Single Programme Funding and the Nottinghamshire Economic Development Partnership

Short term availability of regeneration funding is very uncertain following changes implemented by the new government in the emergency budget.

Any new sources, or availability of, regeneration funding that become available through Nottinghamshire County Council will be listed on this page as and when they become known.

Background

Nottinghamshire County Council established the Interim Nottinghamshire Economic Development Partnership (INEDP) in 2009 to oversee the transfer of responsibilities for Single Programme management from the Alliance SSP to the County Council, and then to act as an advisory board to the County Council during 2009-10 on issues relating to Single Programme funding and the City and County Sub-Regional Investment Plan (SRIP).  

The interim Board was replaced by the Nottinghamshire Economic Development Partnership (NEDP) early in 2010 to recognise further changes to funding and governance structures.

The Nottinghamshire Economic Development Partnership incorporated and streamlined accountabilities and governance arrangements from three pre-existing partnerships:

• Interim Nottinghamshire Economic Development Partnership INEDP
• Economic Development and Enterprise Partnership (EDEP)
• ERDF Priority Axis 2 group.

The purpose of this change was to rationalise local governance arrangements but also to bring about greater alignment and synergy between three key areas of responsibility previously managed by separate partnership groupings namely:

• Single Programme funding, performance and commissioning – INEDP
• Local Area Agreement accountability – EDEP
• ERDF programme management and commissioning – PA2 Group.

Update on recent developments

Since the general election and the formation of the coalition government in May 2010, major changes to the way that regeneration and economic development funding and initiatives are delivered have been announced by the government.

The principle changes that directly affected the NEDP Board (and Executive Working Group) were:

• The abolition of RDAs from March 2012 and their ‘replacement’ with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). Following consultation and a joint application government approval was received to establish a Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire LEP on 28th October 2010
• At the same time, the new government cut RDA budgets (announced in the Emergency Budget) and placed restrictions on the use of remaining Single Programme funds. The effect of this was that no new projects were allowed to be contracted
• Similarly, the government has decided to withdraw LAA reward grant for the 2008-11 period and to withdraw the LAA completely from April 2011.

There is also uncertainty over the future of the ERDF Priority Axis 2 programme. Management arrangements for European funding in the second half of the current programme period (2011-13) have not yet been agreed.