In March 2021 the government announced the launch of a new funding programme, the UK Community Renewal Fund (CRF). The government intention for the CRF is to support communities to pilot programmes and new approaches, aligning national and local provision, and help prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Herefordshire has been named as one of the 100 priority places for the CRF. The council, as the unitary authority for Herefordshire, has been assigned by government as the lead authority for the CRF within the county.

Government has requested that lead authorities undertake the following role:
a) Invite bids from a range of Project Applicants, including but not limited to universities, voluntary and community sector organisations, and umbrella business groups.
b) Undertake constructive engagement with local partners, including but not limited to lower tier local authorities and elected representatives, and other public, private and third sector organisations.
c) Collaborate with other Lead Authorities or partners across the UK where relevant – for example to promote cross-border project opportunities that address needs in common or achieve efficient delivery scale.
d) Appraise and prioritise a shortlist of projects up to a maximum of £3m per place.
e) Submit a shortlist to UK Government who will assess the proposals and select projects based on the criteria set out in the CRF Prospectus.
f) Enter into a funding agreement with government to deliver successful bids.
g) Issue agreements to successful bidders once funding has been agreed by the government, and then undertake monitoring and assurance activity.

Following a compliant procurement process, where officers issued an invitation to quote to five firms experienced in undertaking economic appraisals, Chamberlain Walker Economics were appointed to undertake an independent assessment of the received bids.

Chamberlain Walker devised an assessment of the submitted bids that utilised the government appraisal criteria to ensure prioritised Herefordshire submissions were given the best possible chance of successfully securing funding from government.

Bids were assessed against:
A. the gateway criteria set out in the CRF Prospectus – bids that fail to meet these criteria are ineligible support and will be rejected;
B. the extent to which they meet the objectives of CRF specifically the:
i. Strategic fit (both overall contribution to the strategic objectives of the CRF, and how well the proposal contributes to local needs set out in relevant local plans);
ii. Deliverability;
iii. Effectiveness, and;
iv. Efficiency

The council received back 18 bids within the deadline set out in the invitation to submit project bids. The total amount bid for was £7,952,221.

Following the independent appraisal of the bids, Chamberlain Walker submitted to the council a prioritised ranking of the received bids and have made a recommended shortlist of project submissions to return to government. The prioritised list is based on an appraisal of the information contained within the applications against the appraisal criteria set out above.

Officers have reviewed the prioritised list and considered whether there is any duplication of activity – either within the bid submissions or against existing local activity, and the spread of bids across the four government priorities. This review has not altered the prioritised list presented by Chamberlain Walker.

The eight projects included within the shortlist to be submitted to government amount to a total combined sum of £3m. This includes a portion of the eighth placed project rather than its full request for funds. Chamberlain Walker were clear in their appraisal of the project that it consisted of three elements and that one element – housing retrofit - had better strategic fit than then other two elements. It is therefore recommended that the bid is submitted but it is made clear on the bid submission summary that the council are only putting forward the housing retrofit element of the bid and for a maximum CRF contribution of £541,209 which would then result in a total of £3m being put forward to government.

Officers have received advice from MHCLG that they cannot enter into discussions with projects regarding their submission. MHCLG have confirmed that the £3m is the maximum permissible submission total and bids from Herefordshire should not exceed this figure.

MHCLG have stated clearly to officers that the process followed to put forward submissions to the Community Renewal Fund should be clear and transparent. Within the bid submission summary detailed below MHCLG ask for clarification on the appraisal process undertaken and how this was objective and transparent.

Bid Submission Summary
The council as Lead Authority must complete and return with the project submission shortlist a bid submission summary template to government. This summary sets out information on the projects that are included within the shortlist for example – CRF ask, the outputs associated with the project, and which government investment priority they meet.

In addition the council must set out how the opportunity to bid for the CRF was publicised and managed, and how the council intends to manage and administer the scheme for any successful applicants.

The bid submission summary has been drafted with input from the finance, legal, delegated grants, commercial, and project management office teams. It sets out how the council will manage and administer the scheme and what standards the project applicants will be required to comply with, specifically it requests information on the procurement processes required of applicants, how payments and monitoring will be undertaken, the content of funding agreements, and standards for evaluation, branding and publicity.

The council were awarded a sum of £20,000 from government to support the invitation to submit bids and the appraisal of returned bid submissions.
A percentage (2%) of the awards to successful applicants is available to the council to finance the ongoing management and administration of the fund. The council have requested the full 2% from government for this purpose

Appendix A – List of prioritised bid submissions to the Community Renewal Fund.

Appendix B – Bid submission summary