2020 Assurance Framework

Release Status: Draft

Author: New Anglia LEP and Suffolk County Council

Date: 31 March 2015; revised 10 May 2016; revised 14 February 2017; revised 27 February 2018,

revised 27 March 2019, revised 31 May 2019, revised 25 March 2020.

Location This document is stored in the following location:

Filename

New Anglia LEP Assurance Framework

Location

https://newanglia.co.uk/governance-decision-making-and-faqs/

Revision History - This document has been through the following revisions:

Version

Revision

Filename/Location

Brief Summary of Changes

No.

Date

stored:

As above

N/A

10/05/2016

As above.

Revisions made to reflect progress on the

LEP’s governance framework and the

processes that underpin this.

09/02/2017

As above.

Revisions made in light of the updated

National Assurance Framework (published

November 2016) and to reflect progress on

the LEP’s governance framework and the

processes that underpin this.

27/02/2018

As above

Revisions made to reflect progress on the

LEP’s governance framework and the

processes that underpin this.

27/03/2019

As above

Revisions made in the light of the updated

National Assurance Framework and to

incorporate new policies and practice

adopted by the LEP.

31/05/2019

As above

Minor additions of information on LEP

policies

25/03/2020

As above

Revisions to incorporate new programmes,

policies and practices adopted by the LEP

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Contents

2020 Assurance Framework

Introduction

Background and Context

LEP Board Structure

LEP Accountable Body

LEP Decision-Making

Transport Board and Skills Advisory Panel

New Anglia LEP Working Groups

Partnership Working

Stakeholder engagement

Local Authority Engagement

Cross-LEP Working

Transparency of Decision-Making

Project and Programme Delivery

Growth Deal and the Capital Growth Programme

Growing Business Fund

Small Grant Scheme

Growing Places Fund

Growing Business Fund - Large Company Grant

Innovative Projects Funds

Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund

Enterprise Adviser Network

Voluntary and Community Sector Challenge Fund

New Anglia Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

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Introduction

This Assurance Framework outlines the processes and procedures for decision-making at New

Anglia LEP. The document is an agreement between New Anglia LEP and Government,

underlining the LEP’s commitment to transparency.

It outlines the LEP structure, including our Boards, Sub Boards and Committees. It also explains

the relationships between the LEP and local authorities. It also explains arrangements for the

delivery and oversight of projects, including relationships with delivery partners.

This document should be read in conjunction with a number of associated documents which

provide more detail on the arrangements. For example, the LEP’s Articles of Association and the

legal agreement (Accountable Body Agreement) between the LEP and its Accountable Body,

Suffolk County Council. The Assurance Framework should also be read in conjunction with the

Growth Deal grant offer letter in which the Department for Communities and Local Government

(DCLG) will set out the degree of flexibility on offer to each LEP and any limited conditions around

use of that funding.

Monitoring and evaluation plan which sets out the local arrangements for output and outcome

monitoring and evaluation of projects.

The LEP and Accountable body will undergo an annual review of the Assurance

Framework and Accountable Body agreement.

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Background and Context

New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership was officially granted permission by ministers to be

established in November 2010.

This followed the submission of a bid to ministers supported by leaders from local authorities and

dozens of individual businesses, as well as business representative groups, MPs and academia.

The newly-appointed LEP board was keen to develop a governance model that was fit for purpose

and provided for efficient decision-making, transparent to all parties, and operated on the basis

of consensus.

The board agreed to establish the LEP as a company limited by guarantee, with its governance

model built into the LEP’s legally binding Articles of Association.

During 2017, board members agreed the LEP’s governance and operations needed reviewing to

keep pace with the expansion of the organisation and its increase in roles and responsibilities. It

commissioned PwC to conduct a review, which was published that summer.

All recommendations of the review were endorsed by the LEP board and in September 2017 an

implementation plan was agreed by the LEP board and put into immediate effect.

In September 2017, Mary Ney published an independent review on behalf of the Government

into governance and transparency of all LEPs and recommendations followed soon after.

New Anglia LEP has accepted and implemented all the recommendations of this review, as well

as the recommendations of the PwC review.

During

2018, the Government published its own review of LEPs. New Anglia LEP has

implemented the recommendations of this review in full. This Local Assurance Framework brings

New Anglia LEP’s governance in line with the recommendations of the LEP Review.

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LEP Board Structure

The LEP board membership, more details of which are set out in the company’s Articles of

Association, is as follows:

Eighteen board members comprising: 10 private sector board members, six local authority board

members and two education sector board members. For the purposes of quorum and voting, the

education sector board members are classified as private sector. Since its inception, New Anglia

LEP has ensured SME representation at board level with a policy of reserving at least one place

on the board for business representatives from the SME community, with a specific remit to

represent that community. This role of SME champion includes liaising with small businesses

groups such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Institute of Directors (IoD) and

small businesses more widely.

The chair must be one of the private sector board members and the appointment of the chair

must be agreed by the full board, according to our formal election process. The chair serves a

maximum term of three years. The advice states that it is best practice for the LEP deputy chair

to come from the private sector. Our deputy chair is a private sector Board member and serves

for a maximum of three years. Their appointment must be agreed by the full board, according to

our formal election process. Quorum for voting purposes is 50% of members from each of the

public and private sector membership.

Each private sector board member is initially recruited for one year. This can be extended by a

further two years and at the end of this period can be extended by a further three years, making

a maximum length of service of six years.

Recruitment of private sector board members is conducted by an open and transparent process,

with all vacancies extensively advertised.

The role of the chair will include:

• Chair and lead the board to ensure the development and implementation of the Norfolk

and Suffolk Economic Strategy in order to enable economic growth in the region.

• Ensure that New Anglia LEP and the board comply with the published Local Assurance

Framework.

• Set priorities, develop plans, monitor performance, manage risks and ensure sufficient

resources are available to deliver the LEP’s plans.

• Support the development of the effective and inclusive private public sector partnership

to achieve practical outcomes with a consensual approach.

• Promote and inspire confidence in the wider business community and our partners by

demonstrating an understanding of the economy, the area and our stakeholders to

support and attract business growth.

• Formally represent New Anglia LEP in meetings with business and public sector partners

including with Government Ministers, and in the media.

• Work collaboratively with chairs of other LEPs and work closely with the chief executive

and the senior management team to ensure a coherent approach.

The chair’s full job description can be found on our website here.

The rules governing conduct for board members are set out in our briefing document to all

board members. The Code of Conduct to which staff and board members adhere is published

on our website. The New Anglia LEP has adopted the Nolan principles as the core of the code

of conduct. Board members are therefore expected to adhere to these principles, in addition to

their responsibilities as company directors. The seven principles were established by the

Committee on Standards in Public Life, which provides independent advice to the Prime

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Minister on standards of conduct of holders of all public office. New Anglia LEP has a role

description for private sector board members which is used in board member recruitment and

induction. All board members sign a Non-Executive Director Agreement setting out their formal

governance responsibilities.

All board members receive a handbook as part of their formal induction process. This includes all

requirements as set out in the LEP Network Induction Brief June 2019. Board roles are non-

remunerated. Mileage and other direct travel expenses may be claimed at cost, in line with the

staff travel expenses policy.

The LEP is committed to ensuring it reflects the diverse economy and people of Norfolk and

Suffolk. When LEP Board opportunities arise, they are advertised widely in the local press,

through our sector groups, the LEP website, social media and other avenues. We recruit board

and sub-board candidates from a broad range of backgrounds that reflect our sector strengths

and ensure we have members from small business and entrepreneurial backgrounds, as well as

bigger business and organisations from the voluntary and community sector. We provide clear

and accurate information to enable potential applicants to assess their own suitability for the post.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,

faith or disability. LEP board members are recruited through a formal application process, with a

sub-group of the board forming an appointments panel and interviewing the shortlisted

candidates. The interview panel then makes a recommendation to the LEP Board for approval.

The LEP Board has appointed a diversity champion and adopted a Diversity Policy in 2018. The

LEP also has a Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement which sets out the steps New

Anglia LEP has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place within its

supply chains or in any part of its business. In the New Anglia area, we are committed to removing

barriers that might restrict people and we are proactively working towards positive change.

While all the Norfolk and Suffolk local authorities are members of the LEP company, the Articles

of Association grant local authorities six board positions. Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils and

Norwich City Council and Ipswich Borough Council have permanent seats on the board, with the

other district and borough authorities each nominating a representative, one for each county.

Recognising the importance of all local authorities, the LEP has developed a number of

mechanisms to ensure all local authorities are engaged with the strategy and decision-making of

the LEP. These are outlined later in this document.

The area’s colleges and universities are also members of the LEP company. Two seats are taken

by representatives from this sector. Mechanisms to ensure engagement of all colleges and

universities are also outlined later.

LEP board succession planning

The LEP recognises the importance of succession planning for the role of chair and board

members. Our approach ensures the board is able to move swiftly to fill vacancies at the end of

agreed terms of office or in the event of resignations. The LEP has an agreed policy for the

recruitment of the chair and deputy chair, which is enacted either in advance of the end of the

term of office or in the event of a resignation.

Succession planning for board members is undertaken as follows:

• Private sector. The formal recruitment process for private sector board members

begins in advance of the end of term of office of private sector board members, or at the

point of resignation. The board position or positions are advertised extensively. As part

of the recruitment process, the board will look to broaden the range of expertise on the

board, as well as its diversity. This will include ensuring suitable representation from

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SMEs, a spread of sectoral expertise and increased female representation. The LEP

continues to take proactive steps to ensure a gender balanced board. Women make up

one third of our current board and we have an ambition of equal representation by 2023.

• Education sector. The college and universities in Norfolk and Suffolk are all members

of the LEP and are responsible for selecting their board representatives, one for

colleges and one for universities. Each representative serves a three-year term. At the

end of term or in the event of a resignation, a new representative is selected by these

groups.

• Local authorities. Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council as the upper tier

authorities and Norwich City Council and Ipswich Borough Council as the larger urban

centres, have places on the LEP board taken by their leaders. In the event of a change

of leadership, the LEP board seat transfers to the new leader.

The remaining district and borough authorities in Norfolk and Suffolk jointly nominate

representatives for two board seats - one for Norfolk and one for Suffolk. In the event of

a resignation, the local authority leaders in each county are responsible for nominating a

new board member.

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LEP Accountable Body

The Accountable Body for New Anglia LEP is Suffolk County Council. There is an Accountable

Body Agreement which is reviewed annually.

The Accountable Body agreement sets out the relative roles of the two organisations in relation

to financial and programme management and includes a procedure for dispute resolution.

The LEP works closely with the Section 151 officer and her designated deputy in Suffolk County

Council. The section 151 officer or her designated deputy attend the LEP Management

Committee at which forthcoming board business is discussed. They also have an open

invitation to attend board meetings.

