ESF and domestic employment and skills provision. -The focus will be on progression towards the labour market and grants will not duplicate provision that is available through ESF Co-financing. - The Community Grants scheme will be operate in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria by a single organisation in each of the sub regions.

Community Grants (Cont..) It is likely that one application per organisation will be allowed. Multi-annual projects will probably not be allowed but spend profiles longer than one year could be. The Community Grants scheme is fully Co-financed through the LSC and so match funding is not required.

Management arrangements of the new programme ERDF –Regional Development Agency (NWDA) will lead –European Team being developed as we speak –Regional Economic Strategy (RES) will provide the framework for spending ESF –GONW will be accountable body –Co-Financing Organisations (CFO’s) will be the channel for spend. –JCP/DWP and LSC will be main CFOs

Other European Funds

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) also runs from This is also being delivered in the Northwest by NWDA. The RDPE is a programme jointly funded by EU and UK government. Part of the RDPE aim is to “make agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable and to enhance opportunity in rural areas” Sub-regional rural partnerships have been tasked with putting together strategies for the implementation of RDPE in their sub-region. economy/rural-development-programme-fo.aspxhttp:// economy/rural-development-programme-fo.aspx

PROGRESS PROGRESS is the EU’s new employment and social solidarity programme. Working alongside the European Social Fund (ESF), it started in 2007 and will run until This programme replaces the four previous ones that ended in 2006 covering actions against discrimination, equality between men and women, employment measures and the fight against social exclusion. PROGRESS will fund three types of actions: Analysis Mutual learning, awareness and dissemination Support to main actors

Examples of what PROGRESS can fund include: Europe-wide studies such as research on health and safety at work Creation of networks of national experts, such as legal experts, exchanging and discussing issues raised by EU employment law and its application Funding of EU networks of NGOs fighting social exclusion and discrimination on grounds of racial origin, age and disability or promoting gender equality

Who Can Apply for Progress? PROGRESS is open to the 27 EU Member States, EU candidate and EFTA/EEA countries. It targets Member States, local and regional authorities, public employment services and national statistics offices. Specialised bodies, universities and research institutes, as well as the social partners and non-governmental organisations can also participate. The Commission will select the projects to fund either by calls for tender or by calls for proposal. It will provide a maximum of 80% co-financing with some exceptions.

Other Sources of Funds Daphne III, to combat violence against women, children and young people –The programme is open to participation by NGOs, local public authorities and institutions (mainly universities and research institutes) from the 27 EU Member States n.htm n.htm Refugees –The European Refugee Fund e_en.htm

How to find out about other funds Google (confusing) Websites can be useful (though often out of date and country/theme specific) Contact North West Network – let us help.

Thank you