UKSPF/REPF YEAR 1-3 REVIEW

UKSPF/REPF YEAR 1-3 REVIEW

Launched by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities in April 2022, the UKSPF grant scheme aimed to support a wide range of interventions to build pride in place and improve life chances by March 2025. A year later, in 2023, DEFRA launched the REPF grant scheme with the aim to help improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.

The role of Stratford District Council was to act as a delivery body responsible for managing, allocating, monitoring and reporting on funds based on the priorities set out by local investment plans.

Several projects were allocated through direct award typically where delivery partners or priorities were pre-identified. These included: WCC Business Support Programme, WCC Skills Programme, SDC CCTV Upgrades & Expansion and the Stratford College Electric Vehicle Centre.

However, most of the funding was allocated through an open call each year, where organisations submitted bids. These bids were assessed against a series of pass/fail questions followed by a set of scored questions relating to outputs and outcomes, cost, risk analysis, added value and match-funding.

All proposed grant applications were then considered by the Local Prosperity Advisory Group before final decisions were made and grant monies were paid in full to each project.

Scheme Overview & Eligibility Criteria

Three UKSPF themes were covered by the fund across the three years: ·

Community and Place: focused on improving local pride, infrastructure, and access to community services - supporting projects like town centre regeneration, green spaces, and cultural initiatives. ·

Supporting Local Business: aimed to boost productivity and growth by funding business support services, innovation, and access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). ·

People & Skills: about tackling labour market barriers through Training vouchers and workshops, particularly for the disadvantaged and unemployed.