The Section 151 Officer and/or other members of the Accountable Body team are core

members of the LEP Audit and Risk Committee, which meets twice a year or more often if

needed. The Audit and Risk Committee manages LEP external audit arrangements and

identifies, assesses and manages risk from a strategic and operational perspective, assisted by

a detailed LEP Risk Register, which is updated at least monthly. The Section 151 Officer

attends at least one LEP board meeting per year and is available to attend additional meetings

as required.

The Section 151 Officer provides a letter by 28 February each year as part of the LEP Annual

Performance Review confirming the LEP is compliant with its Assurance Framework.

The LEP finance team and Accountable Body staff have shared access to financial information

on Programmes and review financial data on an ongoing basis, with frequent communication

between the teams.

Responsibility for final sign-off on financial decisions ultimately rests with the LEP chair, with a

scheme of delegation in place (and accessible on the LEP website) for sign-off on individual

funding decisions.

Grant agreements for Growth Deal funding are signed off by the Section 151 Officer, who

reviews the full range of documentation for each grant, including the relevant board paperwork

and any additional briefing from the LEP. Another member of the Accountable Body team

reviews and signs off grant agreements for Growing Places Fund and Growing Business Fund

on behalf of the Accountable Body.

Financial claims for the Growing Places Fund, Growth Deal and BEIS Growth Hub funding are

checked for compliance by the LEP team and passed for payment to the Accountable Body

team, who are able to raise any concerns they have in processing the claims for payment.

Financial claims for the Growing Business Fund are handled directly by the Accountable Body

team.

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LEP Decision Making

The board is the ultimate decision-making body for the LEP. The board operates through a

principle of consensus - that all board members should consent to a decision.

However, there may be occasions where it is not possible to reach a unanimous decision. On

these instances the company’s Articles of Association provides that a decision may be made by

a simple majority.

The LEP board is required to approve the LEP’s significant and strategic decisions, including

annual budget and business plan and the LEP’s Economic Strategy as well as retaining overall

responsibility for risk and performance.

It is also responsible for agreeing bids for funding by the LEP, such as bids to the Local Growth

Fund and subsequent Growth Deal, requests for funding from the LEP and investment decisions

on the Growing Places Fund, other than requests for funding or investment below £500,000 which

can be determined by the Investment Appraisal Committee under delegation from the LEP board.

All decision-making is made on the basis of access to the application, a detailed appraisal and a

clearly argued recommendation with conditions where appropriate.

Delegation of decision making to the LEP chair on any of these areas is permitted through the

prior approval of board members. The LEP board also has a mechanism for taking decisions via

written procedures.

The LEP board is also the decision-making body for areas covered by its sub-boards and working

groups.

Any delegation of decision making by these boards must be agreed by the LEP board. The LEP

has an agreed scheme of delegation which can be viewed on our website (link) and is reviewed

annually. Any decision made in contravention of published powers and processes will be invalid.

LEP Staff

The LEP board is supported by the LEP executive, which carries out the actions agreed by the

LEP board, provides information and advice to support decision-making and conducts operational

activity on behalf of the LEP board. All LEP staff are employed directly by the LEP and directly

accountable to the board through the CEO and senior management team. The LEP CEO’s

performance and remuneration is the responsibility of the LEP’s remuneration Committee. All

new LEP staff are inducted following a standard process, including familiarisation with LEP

policies and processes. LEP staff opportunities are advertised on our website and promoted

widely and the LEP follows standard HR practice to ensure a fair recruitment process.

All staff members sign up to the LEP Code of Conduct and declare any conflicts of interest where

this is relevant to their job roles.

Scrutiny

Independent scrutiny of the LEP is provided by the scrutiny committees of Suffolk and Norfolk

County Councils. Subject to the workload of each committee, the LEP will appear once a year

before each of the scrutiny committees, providing an opportunity for independent scrutiny of the

LEP.

Scrutiny meetings will be publicised in advance on the LEP website, along with the agendas and

minutes of the meetings. In addition to the two annual scrutiny committee meetings, the LEP also

makes itself available to other local authority scrutiny sessions on request.

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Evaluation

The LEP has developed its own evaluation framework, based on central government guidance.

This has been enhanced with a three-year programme of evaluation covering its programmes

and projects, including impact, process and economic (cost benefit) evaluations. This

framework has been shared with other LEPs to help inform their thinking on evaluation.

The LEP board agreed in January 2020 to develop a call-on, call-off list of external providers

who will provide support the delivery of the evaluation framework, bringing independent

evaluation, external expertise and fulfilling contractual requirements of some of the LEP’s

funding.

The programme of evaluation will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis. This includes:

an overview of what will be evaluated by when; whether the evaluation will be conducted

internally or externally commissioned; whether the evaluation is a contractual requirement; the

chosen evaluation approach; who is leading the evaluation; who the evaluation will report back

to; and records the data being collected and monitored.

Evaluations play an important role in setting and delivering the ambitions and objectives in the

Economic Strategy and Local Industrial Strategy, demonstrating accountability and providing

evidence for independent scrutiny processes. Good evaluations also contribute valuable

knowledge towards our evidence base, feeding into future strategy development and occupying

a crucial role in determining our future projects, interventions and investments.

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LEP sub-boards and committees

New Anglia LEP operates a number of sub-committees and panels to support the work of the

board.

Full Terms of Reference, details of membership, plus agendas, papers and minutes for each

sub board and committee are published on the LEP website. Terms of Reference include

common principles of accountability, transparency and fair decision-making, such as ensuring a

quorum for decisions and handling conflicts of interest.

The Investment Appraisal Committee ensures allocation of funding is delivered appropriately

through the LEP’s Growing Places Fund, Growing Business Fund, Capital Growth Programme,

Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund, and other funds as appropriate. It acts on behalf of the LEP

board to ensure the funding allocations support the development of schemes that deliver the

Economic Strategy and are made in accordance with the Assurance Framework. The

Investment Appraisal Committee has delegated authority from the LEP board to approve

funding for projects up to £500,000.

The Growing Business Fund Panel makes decisions on behalf of the Investment Appraisal

Committee on allocations of funding through the LEP’s Growing Business Fund.

The Remuneration Committee provides a formal and transparent procedure on behalf of the

LEP board for developing and implementing policy on LEP senior executive remuneration.

The Audit and Risk Committee ensures the development and implementation of the LEP’s

policies on strategic risk management, financial reporting, audit process, system of internal

controls and ensures compliance with the Assurance Framework. This Committee has an

independent Chair.

The Management Committee is the executive management committee of the LEP and

provides oversight of LEP operations, providing assurance that the LEP carries out its business

in a transparent and accountable way.

The committee provides regular updates on the progress of programmes through monthly

reports to the LEP board, provides early warning of issues around risk and performance.

The committee includes the LEP’s management team, the Growth Deal manager, the Business

Performance and Compliance Manager, senior representatives from Norfolk and Suffolk County

Councils and a LEP board member. In addition, the committee includes another representative

from Suffolk County Council representing its role as Accountable Body.

As an internal committee, its agenda, papers and minutes are not published on the LEP

website.

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Transport Board and Skills Advisory Panel

New Anglia Transport Board

The New Anglia Transport Board operates as a formal sub-board of the LEP. It is a voluntary

partnership to provide guidance and leadership to the LEP board on transport issues.

Its membership is defined by its terms of reference, which are updated annually.

The Transport Board has responsibility for overseeing the delivery of the transport infrastructure

element of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk and the Integrated Transport Strategy

The LEP retains its decision-making function regarding the management of allocated Growth

Deal funds. This is because it is a government requirement that the LEP is accountable for

the overall Growth Deal spend, particularly as this spend must be accounted for on an annual

basis (annualised spend). The Local Transport Body which once had the role of advising the

LEP board on such matters was abolished as part of the Governance Review in November

2018.

Any project or scheme that significantly changes the transport network infrastructure,

whatever its objectives, will be subject to the minimum requirements on value for money

assessment, assurance and evaluation as set out at Annex B to the National Local Growth

Assurance Framework. This will involve proportionate modelling and appraisal in accordance

with Department for Transport guidance and appraisal toolkit, referred to as WebTAG. The

level of detail will be both contingent on and appropriate for the nature and size of the scheme

concerned.

New Anglia Transport Board will provide strategic direction on transport issues on behalf of

the LEP by:

• Acting as a forum for information and expertise sharing, discussion and debate.

• Acting as a powerful advocate for Norfolk and Suffolk on behalf of the New Anglia

LEP.

• Maintaining, executing and monitoring the Integrated Transport Strategy Delivery Plan,

reporting to the Economic Strategy Co-ordinating Delivery Board.

• Directing the formation and work programmes of task and finish groups to tackle specific

topics.

• Producing and executing a stakeholder management plan.

• Producing a high-level work programme summarising individual scheme progress.

• Offering recommendations for prioritisation of projects for delivery and subsequent

monitoring of outcomes.

New Anglia Skills Advisory Panel

The Skills Advisory Panel exists to support the growth of an inclusive economy with a highly

skilled workforce where skills and employment provision meets business need and the aspirations

of individuals. It oversees the development of a skills and employment system to help enable

business growth and enhance the employment and progression prospects for individuals working

and living in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Skills Advisory Panels aim to bring together local employers and skills providers to pool

knowledge on skills and labour market needs, and to work together to understand and address

key local challenges. This includes both immediate needs and challenges and looking at what is

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required to help local areas adapt to future labour market changes and to grasp future

opportunities. This will help colleges, universities and other providers deliver the skills required

by employers, now and in the future.

The panel provides the collective leadership and a strategic steer for skills and employment

activity across Norfolk and Suffolk to deliver on this objective.

The Skills Advisory Panel:

• provides a strategic steer for the LEP board on the employment and skills agenda

• develops and supports key skills and employment interventions with clear focus areas to

ensure post-16 educational outcomes meet business needs in the New Anglia LEP

region

• lobbies to achieve required freedoms, flexibilities and resources and raise the profile of

the New Anglia LEP region

• collaborates proactively to identify barriers and opportunities in delivering these key

interventions

• galvanises the wider employer base to be involved in skills development

• provides analytical evidence, evaluation and subsequent coordination across the skills

system in line with key strategies such as the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk

& Local Industrial Strategy

The Skills Advisory Panel chair is a member of the LEP Board. A formal report is presented to

the LEP Board every six months, subject to the ongoing focus of the LEP Board.

Innovation Board

The New Anglia Innovation Board is a sub-group that reports into the main LEP board and is

chaired by a LEP board member.

The Innovation Board has a remit to oversee strategic activity relating to innovation across

Suffolk and Norfolk but with a particular focus on the five ‘innovation hubs’ - Norwich Research

Park, Hethel Engineering Centre, Orbis Energy, CEFAS and Adastral Park.

