To accept and approve expenditure of the £125,000 of capacity funding offered by government to support the development of bids into the Levelling Up Fund round 2 application process. Herefordshire is due to receive the funding as a priority 1 area.

That:

a)    The council accepts, and agrees the spend of, the grant of £125k capacity funding to support the development of the Levelling Up Fund bid submissions; and

b)    The council procure technical consultants to undertake the preparatory work, submission drafting, and evidence base review required to complete the Levelling Up Fund submission, within a budget of £125k.

1.Alternative Option 1 – Not to accept or spend the Levelling Up fund capacity funding. 

2.Advantage – There are considered to be no advantages to this approach.

3.Disadvantage – The development of Levelling Up Fund bid submissions requires a significant degree of technical input to ensure the best possible bids are put forward.  In addition there is a very tight development window as submissions need to be made by the 6 July 2022.  Government has allocated to priority 1 areas, including Herefordshire, capacity funding of £125k to assist with the commissioning of technical work and bid submission capacity.  Not taking advantage of this capacity funding will put Herefordshire bids at a disadvantage within the Levelling Up Fund competitive bid submission process.

4.This option is not recommended because of the risk to the reputation of the council and the impact on the strength of the Levelling Up Fund submissions with the increased potential to lose grant income that will deliver projects within the county that help to deliver the council’s County Plan.