Agenda item

The report will follow in a supplementary pack for this meeting after it has been published for the meeting of Executive Committee (due for publication on Monday 3 March).

The UK Prosperity Fund Manager presented the report. It was explained that there had been a one-year extension of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for the financial year 2025/2026 at a reduced rate of funding. This had resulted in Redditch Borough Council being allocated £818,536.

It was reported that there had been some further changes in the UKSPF for this financial year, in that the list of fifty plus interventions had been replaced with five themes and twelve sub-themes.

The Investment Plan for the funding for 2025/26 had been aligned with the priorities outlined by Members and included support for communities and the Voluntary Sector, improvement of the Town Centre, Parks and Green Spaces and the Cost of Living. Furthermore, there had been consultation with the Redditch Town Deal Board who also supported the priority of investment in upskilling, youth unemployment and support for local businesses as key priorities.

It was noted that one of the proposed recommendations contained within the report would also allow any funds that had not been spent as per the Investment Plan to be reallocated following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Regeneration and Governance. This would ensure that all available monies were spent within the deadline.

It was highlighted that the guidance for the UKSPF recommended that a Local Partnership Group, made up of key stakeholders, advised the Council regarding the strategic fit and deliverability of the UKSPF Investment Plan. It was confirmed that the Redditch Town Deal Board, which performed the local partnership group function for Redditch, supported the 2025/26 Investment Plan.

The Leader of the Council was invited to speak and in doing so thanked the Officers for preparing the Investment Plan. The Leader stated that it was felt important to focus on economy within the Plan, supporting local businesses and the voluntary sector. Another key aspect was to support young people, which included the new youth hub in Redditch. It was highlighted that for businesses to grow within the Borough, there was a need for people to be provided with training and upskilled, and having a fund to support with these objectives was welcomed.

During the debate, the following themes were discussed:

·       Future of UKSPF – There was a one-year extension to UKSPF for 2025/26. When this extension was announced, the Government stated that a new set of growth funding was being developed, and it was expected that UKSPF would be replaced by a different fund in the future.

·       Reduction in projects funded from UKSPF – It was reported that the 49 per cent reduction in UKSPF funding for 2025/26 would necessitate the discontinuation of some programmes that had been funded from UKSPF in previous years. In assessing which programmes would continue for 2025/26, Officers assessed how the programmes were performing and prioritised those which had been the most successful. In addition, those programmes which had no access to alternative sources of funding and met the ambitions of the Council Plan would also be continued where possible. It was highlighted that within the UKSPF scheme no programmes were subsidised with Council funding.

·       Monitoring of UKSPF funds spending – It was confirmed that the Council did monitor how the programmes spent their UKSPF funding allocations, and it was confirmed that all programmes spent money on Redditch activities.

On being put to the vote, the recommendations contained in the report were endorsed.

RECOMMENDED that

1)    The Investment Plan be approved; and

2)    Authority to vary the Investment Plan, in order to maximise the use of the grant be delegated to the Assistant Director Regeneration & Property following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Regeneration and Governance.