Each of the innovation hubs are represented on the Innovation Board, along with

representatives of the local universities, a local authority representative as well as an observer

from Innovate UK. The secretariat function is provided by the Innovation Team at New Anglia

LEP.

Inward Investment Board

Following the launch of the Norfolk & Suffolk Unlimited brand, a new inward investment service

was established in January 2020. It consists of secondments from the two county councils and

will be supported by a number of LEP staff, as well as from other partners across the two

counties. A key role for the Invest Norfolk and Suffolk team is to develop and agree a new

strategy, which will be presented to the LEP board in the summer of 2020. This will include

recommendations to establish new governance arrangements that will oversee the strategy,

and report directly to the LEP Board. This document will be updated once those arrangements

are agreed.

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New Anglia LEP Working Groups

As well as the formal sub-boards and committees, there are a number of officer-led working

groups reporting to the LEP board or relevant LEP sub board.

Economic Strategy Delivery Coordinating Board

The Economic Strategy Delivery Coordinating Board

(ESDCB) was set up following the

publication of the Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy. It continues the collaboration between

businesses, local authorities, education providers, voluntary and community sector and the LEP,

ensuring all partners play a part in delivering the ambitions and targets in the Norfolk and Suffolk

Economic Strategy.

It is responsible for developing and driving implementation of the strategic delivery plan, reporting

regularly on progress to the LEP board and to local authority leaders and sector leads through

the annual performance process.

It is responsible for driving and coordinating the delivery of the strategic plan, discussing

delivery plan gaps, developing the investment plan and identifying innovative solutions to

deliver the objectives. Members of the board also act as champions for the strategy and liaise

with local plans and places to facilitate join-up.

The board is also responsible for steering the development of the Local Industrial Strategy.

Enterprise Zone Partnership Groups

The LEP has two Enterprise Zones (EZs). Firstly, the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft EZ which

has been in operation since 2012. Following a Government award in November 2015, the Great

Yarmouth and Lowestoft EZ was extended geographically from 2017. Announced by Government

at the same time, the second EZ designation for New Anglia was awarded, called Space to

Innovate, consisting of ten sites operational from 1st April 2016.

The main LEP board has overall responsibility for the two New Anglia Enterprise Zones (EZ),

day-to-day management and the development of the EZ strategy is being developed in

conjunction with these partnership groups.

Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (New Anglia) Enterprise Zone Working Group

The group is chaired by the LEP’s Head of Enterprise Zone and Innovation and includes

representatives from the four local authorities responsible for the development of the six sites

within the zone. The group is responsible for the delivery of the EZ delivery plan and regularly

reports back to the LEP board. The work of the EZ is tied into broader support for the energy

sectors as a whole, with a combined marketing strategy which is part of the EZ delivery plan.

Space to Innovate Enterprise Zone Development Group

There is a similar arrangement put in place for the 10 new sites across Norfolk & Suffolk with the

Development Group meeting quarterly.

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The group is chaired by the LEP’s Head of Enterprise Zone and Innovation and includes

representatives from the district/borough councils and both county councils responsible for the

development of the 10 sites.

Each district/borough council has its own project or steering group for its site/sites which is

responsible for the delivery of the EZ delivery plan. A member of the LEP EZ team is represented

on all of these groups. These feed into the larger Development Group and subsequently the LEP

board.

The membership of the group also includes representatives from key Government departments

responsible for supporting enterprise zones.

New Anglia Small Grant Scheme Panel

The LEP has been successful in its bid to the government to deliver the New Anglia Business

Growth Programme, which includes the Small Grant Scheme (SGS) and was awarded £12.48m

from the European Regional Development Fund. The Small Grant Scheme became operational

in August 2016 and will be running until August 2021.

SGS grant are between £1,000 and £25,000 (Growing Business Fund grants start at £25,000)

with a the SGS Panel considering grant applications for over £10,000 which are approved by the

Growth Programme Coordinator. Applications go through a Due Diligence process, undertaken

by the LEP’s Due Diligence Officer with the panel members deciding whether to award grant

funding for a proposed project electronically. The panel also meets quarterly to discuss the grant

programme, its processes and eligibility criteria to make sure the programme achieves its set

targets.

The SGS Panel consists of three panel members, one representative from each of the following

organisations: the LEP, Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils. It is a virtual group.

The Growth Programme Coordinator provides monthly reports on the programme to the LEP

Board, Growth Programme partners and other stakeholders.

New Anglia Growth Programme Partnership Board

The LEP was awarded £3.9m by Government as part of the Wave Two Growth Hub Programme

and linked to the Norwich and Ipswich City Deals business support package. The programme ran

for one year and consisted of the New Anglia Growth Hub, a business Start-up programme, Small

Grant Scheme and Innovation Vouchers Scheme.

From April 2015 the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (now called the Department of

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) awarded a further £350,000 of funding, as part of the

Growth Deal, which enabled the Growth Hub element of the programme to continue to operate

until the end of December 2015.

Since then, the LEP has secured £12.48 million of ERDF funding to sustain the Growth

Programme until August 2021, including the Growth Hub, Start-up Programme and the Small

Grant Scheme.

The New Anglia Growth Programme Partnership Board provides strategic and operational

oversight of this programme. It is accountable to the main LEP board and provides a monthly

operational report to the LEP board in which it can recommend proposals for change or action.

The Partnership Board has a key role in identifying gaps in business support provision and

supports the development of new programmes where gaps in provision exist. It also provides a

forum to coordinate all aspects of business support in Norfolk and Suffolk to reduce duplication

and to spread best practice, as well as providing a leadership role in the application of resources.

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The board is chaired by a representative from the New Anglia LEP and includes representatives

of local and national business support providers, business interest groups, local authorities,

education and the voluntary sector. The group has its own terms of reference.

Careers Inspiration Coordinating Group

The Careers Inspiration Coordinating Group strategically supports and guides the focus of

careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) to young people in mainstream

schools and colleges plus settings such as Pupil Referral Units and SEND schools.

Careers Inspiration is important at all stages of employment, so this group will review this. Initially

the focus of the group is on pupils in Year 7-3 and primarily be centred around the Careers and

Enterprise Company programmes being delivered in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Coordinating Group will:

• provide coordination across the CEIAG landscape with a strategic focus on careers

inspiration in Norfolk and Suffolk

• collaborate proactively to identify opportunities and barriers in delivering the key CEIAG

interventions particularly focussed around the Gatsby benchmarks

• actively report to the New Anglia LEP Skills Advisory Panel on its progress and seek

support with challenges, as well as responding to actions set out by the board.

• interpret, share and/or respond to Labour Market Information and other appropriate

sources of evidence which could impact the choices that young people make.

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Partnership Working

Working with partners is critical to the success of the Local Enterprise Partnership and we have

a range of mechanisms to ensure businesses remain at the heart of our strategy. The purpose

and effectiveness of our stakeholder engagement is under constant review by LEP

management and board to ensure effective delivery. In 2019, the structure and role of a number

of the sector groups was reviewed to support them to deliver more effectively.

LEP Sector Groups

The LEP has established a series of business-led advisory groups covering the key sectors with

potential for growth in the LEP’s local area. These are supported by the LEP’s Innovation and

Sector Manager and Innovation and Sector Development Coordinator.

These groups have historically operated at arm’s length from the LEP board. They are

responsible for developing insight into the priorities and needs of their sector, and championing

action from the LEP and others to support these priorities.

The priorities are essential building blocks for the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk,

and the sector groups are a vital mechanism for understanding the needs of business and for

the LEP to test its future plans. Where they have the appropriate structures in place, sector

groups have a role to play in supporting the delivery of activities such as taking forward the

Sector Skills Plans.

Following a review of sector group governance, a number of parameters have been put in place

which include that sector groups cannot be a private organisation or membership body, and that

groups must regularly report to the LEP board on achievements.

As part of the work to strengthen our sector group structures, the LEP has recently set up three

Industry Councils to represent the three strategic opportunity areas of the Local Industrial

Strategy; Energy, ICT-Digital and Agri-Food. Considered formal sub-boards of the LEP, Industry

Councils are partnerships between the private, public and education sectors and tasked with

coordinating delivery of sector development interventions of the Economic Strategy and Local

Industrial Strategy. Each council is supported by the relevant industry body and has an

enhanced terms of reference to ensure alignment and accountability to the LEP board.

Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor

The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor is a partnership initiative between Breckland District

Council, Broadland District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire

District Council, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, Norfolk County Council, Norwich City

Council, South Norfolk Council, West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council and the

private sector. The initiative is hosted by New Anglia LEP.

The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor initiative is set up to support technology led economic

growth in the geography between Norwich and Cambridge - identified as a Priority Place for

growth in the New Anglia LEP Economic Strategy. The initiative is funded through the pooled

business rates and governed by a private-public delivery board on which the LEP is

represented.

Ipswich Vision

The Ipswich Vision is a partnership of seven stakeholders to work collaboratively and oversee

key projects and place-based initiatives in central Ipswich to enhance economic growth. It is

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Stakeholder engagement

LEP annual general meeting

The LEP’s articles of association provide for an annual general meeting which provides a good

opportunity to update all stakeholders on its progress and for the LEP board and executive to

be held to account. The 2019 AGM was held at Kesgrave Hall in Ipswich and featured the

launch of the region’s new place brand Norfolk & Suffolk Unlimited, as well as a review of the

year’s LEP activity and details of its finances.

Communications

The LEP uses a range of communication channels to engage with stakeholders and to promote

its work.

These include: press releases, reactive and proactive media statements, media interviews, the

LEP website, monthly e-newsletters, as well as posts on channels Twitter and LinkedIn. All

marketing and promotion is carried out in accordance with Government branding guidelines.

Furthermore, all legal agreements clearly stipulate this branding requirement as part of any

funding awards made, and we actively monitor compliance with grant recipients.

The LEP has invested more resources in its website so it can more effectively promote its

activities, and improve the visibility and transparency of its work, with details of all Local Growth

Deal projects and other funded projects clearly displayed.

A place brand steering group, bringing together public and private sector partners, was in place

during the new brand development and in the early stages following the launch. A working

group, comprising four private sector LEP board members and representatives from the LEP

executive, continues to meet to ensure focused activity and a clear business location focus. The

group is chaired by the Head of Communications.

Events

The LEP continues to participate in external events, with LEP board members and executive

members taking part in a range of speaking engagements and events during the year in order

to maximise all opportunities to raise the profile of our work.

The LEP chair has also hosted a number of informal lunches across Norfolk and Suffolk to bring

together key businesses and other stakeholders in local areas. The purpose of these is to foster

partnership working in local areas - for example, bringing businesses into close contact with

colleges - as well as updating stakeholders on the work of the LEP. We also encourage female

participation, for example, by hosting LEP women in business events in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The LEP has also played a key role in events to discuss the impact of Brexit on business, as

well as inward investment initiatives including a major trade fair in The Netherlands and in the

Norfolk and Suffolk Careers Festivals. The team also supports the Ipswich Vision partnership

and the Growth Programme with strategic communications advice and marketing and

communications activities.

