NEW ANGLIA LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP
SMALL GRANT SCHEME PANEL TERMS OF REFERENCE
1. The role of the Small Grant Scheme (SGS) Panel (the Panel) is to:
a. Consider applications requesting financial support from the Small Grant Scheme
(SGS) in line with SGS criteria and in accordance with the New Anglia LEP Economic
Strategy and reach an agreed decision to support or reject each application.
b. Provide support to applicants and partners to ensure that a quality standard of
application and subsequently project is achieved.
c. Support New Anglia LEP and the New Anglia Growth Hub in the promotion and
publicity of the SGS to improve and sustain the flow of quality applications for funding.
d. Approve grants to individual applicants with the maximum grant value of £25,000 in
accordance with the delegated decision-making power from the New Anglia LEP
Investment Appraisal Committee.
e. Approve financial interventions in accordance with guidance on State Aid for SMEs.
2. Membership of the Panel
a. The Panel will comprise of three voting Panel members, one representative from each
of the following three organisations: New Anglia LEP, Norfolk County Council and
Suffolk County Council.
i. £1,000 - £10,000 grant applications will be considered by one Panel member (a
New Anglia LEP representative) or a nominate replacement as per 2b.
ii. £10,001 - £25,000 grant applications will be considered by three Panel
members (representatives from all three organisations) or nominated
replacements as per 2b.
b. Panel members and nominated replacements (only LEP officers may act as Panel
member nominated replacements) will be expected to sign a Declaration (Annex A or
Annex B) in confirmation of their appointment to the Panel and acceptance of these
Terms of Reference.
c. Membership of the Panel is undertaken on a voluntary basis.
d. Membership of the Panel is for the period of 1st December 2021 – 30th June 2023,
unless a Panel member’s appointment is terminated under paragraphs 2e, 2f, 2g
below.
e. A Panel member may terminate their membership by giving at least one month’s notice
in writing to New Anglia LEP.
f. New Anglia LEP may terminate the Panel membership of any member if they do not
act at all times in accordance with these Terms of Reference.
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g. Membership of the Panel will be terminated if the SGS comes to its end.
3. Operating Procedures
a. SGS progress meetings will be held as and when required to facilitate effective
decision making.
b. Representatives from SGS delivery partner organisations (New Anglia LEP, New
Anglia Growth Hub and Suffolk County Council) will be invited to attend SGS progress
meetings.
c. Decision making on grant applications will be done electronically and Panel members
will be expected to submit their vote within five working days. Panel members may ask
any relevant questions/queries they have on the application before they submit their
vote to the Growth Hub.
d. A complete set of all three Panel members’ votes are required for grant requests above
£10k before a final decision on the application is taken. A decision will be decided by a
majority vote.
e. New Anglia LEP has the right to veto any taken decision if there is a strong case for
approval or rejection of the grant application.
f. A Panel member or a nominated replacement will have no right to vote on the
application if they have either a personal or professional interest in the Applicant’s
organisation or project to be considered by the Panel and must declare their interest
before any discussion on the grant application commences. In addition, twice a year all
Panel members and nominated replacements must complete a LEP member’s
Register of Interests Form (it will be provided by New Anglia LEP), and they are
responsible for ensuring their form is kept up to date. The completed form will be
published on the LEP website.
g. Panel members and nominated replacements will consider their responsibilities under
the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as outlined in the New Anglia LEP Assurance
Framework and will incorporate equality considerations into all decisions.
h. If a Panel member is unable to act according to this document, for example, according
to Para 3f or being away from the office, a nominated replacement will be contacted to
consider the grant application(s).
i. New Anglia LEP, Norfolk County and Suffolk County Councils are subject to the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI). All enquiries, related to the
SGS, received by any partner organisation under FOI in the first instance must be
directed to New Anglia LEP as the accountable body for the programme.
j. Panel members and nominated replacements must not disclose information related to
applications and the relevant applicants sent to them as part of SGS application
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process, or information acquired independently, which is believed to be of a
confidential nature, unless this is required by law to do so.
k. Copies of all correspondence relevant to the application between New Anglia LEP, its
partner organisations and the Panel will be saved by those partner organisations and
passed to New Anglia LEP for accountability.
l. In accordance with the Data Protection Law, Panel members will delete all emails
relating to grant applications after a final decision on the requested grant funding has
been taken.
m. Decisions on SGS grant applications (the applicant’s name and the amount awarded)
taken by the Panel will be reported to the New Anglia LEP Investment Appraisal
Committee and they will also be included in the LEP’s Register of decisions which is
published on the LEP website.
4. Terms of Reference document
4.1. This Terms of Reference document will be reviewed by New Anglia LEP and the Panel
as and when required to ensure it is operating at maximum effectiveness.
Updated on 24/11/2021