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Local Authority Engagement

New Anglia LEP’s board and executive engage extensively with all local authorities covering

Norfolk and Suffolk.

This is often done on a one-to-one basis, by participating in meetings with individual local

authorities. However, there are a number of formal groups in which the LEP participates.

Suffolk Public Sector Leaders Board and Norfolk Leaders Group

The LEP chairman and chief executive are participants in both groups, enabling engagement with

all local authority leaders in the work of the LEP on a regular basis and enabling the LEP to

engage in the wider work of the public sector.

Both groups give the LEP regular opportunities to provide updates on the activities of the LEP

and its key priorities, and the opportunity to receive feedback from leaders as well as to answer

questions from leaders.

Norfolk Chief Executives Group and Suffolk Growth Programme Board

The Norfolk Chief Executives Group and Suffolk Growth Programme Board both have an

important role to support the LEP, in particular the delivery of the Norfolk and Suffolk Economic

Strategy.

These working groups are chaired by local authority chief executives and each group includes

the local authorities from each county. The groups are attended by the LEP CEO or COO.

One of their roles is to provide advice to the LEP, to support the delivery of the Economic Strategy

and ensure it aligns with local plans and vice versa.

Suffolk Growth Portfolio Holders Group

The LEP also participates in this group which brings together the economic development or

growth portfolio holders in Suffolk to oversee plans for growth across the county, to pool and

share expertise.

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Cross-LEP Working

The focus of the Local Enterprise Partnership is on delivering economic growth in Norfolk and

Suffolk.

To achieve this means working closely with LEPs and partners in other areas.

Cross-LEP working is particularly relevant for New Anglia LEP following the Government review

of LEPs, as three of our district councils were previously also covered by the LEP area managed

by the business board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. We are

therefore working to ensure we have a strong working relationship with the Combined Authority

to ensure smooth continuity of delivery for that area. This includes New Anglia LEP and the MCA

Business Board signing a memorandum of understanding about joint working.

New Anglia LEP collaborates with other LEPs on a range of projects and initiatives. We are

currently running the Eastern Agritech grants scheme in collaboration with the Cambridgeshire

and Peterborough Combined Authority. We are members of the Transport East Forum alongside

four other LEPs and play an active role in the Greater South East Local Energy Hub.

New Anglia LEP also works collaboratively with the four LEPs on the Oxford to Cambridge ARC

as part of the regional Growth Hub cluster and LEP Network regional cluster.

Where relevant, we collaborate across LEPs in developing projects - we are working with LEPs

in the South West and Cumbria on the nuclear sector deal and with Hertfordshire LEP and the

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority on developing a low carbon financial

instrument for the East of England.

New Anglia LEP also plays an active part in the LEP Network, working with LEPs on areas of

relevance across England. These include attendance at EU Programme network events, and

sector-based themed events such as the Food and Drink Network.

A Peer Review session was held with the Heart of the South West LEP. This meeting was chaired

by a representative from the Centre for Public Scrutiny and gave the opportunity for constructive

challenge and shared learning.

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Transparency of Decision-Making

New Anglia LEP prides itself on transparency of decision-making.

The LEP has a website which publishes information about its board,Ssub-boards and

committees. This includes agendas, papers and minutes, membership details, terms of reference

and registers of interests of members.

The website also has details of our Growth Deal projects and their delivery aims, as well as latest

news which keeps visitors up to date with our most recent announcements and decisions. All LEP

communications are delivered in accordance with Government branding guidelines.

Any calls for capital projects and clear processes on the application and decision-making process

will be made available on our website (i.e. through our Growth Deal Three funding). Information

on all our funding programmes, including Growth Deal (Capital Growth Programme), Growing

Business Fund, Growing Places Fund and Small Grant Scheme, is available on our website. All

programmes include clear processes for handling sensitive or confidential information without

compromising transparency and these processes are used to ensure only appropriate information

is published.

The LEP ensures value for money and scrutiny for all projects and programmes through its formal

appraisal processes and this is monitored throughout project delivery.

All project appraisals for the Growing Business Fund are undertaken by independent consultants

before consideration by the Growing Business Fund Panel, which reports into the Investment

Appraisal Committee. Project applications for the Growing Places Fund are considered by the

LEP’s Investment Appraisal Committee following independent due diligence.

Growth Deal projects are reviewed by the LEP’s Strategy team, the LEP Skills Advisory

Panel or the Local Transport Body (as appropriate). All project appraisals are independent

of the promoting organisation or, where this is impracticable, sit outside the management

unit responsible for developing and promoting the business case.

Overall, the LEP’s Head of Programmes is responsible for ensuring value for money and

scrutiny for all projects and programmes. Value for money is assessed by scrutinising project

outputs and deliverables in relation to the requested investment and reviewing the cost

effectiveness of delivery mechanisms. All investment decisions are made with due regard

for statutory requirements, key policy parameters such as local transport objectives and

conditions of funding.

Agendas, papers and minutes published on the LEP website will include all information

appropriate for public disclosure, in line with relevant local authority rules and regulations.

Also published as part of the LEP’s board papers and available on the website is a decision log

which records all the decisions taken by the LEP board and its sub-boards.

The LEP’s statutory annual accounts are published on our website each year, following the LEP’s

Annual General Meeting which is held in the autumn. The LEP’s accounts are also filed publicly

at Companies House and are audited by independent accountants.

The website also provides details of the LEP’s Growth Deal and details of its ongoing

implementation.

Requests under the Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations are

responded to by the LEP, in accordance with the relevant legislation.

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The LEP has a company Articles of Association available on its website, which explains our

purpose as well as our duties and responsibilities.

The Conflicts of Interest policy is on the website and is also set out in the Articles of Association.

This sets out a clear process for dealing with any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that

may arise.

The LEP records all declarations of interest in the minutes of the monthly board meeting. A

interests is also published on the website.

The LEP also has complaints and whistleblowing policies and provides a clear link to these on

its website. We aim to deal with complaints in the first instance within the relevant team, with

the option for escalation to the LEP CEO or, in rare instances, to external review if needed. The

whistleblowing procedure allows for securely confidential reporting of serious concerns, with a

cascade of options for reporting concerns within the LEP and recourse to the LEP Unit at

MHCLG if required. Assurances to staff who report concerns in good faith are incorporated.

The LEP’s code of conduct is also available on the website.

Most of our key governance documentation can be accessed on a single governance page on

the website, as recommended in the guidance - https://newanglia.co.uk/governance-decision-

making-and-faqs/ .

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Project and Programme Delivery

All capital projects and the LEP programmes have clear processes in place to ensure strategic

fit, value for money and due diligence.

The LEP has in place an appraisal framework which provides a detailed methodology for project

identification, commissioning, appraisal and prioritisation. This helps the LEP and partners to

assess how proposed interventions would contribute to the aims of the Economic Strategy for

Norfolk and Suffolk and demonstrate value for money. The framework is also consistent with

the Treasury Green Book.

We have recently tendered for additional consultant support for independent appraisal of the

programmes to ensure we have capacity to deliver programmes effectively and with a range of

independent reviewers.

The LEP funding programmes are:

• Capital Growth Programme

• Growing Business Fund

• Small Grant Scheme

• Growing Places Fund

• Growing Business Fund - Large Company Grant Programme

• Innovative Projects Fund

• Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund

• New Anglia Capital

• Enterprise Adviser Network

• Voluntary and Community Sector Challenge Fund

• New Anglia Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

The LEP is developing an Investment Plan in 2020 to prioritise new projects for funding and

delivery which have a close fit with the Economic and Local Industrial Strategy. Alongside this

will sit a Funding Framework which sets out the parameters for approving funding and seeking

funding from external sources. It also sets out a clear process for approving ad hoc LEP funding

for activity outside its own programmes, for example as match funding for key bids.

The application decision-making and delivery processes and governance and accountability of

each of these programmes are described below. There are some key processes and checks

which are common to all programmes, as follows:

Risk management

The LEP actively maintains a Risk Register across all its activity, which is under regular review

by the Management Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee which will take action to

challenge and address any concerns. The LEP seeks to manage and minimise risk in programme

delivery by careful appraisal and scrutiny of potential projects prior to contract, and by constant

monitoring of activity to identify issues.

Data Management

The LEP manages data in accordance with GDPR and the regulations of individual programmes,

in particular the document management and retention requirements of EU Funding.

As Data Controller and Data Processor, New Anglia LEP is responsible for ensuring that any

customer data and personal data, that it holds is accurate and, where necessary, kept up to

25 | P a g e

date. Therefore, it is a duty of the LEP to ensure individuals have access rights to their data as

required by the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) and Data Protection Act 2018.

In accordance with Article 5(2) of the General Data Protection Regulations, New Anglia LEP

adheres to the principles of the Regulation when storing and processing data.

New Anglia LEP has several contracts with Government departments to deliver a range of

business support programmes and grant schemes, several of which are delivered in partnership

with other organisations and Local Authorities. As part of the operation of these

programmes/schemes, New Anglia LEP processes personal data according to the following

lawful basis:

Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation: “Processing is necessary for the

performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority

vested in the controller”.

The lawful basis for controlling or processing ‘special category’ data is:

Article 9(2)(g) of the General Data Protection Regulation: “Processing is necessary for reasons

of substantial public interest, on the basis of Union or Member State law which shall be

proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and

provide suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of

the data subject”.

Depending on the nature of activities or support provided by New Anglia LEP and its delivery

partners, a range of information may be collected and may be shared with delivery partners and

Government departments for the purposes of reporting and monitoring.

Information Being Shared

As part of the operation of New Anglia LEP’s business support programmes and grant

schemes, a shared Client Relationship Management (CRM) System has been developed by

New Anglia LEP to enable business support and delivery partners across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Its role is to facilitate the delivery, coordination and management of business support services

to customers, support to inward investment opportunities in line with the objectives outlined in

the Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy, and contact customers about business support

services that can be accessed through the New Anglia Growth Hub.

Further information can be found in the LEP’s Privacy Policy.

26 | P a g e

Withholding, suspending and/or pay back of funds.

In some instances, as a result of project review and monitoring it will be determined that a project

is not going to spend its LEP allocation or there will be an issue with eligibility or relevance of

spend against contract which requires a claw back of funds.

Process

Offer letters relating to financial awards granted through programmes offered by the LEP

determine the circumstances under which funds might be withheld, suspended and/or clawed

back. Project applicants agree to monitor the delivery of their project to ensure its aims and

objectives o are being met and the terms of the Agreement are being complied with.

The LEP and/or the AB will undertake interim or post completion checks to confirm the grant

has been used for the approved purposes and inspect any grant aided activity. The applicant

must on request provide the LEP or the AB with such information, explanations and documents

as may reasonably be required in order to facilitate monitoring and/or to establish the terms of

their Agreement have been complied with.

No financial claim shall be paid unless and until the LEP and/or the AB are satisfied that such

payment is due under the terms of the project Agreement.

While not exhaustive, key circumstances under which the LEP might seek an applicant to pay

back funding include; breaking state aid law, where the applicant fails to comply with our

agreement, commits fraud or a prohibited act, breaks the law or acts dishonestly, misleads the

LEP/SCC, undertakes activity which could affect our reputation, fails to make satisfactory

progress, delivers the project in a negligent manner, uses the grant for purposes other than it

was awarded (such as ineligible expenditure), or fails to achieve an output.

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Growth Deal and the Capital Growth Programme

Background

The LEP has a £290.9m ‘Growth Deal’ with Government to be invested in the region by 2021. It

is estimated to create 54,750 new jobs, 6,800 new homes and generate an additional £628m

public and private investment.

The funding is for capital programmes and projects.

Growth Deal funding (also known as ‘Local Growth Funding’) has been awarded in three

stages:

• Growth Deal One (July 2014): £173.3m

• Growth Deal Two (January 2015): £48.5m

• Growth Deal Three (February 2017): £69.1m

Growth Deal provides funding for the following programmes: Growing Places Fund, Growing

Business Fund and the Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund. Details of these programmes are

included below.

Growth Deal also provides funding to deliver major capital projects that will boost the region’s

skills, drive innovation, target support to help small businesses to grow, and improve transport

and infrastructure. A list of all of the approved Growth Deal capital projects can be found at

https://newanglia.co.uk/growth-deal/

Processes

The Capital Growth Programme was launched in 2017, with a call for projects in October 2017.

Prior to this, capital projects were prioritised by the LEP and local partners for applications to the

Government in July 2014 and January 2015.

New Anglia LEP launched a further call for projects focussed on Skills, Innovation and

Productivity opportunities that meet the strategic priorities of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk

and Suffolk in October 2018.The LEP is likely to take a similar approach to any future call for

projects.

The key criteria used for the October 2018 call were:

That all projects must be:

• able to demonstrate that they address the key focus of skills, innovation or productivity

• fully completed by the end of March 2021

• able to demonstrate their contribution to the delivery of the Economic Strategy through

direct and indirect outputs

• state Aid compliant

• able to demonstrate the need for funding and the additionality achieved by the funding.

It will not be possible to support:

• revenue costs

• costs that have been incurred before a grant offer is made

• items that only benefit an individual or sole business

• items that are not directly needed to deliver the proposed work

• loan repayments or contributions to general appeals

• political or religious activities.

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The project application, decision-making and delivery stages are as follows:

Application

The Capital Growth Programme is open to public and private applicants. It is for capital projects

that are strategic priorities for the LEP. The call for projects in 2017 used an Expression of Interest

form, but from 2018 a full application form will be required. This will be sent to prospective

applicant on request, having provided basic information to determine eligibility.

Once the application is received, it is subject to assessment and appraisal, as follows:

Review of Submissions: The initial review of information by the LEP is a prioritisation process to

assess projects against the eligibility criteria and specified focus of the call. Projects that do not meet

the eligibility criteria of the call will not proceed beyond this stage.

Development of projects: Once accepted as a Capital Growth Programme, the project may be

asked to supply further information and evidence in support of its application and any associated

business case. This will enable a detailed appraisal of the project to take place. All projects must

be able to demonstrate that the following key issues have been addressed:

• whether the need for the project has been clearly demonstrated

• evidence of option appraisal and business case

• how well the project meets the priorities of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk

• how well the project fits with local and sub-regional plans and priorities

• potential for alternative funding, partnering and joint schemes

• estimated costs with level of detail to reflect the current stage of the project

• potential of the project to contribute to economic growth

• potential of the project to achieve return on investment

• how likely the project is to be successful

• how risks will be managed and mitigated

• economic outputs and impacts created by the project

• how the benefits of the project will be sustained after LEP funding finishes.

• opportunities to scale the project up or down.

Appraisal: A full and independent appraisal of projects will be carried out in accordance with HM

Treasury Green Book principles of viability, value for money, achievability, affordability and need.

The LEP will appoint external appraisers for this call. A technical appraisal specialist may be sourced

for individual projects if necessary.

The Appraisal process will utilise the Strategic Prioritisation Framework which will consider the

projects Strategic Fit, Deliverability, Additionality and Economic Return. The appraisal process

will also examine the following aspects of the project:

•

action is justified with an identified need

•

any intervention is likely worth the determined cost

•

the proposed objectives deliver suitable benefits

•

direct outputs, indirect outcomes and wider impact are reasonable

•

options have been properly explored, including the ‘do minimum’

•

benefits and cost of each option have been considered and valued

•

the selected solution can reasonably be achieved

•

any barriers there are to delivery, such as inadequate infrastructure, etc

•

level of risk to successful delivery and possible impact

•

milestones and performance indicators

•

the State Aid position.

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Decision making

• The results of the formal independent appraisal of projects will initially be presented for

consideration by the Investment Appraisal Committee

(IAC) which makes

recommendations to the main New Anglia LEP Board.

• The recommendations, and any specified conditions, from the IAC will then be presented

to the monthly LEP Board for a final decision-making.

• Decision, plus conditions if relevant, conveyed to applicant.

Delivery, claims and monitoring

• Bespoke loan/grant agreement set up for each project in conjunction with Accountable

Body legal team.

• Approval to proceed with project agreement authorised by the Section 151 Officer of

Accountable Body.

• Grant agreement confirms payment release mechanisms (retrospective on project spend

and works done).

• Grant agreement incorporates claim form, which should be reviewed by both LEP and

SCC officers to ensure eligibility and compliance with award conditions.

• Payments are subject to standard Accountable Body (SCC) accounting procedures and

systems.

• Ongoing monitoring of project delivery, spend and outputs through to project completion.

Governance

The Growth Deal programme is delivered by the Growth Deal delivery team, which consists of a

Growth Deal Manager and Growth Deal Coordinator employed by the LEP. The team is supported

by the LEP Head of Programmes.

Project approvals are only made through majority decision by the LEP Board following

consideration of the application for funding and the recommendations made by the LEP Head of

Programmes.

An independent appraisal of each project is conducted in line with Green Book techniques and

an initial level of due diligence is carried out on the applicant.

Requests for payment are submitted by the applicant as a formal claim process, reviewed by the

LEP. Suffolk County Council pay compliant claims on request by the LEP and have the right to

call in any claims for further review if they have concerns.

Capital projects and programme performance is monitored by the delivery team and reported to

the LEP’s Management Committee, to ensure they are delivered appropriately and within

acceptable risk tolerances.

The Management Committee also monitors the expenditure profile. Performance of the

programme is also reported to and monitored by the LEP board through quarterly

performance reports. The same reports are sent to central Government.

The LEP retains its decision-making function regarding the management of allocated Growth

Deal funds. This is because the LEP requires overall control of the Growth Deal profile to

provide the Government with details of this annualised spend.

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Growing Business Fund

Background

The Growing Business Fund is a grant fund which has been run by New Anglia LEP since April

2013. The fund was initially supported by the Regional Growth Fund, with £12m awarded from

Rounds 3 and 4 of the funding. In 2015 the New Anglia LEP secured an additional £25.57m by

2021 from the Local Growth Fund through the Growth Deals. The Fund provides grants

between £25,000 and £500,000 to local businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk.

The need for such a programme was identified through feedback from SMEs in the region

which were unable to access 100% of finance for expansion projects through traditional finance

routes. The fund supports the capital costs of expansion by the businesses, up to the maximum

allowable contribution under General Block Exemption Regulations (GBER) Articles 14, 17, and

19, of up to 20% of the costs of the project for small businesses employing fewer than than 50

people.

Medium-sized businesses can receive funding of up to 10% towards the project cost or 20% if

regulated by De Minimis, but no more than equivalent of EUR200,000 around £171k (official

exchange rate as of January 2020).

Any previous public sector funding, awards, tax reliefs or benefits regulated by De Minimis

received over a three-year fiscal period must be cumulated in such an award. SMEs based in

an Assisted Area may apply for an additional 10% of funding. Large businesses based in an

Assisted Area of Norfolk or Suffolk may apply for funding for up to 10% of the total project cost

for a new activity in the area.

All successful applicants should create new jobs at the rate of one new full time equivalent (FTE)

job per £20k of grant awarded, although grants can also be awarded to businesses showing

significant growth and increases in productivity without the need for direct job creation. Jobs are

profiled to be created over a period of up to five years, but the majority are anticipated within the

first two years after grant award.

Applicants must secure all match funding from private sources only, including other finance,

company funds or investment. No other public funding is accepted as match funding for the

proposed expansion project.

Under current delivery arrangements the fund is exceeding its job and match funding targets.

Processes

• The Growing Business fund is open to any local business meeting the grant programme

eligibility criteria. Applicants must be an existing SME business or a large business in an

Assisted Area.

• The programme operates on an ‘open call’ basis, encouraging applicants to come forward

at any time of the year.

• Projects must be related to growth of the business and involve new capital costs

• Jobs should be created at the rate of one new FTE job per £20k grant awarded. Cost to

the employer for each new job must exceed £20k to ensure value for money is achieved

and there is no subsidisation of the individual jobs.

• In the case of applications for innovation and productivity measures, projects must clearly

demonstrate growth and an increase in productivity as a result of the grant funding.

• Match funding must come from private sources.

• Businesses must not be pre-revenue or start-ups.

• Projects must be viable, supported by a robust business plan and represent effective use

of public funds, representing good value for money for the investment made.

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• The fund should not be used where sufficient funding already exists, nor on a retrospective

basis

The project application, decision-making and delivery stages are as follows:

Application

• Enquiry - all enquiries are dealt with by New Anglia Growth Hub

• Expression of Interest Form. Gateway assessment conducted to judge eligibility for

funding, including a business size status, match funding and sector.

• Full application form issued if gateway assessment successful.

• Independent project appraisal, including financial viability assessment conducted by

Finance East, partners to the programme.

• Recommendation for Growing Business Fund panel completed.

Decision-making

• Grant applications are considered by the Growing Business Fund Panel at monthly panel

meetings and electronically in between if necessary. Decision-making reviews financial

position, deliverability evidence of need and fit within public funding realm.

• Decision plus conditions if relevant conveyed to applicant through legal grant award letter

issued by Suffolk County Council as the Accountable Body.

Delivery, claims and monitoring

• Applicant accepts grant offer and project commences. Claim form provided to applicant.

Claims submitted to SCC casework team for approval and payment.

• Payments are made against evidence of expenditure, but without application of an

intervention rate - payments are made on a one-to-one basis, with further project spend

monitored until completion. Payments made through SCC financial systems, approved by

SCC Programme Manager.

• Ongoing monitoring of targeted outputs - job creation and private match funding until

achieved. Monitoring visit completed by SCC Casework team following final claim by

project.

• Clawback procedure in place for failure to achieve outputs or expenditure irregularities.

Governance

The Growing Business Fund is delivered through a casework team of SCC employees seconded

to the LEP including an SCC Programme Manager. The PM is supported in this role by the LEP

Programmes Manager and LEP Head of Programmes.

The LEP’s Programmes Coordinator manages the day-to-day delivery of the programme,

promotes the scheme and engages with key stakeholders and delivery partners.

Project approvals are only made through majority decision by the Growing Business Fund Panel,

which comprises an independent chair, and representation from the New Anglia LEP Board and

Norfolk and Suffolk businesses.

Decisions are recorded in the LEP’s decision log, which is published for every LEP board meeting.

Accountability

Suffolk County Council is the Accountable Body for the programme on behalf of the LEP.

The casework team are SCC employees seconded to the LEP. SCC provides the financial

systems and support to release grant payments to projects, utilising existing financial procedures.

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Payments are approved by the Programme Manager to show a separation of duties between the

assessment and payment stages.

All grants issued are subject to State Aid rules and are scrutinised at an early stage of the process

by the LEP, Finance East, and SCC to ensure compliance with available legislation. Grants must

fall within GBER or De Minimis regulations and only be awarded to SMEs based in Norfolk or

Suffolk or to large businesses based within an Assisted Area in Norfolk or Suffolk. Applicants are

advised that projects are subject to review by the EU and of the implications should an Aid be

considered illegal, including the requirement to repay the funding with interest chargeable.

Resources

New Anglia LEP Business Programmes Coordinator

SCC Programme Manager (F/T)

Casework Team (6xF/T)

SCC Finance Team

New Anglia LEP Programmes Manager

New Anglia LEP Head of Programmes

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Small Grant Scheme

Background

The Small Grant Scheme (further after - the programme or the SGS) is a grant fund that has

run by New Anglia LEP since August 2013. The programme is currently part of the New Anglia

Business Growth Programme supported by £12.48m from the European Regional Development

Fund. It provides grants between £1,000 and £25,000 to local businesses across Norfolk and

Suffolk.

The SGS covers a gap in the market and there is a clear need for this type of scheme, identified

by an ‘in-depth’ consultation with a wide range of organisations. The SGS is derived from other

successful grant schemes and has been set up to provide an innovative package of

discretionary capital and revenue grant-based support for SMEs, integrated with and

complementary to the other New Anglia Growth Hub products and the Growing Business Fund.

The programme supports SMEs through the provision of grants to assist them to grow and

expand, employ new staff, introduce new products and services, improve productivity or

efficiency, increase their competitiveness etc.

Small businesses employing less than 50 people may apply for up to 20% of the costs of the

project under General Block Exemption Regulations (GBER) Articles 14, 17, 18 and 19.

Medium sized businesses may apply for funding of up to 10% towards the project cost or 20% if

regulated by De Minimis regulations (EUR 200,000 is a maximum amount of all De minimis aid

a business may receive over a three-year fiscal period). SMEs based in an Assisted Area may

apply for an additional 10% of funding.

Successful applicants must be able to explain how their business will benefit from a grant and

what will happen if they do not receive funding. They must also be able to secure the remaining

funding needed for their proposed project from private sources (private finance, company funds

or investment, bank loans etc.). Funding from public sources, eg government, local authorities,

lottery funding, is not accepted as match funding for the SGS.

Processes

• The SGS is open to small and medium-sized businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk

meeting the grant programme eligibility criteria.

• The programme operates on an ‘open call’ basis while funding is available.

• Projects must be related to growth or expansion or introduction of a new product/service,

or improvement of productivity/efficiency.

• Match funding must come from private sources.

• Projects must be viable, supported by a robust business plan/ forecast and represent

effective use of public funds, demonstrating good value for money in terms of deliverables

and impact.

• The fund should not be used where sufficient funding already exists.

Application

• Enquiry - all enquiries are dealt with by New Anglia Growth Hub

• Application - assessment conducted by the Growth Hub to judge eligibility for funding

• Assessment - independent project appraisal, including financial viability assessment

conducted by New Anglia’s Due Diligence Officer

• Recommendation for SGS Panel completed.

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Decision making

• Grant applications are considered by the SGS Panel electronically as and when they are

ready.

• Decision and conditions (if relevant) are conveyed to the applicant through a legal grant

award letter (Offer Letter) issued by Suffolk County Council (SCC).

Delivery, claims and monitoring

• Having signed and returned the Offer Letter to SCC, the Applicant may commence its

project.

• Having invested all the project costs, the Applicant may submit only one claim (a claim

form template is part of the Offer Letter) to an MGS caseworker at SCC for approval and

payment.

• Grant payments are made against evidence of all expenditure through SCC financial

system, approved by SCC Programme Manager.

• Ongoing monitoring of targeted outputs (if apply) - job creation and/or introduction of a

new product/service and/or improvement of productivity or efficiency until achieved. A

possible monitoring visit completed by an MGS caseworker following completion of the

project.

• Clawback procedure in place for not complying with the requirements.

Governance

The SGS is delivered by New Anglia LEP, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce (Growth Hub), Nwes

and Suffolk County Council.

New Anglia LEP employs the Business Growth Programme Coordinator to manage day-to-day

delivery of the SGS, as well as other elements of New Anglia Business Growth Programme,

promote the SGS and engage with key stakeholders and delivery partners. The Coordinator is

supported by the Administrator, the Finance and Compliance Officer, the LEP Programmes

Manager and Head of Programmes.

All SGS enquiries are being dealt with by New Anglia Growth Hub. Due diligence of grant

applicants is completed by the New Anglia Due Diligence Officer.

Grant decisions are only made by majority of the SGS Panel which comprises of one

representative from each of the following organisations: the LEP, Norfolk and Suffolk County

Councils. Offer Letters are issued and claims are checked and paid by a SGS caseworker at SCC

that is supported by SCC Programme Manager.

Accountability

New Anglia LEP is the Accountable Body for the SGS and the New Anglia Business Growth

Programme as a whole. Our partner organisations Suffolk Chamber of Commerce (Growth Hub),

Nwes, Menta, SCC and others are actively promoting the SGS. SCC provides the financial

systems and support to release grant payments to grant applicants, utilising existing financial

procedures.

All grants issued are subject to State Aid rules and are scrutinised at an early stage of the process

by the Growth Hub, LEP, Nwes and SCC to ensure compliance with available legislation. Grants

must fall within GBER (Articles 14, 17, 18 or 19) or De Minimis regulations and only be awarded

to SMEs based in Norfolk or Suffolk. Applicants are advised that their projects are subject to

review by the EU and of the implications should an aid be considered illegal, including the

requirement to repay the funding with interest chargeable.

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Growing Places Fund

Background

The Growing Places Fund (further after the programme or GPF) is a recycling loan fund which

has been run by New Anglia LEP since 2012.

The fund was designed to address the problems facing stalled developments, by providing

financial support towards costs such as site infrastructure, services or access.

The fund operates predominantly as a loan fund, but some funding is available for smaller grants

to support regionally significant cultural and tourism projects where a GPF grant secures a major

match funding contribution.

Processes

The Growing Places Fund is open to public and private applicants. The fund now stands at a total

allocation of approximately £32 million which has been matched by in excess of £280 million from

public and private sources. The Fund has committed more than £25 million on 28 capital

investment projects and has supported seven sector developments. The fund remains open to

applications and has a pipeline of projects for consideration.

The project application, decision-making and delivery stages are as follows:

Application

• Initial enquiry received. The programme operates on an open call basis with the funding

opportunity promoted through the LEP’s website and wider marketing opportunities.

• Full application completed following discussion with LEP.

• Project appraisal and due diligence conducted by independent consultants.

• Decision or recommendation by the Investment Appraisal Committee to the LEP board

completed.

Decision making

• Projects will be debated by the Investment Appraisal Committee which makes decisions

on amounts below £500k or recommendations to the main New Anglia LEP board for

amounts above this at monthly LEP board meetings. Decision-making incorporates value

for money, ratio of funding to jobs created, security of loan.

• Decision plus conditions if relevant conveyed to applicant

• Bespoke loan/grant agreement set up for each project in conjunction with Accountable

Body legal team and signed off by the Accountable Body.

Delivery, claims and monitoring

• Loan agreement confirms payment release mechanisms (retrospective on project spend

or works done).

• Loan agreement incorporates claim form, which should be reviewed by both LEP and

Suffolk County Council officers to ensure eligibility and compliance with award conditions.

• Payments are subject to standard Accountable Body (Suffolk County Council) accounting

procedures and systems. Expedited payment system (The Clearing House Automated

Payment Scheme (CHAPS)) available, if necessary, to provide rapid payment. Final sign-

off of payment by the Section 151 Officer.

• Ongoing monitoring of targeted outputs and other project outcomes.

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Governance

The Growing Places Fund is delivered through a Senior Programme Coordinator, employed by

the LEP. The Coordinator also delivers case work and is supported in this role by the LEP Head

of Programmes.

Project approvals are only made through majority decision by the LEP’s Investment Advisory

Committee or Board following consideration of the application for funding and the

recommendation made by the Programme Coordinator.

An independent appraisal of each project is conducted in line with Green Book techniques and

an initial level of due diligence is carried out on the applicant. Deliverability, leverage, regional or

local economic significance and value for money are key areas that any project has to score

highly to gain investment from the fund.

Requests for payment are submitted by the applicant as a formal claim process, reviewed by the

LEP and by Suffolk County Council and signed off by the appropriate officer at Suffolk County

Council on behalf of the Accountable Body.

Accountability

Suffolk County Council is the Accountable Body for the programme.

Suffolk County Council provides the legal support to prepare suitable loan or grant documentation

for each approved project. This support is reimbursed at cost by the programme.

All loans and grants issued are subject to State Aid rules and are scrutinised by SCC at an early

stage of the process to ensure compliance with available legislation. The majority of loans are

issued at or equivalent to a commercial rate of interest to ensure they cannot be considered to

be an Aid. Applicants are advised that projects are subject to review by the EU and of the

implications should an Aid be considered illegal, including the requirement to repay the funding

with interest chargeable.

Resources

New Anglia LEP Senior Growing Places Coordinator (F/T)

New Anglia LEP Head of Programmes

SCC Finance Team

Principal 2020/21 Growing Places Fund operational variances

The fund will be delivered in 2020/21in accordance with the current procedures and operational

methodology. The only changes to the delivery process are:

• Ensuring future projects support the objectives of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and

Suffolk.

• Revised annual allocation agreed in order to meet demand.

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Growing Business Fund - Large Company Grant

Background

The majority of applications for grant funding from Norfolk and Suffolk businesses can be

serviced adequately from existing programmes, including the Growing Business Fund, Small

Grant Scheme and the recently introduced Innovative Projects Fund. The Growing Places Fund

has also provided grant interventions of up to £500k to a number of regionally significant

cultural and tourism projects, and projects with a local socio and economic impact.

However, on occasion, some regionally significant projects cannot be supported through

standard grant mechanisms. Usually this is because applicants are classified as large

companies or because the intervention requested exceeds the limits of existing grant schemes.

To enable the LEP to consider occasional applications for funding for projects out of scope for

existing programmes, the LEP Executive has introduced the GBF Large Company Grant

programme.

Processes

Funding for the Large Company Grant programme comprises a budget of £2.5m to cover the

financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, secured by releasing capacity within the Growing Places

Fund budget, part of the overall Growth Deal allocation. The likelihood is that a very small

number of projects could be supported, perhaps three or four from the budget allocation.

Commitment levels will be kept under review and any unallocated funds will be re-allocated to

the Growing Places Fund or the Growing Business Fund to ensure the budget allocation for

each year is fully spent.

Decision making

The programme will be built around the high-level criteria and intent of the existing Growing

Business Fund. This means projects must meet at least the following criteria to be eligible for

any grant support:

• Applicants must be established and growing businesses, substantially based in Norfolk

or Suffolk, or in the case of inward investment projects, with a firm commitment to

relocate to the region and meeting all other criteria.

• Grants must be used to support and invest in the expansion and growth of the business.

• Certain sectors, including primary agriculture, retail, care and health sectors are not

eligible.

• Projects must be expecting to create new jobs, preferably at the ratio of one job per

£20k of grant received. Productivity and innovation measures could also be eligible.

• Jobs created should be full-time and expected to last 12 months or more.

Additional criteria for the new Large Company Grant programme will be very specific. This is

principally because projects will need to meet strict State Aid legislation to be able to be

supported by the LEP.

Projects must therefore be able to satisfy the following:

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• Maximum grant intervention will be a maximum of 15% of the overall project costs. The

preferred award size will be no more than 10%, in line with GBF guidelines for projects

within assisted areas.

• Projects must be designed to increase productivity, and this should be measurable.

• Projects must involve and benefit the local supply chain

• Inward investments from outside the region may be considered but should meet all other

criteria, including identified capital costs beyond the costs of relocation.

• Projects should not normally be located in an Assisted Area (potentially supportable

under GBF)

Funding priorities

Priority for support will be given to companies at risk of relocation outside of the region.

In addition, projects must broadly reflect the delivery priorities of the Growing Business Fund,

which is designed to support growth and job creation in businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Successful applications must reflect LEP priority sectors and should contribute to the key

objectives of the Economic Strategy.

Governance

Applications up to £500k can be approved by the Investment Appraisal Committee. Requests in

excess of £500k must be approved by the full LEP board.

All successful applications will receive a formal grant offer issued by Suffolk County Council as

the accountable body for the LEP. The grant offer will accommodate standard conditions and

measures, including claiming grant, monitoring and reporting and clawback of grant if

necessary.

Accountability

As per the Growing Business Fund.

Innovative Projects Fund

Background

An important source of revenue funding comes from our Enterprise Zones. Under the Enterprise

Zone legislation, the LEP is entitled to retain 100 per cent of additional business rates generated

by the zones for a period of 25 years.

Under agreements reached with our local authority partners, this funding is split on each site into

three pots.

• Pot A is retained by the district and county authorities to ensure they are not at a financial

disadvantage from the zone. Without EZ status, they would have ordinarily retained a

portion of the income.

• Pot B is set aside to accelerate development of the zone and is managed by the local

authorities and the LEP.

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• Pot C is ring fenced by the LEP to invest in supporting economic growth and in the delivery

of the LEP’s Economic Strategy.

In January 2017, the LEP board agreed that a portion of funding from Pot C should be set aside

to support innovative projects by external partners to deliver the Economic Strategy and Local

Industrial Strategy. The Innovative Projects Fund (IPF) was created.

The first call took place in August 2018 with an approved annual allocation of £500k. Following

the outcome of the first call, local authority partners in Norfolk and Suffolk indicated interest in

matching New Anglia LEP’s future allocations of the Innovative Projects Fund through their

respective pooled business rates. This resulted in a £1.5 million pot being made available to

prospective projects under a 2019/20 call.

Processes

The Innovative Projects Fund is promoted through the LEPs website and wider marketing

opportunities and networks. The Innovative Projects Fund is open to public and private

applicants located from within the New Anglia LEP area. Preference is that projects bidding for

funds from the 2019/20 Innovative Projects Fund are regional in nature. However, this does not

preclude countywide or locality-based projects from being supported.

As part of the assessment process, projects that can clearly demonstrate direct links to

delivering elements of the Economic Strategy, and, in particular, growth of LEP ambitions,

themes, sectors and key growth locations will be prioritised. For example, projects relating to

energy, agri-food, ICT/ digital and creative industries with clear and demonstrable outputs will

be prioritised.

Cross-sector collaborations, where specialist skills in one sector can drive innovation and growth

in another? are of particular interest. Proposals for revenue funding to accelerate the impact of

LEP capital schemes are also considered. Transport feasibility studies are not supported through

this fund.

Additionally, all projects must be:

• State Aid compliant

• Able to demonstrate their contribution to the delivery of the Economic Strategy and Call

Focus through direct and indirect outputs.

• Able to demonstrate the need for funding and the additionality achieved by the funding.

The project application, decision-making, and delivery stages are as follows:

Application

• Initial enquiry received via the Programmes Team.

• Initial project enquiry and applicant contact information is recorded.

• Application form sent to applicant.

• Full application completed by applicant and submitted following discussion with LEP.

Decision making

Once submissions have been received, applicants may be required to respond to queries about

their projects from the LEP programmes team as part of the shortlist process.

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Applications will then be subject to a full appraisal by an independent consultant.

The appraisal will be in accordance with HM Treasury Green Book principles of viability, value

for money, achievability, affordability and need. As such, projects will be scored on a

competitive basis against the following criteria:

• Demonstration of clear fit with the Economic Strategy and Local Industrial Strategy.

• Additionality. How is this more than business as usual? The fund should not replace core

funding.

• Value for money. Can the project demonstrate this is good use of public money?

• Leverage. What additional funding, public or private or in-kind support does the project

generate?

• Impact. What will the project actually deliver and how innovative is the proposal?

• Sustainability. What will happen when the funding ends?

Key areas will be scored 1-5 for each project, with 5 being the highest.

The New Anglia LEP Investment Appraisal Committee (IAC) considers all applications at its

scheduled meetings and determines whether to approve or reject each of the Innovative

Projects Fund applications. A decision plus any conditions (if relevant) will be conveyed to the

applicant.

Delivery, claims and monitoring

All projects approved for funding will be subject to an offer letter and/or agreement drawn up in

conjunction with the LEP’s Accountable Body, Suffolk County Council. The agreement/ offer letter

will include the cycle of anticipated drawdown of funding and the outputs expected to be

generated by the project plus any conditions laid down by the Investment Appraisal Committee.

The process is then as follows:

• Having signed and returned the Offer Letter to SCC, the Applicant may commence its

project.

• Having invested agreed project costs, the Applicant may submit claims in line with its

claim schedule (a claim form template is part of the Offer Letter) to the project caseworker

at the LEP for approval and payment.

• Grant payments are made against evidence of all expenditure through the SCC financial

system, approved by SCC Programme Manager.

• Ongoing monitoring of targeted outputs (if apply) - job creation and/or introduction of a

new product/service and/or improvement of productivity or efficiency until achieved. A

possible monitoring visit completed by the LEP caseworker following completion of the

project.

• Clawback procedure in place for not complying with the requirements.

Governance

The Innovative Projects Fund is delivered by the Project Coordinator, employed by the LEP. The

Project Coordinator is supported by the LEP Head of Programmes.

A partnership arrangement between the LEP’s IAC and the two local authorities has been put in

place to consider eligible applications for funding. An IPF Panel has been created comprising two

private sector members of the IAC and two local authority representatives from Norfolk and two

from Suffolk, selected by their respective leaders’ groups. The two private sector members in

attendance at the IPF panel will have delegated authority from the board to approve projects up

to £500,000.

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Project approvals are only made through majority decision at a meeting of the partnership

between the LEP’s Investment Appraisal Committee and the two local authorities, following

consideration of the application for funding and the recommendation made by the LEP Head of

Programmes, following the appraisal process (outlined above).

Requests for payment are submitted by the applicant as a formal claim process, reviewed by the

LEP and by Suffolk County Council and signed off by the Section 151 Officer at Suffolk County

Council.

The performance of the Innovative Projects Fund is monitored by the LEP’s Management

Committee, to ensure it is delivered appropriately and within acceptable risk tolerances.

The Management Committee also monitors the spend profile. Performance of the

programme is also reported to and monitored by the LEP board through regular board

reports.

Accountability

New Anglia LEP is the Accountable Body

SCC provides the financial systems and support to release grant payments to grant applicants,

utilising existing financial procedures.

Suffolk County Council provides the legal support to prepare suitable grant documentation for

each approved project. This support is reimbursed at cost by the programme.

Resources

New Anglia LEP Project Coordinator (P/T)

New Anglia LEP Head of Programmes

SCC Finance Team

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Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund

Background

The Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund is used to co-invest with local authority partners in joint

delivery projects on Enterprise Zone sites. The fund is aimed at supporting local authority

partners delivering Enterprise Zone sites in their borough or district and is for capital

expenditure only.

The fund is designed to deliver a return on commercial terms, generating a long-term return on

investment.

The key objectives of the Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund are:

1. To create a fund that supports economic growth while generating an income to help to

support the long-term economic growth objectives of the LEP.

2. To provide financial support on a co-investment model to enable local authority partners to

develop opportunities on EZ sites.

3. To establish sustainable revolving funds so that funding can be reinvested to unlock further

development, and lever in private investment.

New Anglia LEP considers opportunities to invest to support the delivery of essential

development required to unlock growth on Enterprise Zone sites, bringing forward delivery.

The intention is that finance obtained from the fund will attract a 14-20-year return on the capital

investment. The intention is not to generate a substantial return, but to help to sustain the LEP

interventions targeted at supporting the local economy.

The assessment criteria will ensure the developments selected for forward investment will

prioritise schemes that deliver early.

The Growth Deal ends on 31 March 2021 and all investments need to be in place and the

investment released by the LEP by this date.

Processes

The New Anglia LEP has developed its Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund in line with the

Government’s objectives and has developed a process and a set of criteria to select appropriate

schemes. The programme operates on an ‘open call’ basis, but within controlled eligibility.

All potential investments must meet the following broad criteria:

• Schemes must be for capital investment (not revenue).

• Schemes should contribute to the LEP’s strategic objectives contained in the Economic

Strategy.

• Schemes must be in the New Anglia LEP and located on an EZ site.

• Schemes will need to demonstrate investment readiness with no barriers or constraints

in relation to land ownership, planning and other approvals.

• Applicants must be a local authority partner with 50% or more of the investment funding

secured through an appropriate mechanism.

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Applicants are invited to discuss potential projects with New Anglia LEP ahead of their

submission.

Application

Expressions of Interest are invited to allow early discussions with LEP staff to ensure eligibility

and value for money etc have been considered projects prior to application stage.

Once submissions have been made applicants may be requested to respond to queries about

their applications as part of the consideration and short-listing process.

Short-listed schemes will be required to submit further details of financial profile and output

projections to enable detailed scheme appraisals to be completed. Full details of any

information required will be confirmed with each applicant.

All schemes that pass an initial eligibility assessment are further assessed to determine their

suitability to receive Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund investment.

Decision making

The decision-making process for the Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund includes:

• That projects will be debated by the Investment Appraisal Committee, which makes

recommendations to the main New Anglia LEP Board, at monthly LEP Board meetings.

Decision making incorporates strategic fit, value for money, additionality, deliverability.

• Decision plus conditions, if relevant, conveyed to applicant.

• Bespoke investment agreements set up for each project in conjunction with the

Accountable Body legal team. Approval of project only by the Accountable Body team at

SCC.

Delivery, claims and monitoring

• The investment agreement/contract will include formal signature requirements; revenue

share and return arrangements, agreed milestones for delivery linked to the release of

funds; and claw back arrangements in case of delay or lack of delivery.

• The investment agreement incorporates a claim and monitoring form, which should be

reviewed by both LEP and Suffolk County Council officers to ensure eligibility and

compliance with award conditions.

• Payments are subject to standard Accountable Body (Suffolk County Council) accounting

procedures and systems.

• Ongoing monitoring of spend and outputs.

Governance

The Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund is coordinated by the Enterprise Zone Accelerator Fund

Coordinator and the Enterprise Zone Advisor, both employed by the LEP. The two posts are

supported by the LEP’s Head of Programmes.

Project approvals are only made through majority decision by the LEP board following

consideration of the application by the Investment Appraisal Committee and the recommendation

made by the LEP Head of Programmes.

An independent appraisal of each project is conducted in line with Green Book techniques and

an initial level of due diligence is carried out on the applicant.

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Requests for payment are submitted by the applicant as a formal claim process, reviewed by the

LEP and by Suffolk County Council and signed off by the Section 151 Officer at Suffolk County

Council.

Programme performance is monitored by the LEP’s Management Committee to ensure they are

delivered appropriately and within acceptable risk tolerances.

The Management Committee also monitors the spend profile. Performance of the

programme is also reported to and monitored by the LEP board through regular board

reports.

New Anglia Capital

Background

New Anglia Capital was formed to provide an equity investment option to early stage and pre-

revenue SME’s looking to grow and create jobs in Norfolk and Suffolk and increase the network

of angel investors. NAC operates as a subsidiary of New Anglia LEP, with funding allocated

from repaid loans issued through the Growing Places Fund.

Key objectives

• To facilitate increased investment in early stage and pre revenue companies in Norfolk

and Suffolk.

• To consider providing equity investment where co-investment is offered by local angel

investors.

• To grow the network of angel investors in both Norfolk and Suffolk.

Governance

Investments are considered by the New Anglia Capital board which comprises five members,

three of whom are also LEP board members. New Anglia LEP officers act as observers and

advisers on the board. NAC provides updates to the LEP board with a full report on investments

and outcomes twice a year. All investments are subject to full independent due diligence.

Anglia Capital Group (ACG) was appointed as the support organisation for New Anglia Capital

following a competitive procurement exercise in August 2014.

ACG were appointed to help deliver two principal outputs:

• To generate deal flow including suitable investment opportunities for NAC to consider

co-investing in

• To grow and manage a sustainable network of angel investors in the region

Due to the encouraging growth and continuing deal flow the contract with ACG was re-let in

2015, again in 2016, again in 2017, and again in 2018.

ACG pitched to NAC in July 2018 with a proposal to become regulated by the Financial

Conduct Authority. ACG has agreed heads of terms with the NAC Board in relation to funding

its move to become regulated and a legal framework is being put in place. This will allow ACG

to become pro-active in arranging investments and supporting angels, thus accelerating its

objectives and increasing its outputs as outlined above.

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Investments

NAC maintains a portfolio of investments (15 at December 2019). Maximum investment for

each company is £250k. All investments are expected to exit within three to five years of

investment, with returns reinvested into the NAC investment fund.

Enterprise Adviser Network

Background

The Enterprise Adviser Network (EAN) is an important programme that supports schools to

develop a careers strategy and encourages skills interventions to support the achievement of

the Gatsby benchmarks. The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) operates the EAN

across the Country in partnership with LEPs, recruiting senior business leaders to work

voluntarily with secondary schools and colleges as ‘Enterprise Advisers’ (EAs). The EAN is

recognised as an important initiative that will strengthen the links between the business and

education community in order to drive young people’s aspiration and work readiness in line with

the requirements of the local economy.

Objectives

EAs work strategically with senior leaders in schools and colleges, supporting them to develop

and enhance their business engagement plans. The aim is to improve the quality and

consistency of careers, work-related and enterprise education delivered to students and to

broker activities with businesses and enterprise providers. The volunteers will bring their wealth

of knowledge and experience of the world of work to help develop a comprehensive action plan

for careers education, fully supporting young people aged between 11 and 18.

Resources

EAs are supported by a team of Enterprise Co-ordinators (ECs), full-time employees of the

network who establish the connections with the businesses and the schools and report to the

CEC.

Of the LEP’s eight ECs four cover Norfolk and four cover Suffolk. The team of ECs are

managed by the EAN and Careers Hub Manager. The Careers Hub is comprised of 32

Educational Establishments working to fully meet all Benchmarks by July 2020.

The EAN is a national programme and the LEP has responsibility for the engagement in Norfolk

and Suffolk. Currently the programme is funded via CEC, matched by LEP funding up to August

2021. Future funding is under review with CEC and the LEP is looking at alternative sources to

ensure its continuation post August 2020. The LEP’s contribution comes from Enterprise Zone

Pot C income.

Monitoring

The programme is monitored on a monthly basis through reports and meetings with CEC, as

well as the LEPs Programme Performance meetings. Driving up quality and considering the

best way to measure impact and sharing best practice is a key focus for the team during 20/21.

A toolkit of materials and best practice for each of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks to support

schools and the EAs is in development.

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The LEP will work with the two county councils and the CEC to interrogate data and evidence

available on the opportunity areas, the careers hub and the wider EAN network to explore and

test the impact the different parts of the network are delivering.

Accountability

New Anglia LEP is the accountable body.

The LEP’s match funding was approved by the LEP board which receives quarterly reports on

the programme’s performance.

The LEP’s polices on procurement and financial control are followed.

The LEP’s Head of Strategy oversees the EAN team and the programmes performance.

Quarterly claims are submitted to CEC and are signed off by the LEP’s Financial Controller.

Voluntary and Community Sector Challenge Fund

Background

In the period 2014-21 the New Anglia LEP Board has approved funding of £1.5 million from the

Growing Places Fund to develop the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCSE) Challenge Fund.

By working in partnership with the Norfolk and Suffolk Community Foundations, the programme

has been able to support ready for work and employment initiatives developed by VCSE

organisations operating across both counties.

The VCSE Challenge Fund has:

• Worked through the VCSE to stimulate employment opportunity and training for the

furthest to reach from the labour market. The programme recognises the VCSE is often

best placed to initially engage with this audience and support them through the most

challenging early steps into employment.

• Encouraged innovation in the VCSE around employability and skills.

The LEP has a current allocation of £250,000 to the VCSE Fund for both 2019/20 and

2020/21.The model deployed includes annual grants of £20,000 each year awarded to VCSE

applicants, with the facility to award further investment of £25,000 later in the project to the best

performing projects to help them to scale up and sustain their activity and deliver more outputs.

Processes

The decision-making process for the allocation of grants involves an application process

overseen by the Norfolk Community Foundation in partnership with the Suffolk Community

Foundation. This includes:

• Using the extensive Community Foundation networks to advertise the opportunity to

potential VCSE organisations and a call for applications.

• Applications being assessed by Foundation staff.

• Applications considered by an appraisal panel.

• A decision then conveyed to the organisation and contract established.

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• All projects are then carefully monitored by the Community Foundations to optimise

delivery and potential for ‘good news’ stories for LEP publicity.

Governance

Decisions on individual awards are delegated from the LEP Board to an awards panel

comprised of representatives from the LEP and community foundations.

New Anglia Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

Background

Apprentice numbers have dropped significantly in recent years due to apprenticeship reforms

making businesses more cautious, new standards not being available and/or more training

being focussed on existing staff members. Intervention is required in order to boost the number

of apprenticeship starts, particularly amongst SMEs, which make up the vast majority of

employers in the area.

Companies with a pay roll in excess of £3m per year must pay the apprenticeship levy at a rate

of 0.5% of wage bill, which can only be used to fund apprenticeship training. After a slow start,

many larger employers are using the levy to invest in training. However, it is also evident that

many levy payers are not using their full allocation, in some cases by a significant amount. If

this allocation is not spent after two years, the allocation is retained by Government and lost

from the region, instead of being invested in apprenticeship training.

Proposed levy transfer process

The New Anglia LEP Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Programme allows firms to allocate up to

25% of their levy to other firms. These funds can then be transferred to support the training

needs of SMEs across Norfolk and Suffolk. This will retain several million pounds of training

funding locally and pay for the training of hundreds of additional apprenticeships.

Any preferred use of funds - certain apprenticeship standards, sectors or locations - can be

identified by the firm allocating its levy to the scheme.

Levy payers (in and outside of the LEP area) with unspent levy need to be identified and

encouraged to allocate some/all of funds available. Any preferred use of their funds needs to be

identified at this stage, e.g. certain apprenticeship standard, sector, geography.

The LEP or an endorsed partner will then source businesses direct or through an

apprenticeship provider that have potential apprentices looking to ‘receive’ the funds. An

introduction will be made and if all parties, including the training provider, are happy with the

match, then funds can start to be transferred.

Having LEP endorsement of the process has the aim of raising the profile and being an

impartial broker.

Link to the Economic Strategy and Local Industrial Strategy

The Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy stresses the need to step up efforts to promote and

support the delivery of high-quality apprenticeships providing clear entry routes into focus

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