Northumberland County Council, working with the North of Tyne Combined Authority, is responding to the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic and effects on the labour market by supporting our businesses and communities to adapt. 

The Northumberland voluntary and community sector (VCS) is playing a key role in supporting the resilience of communities and residents in the face of an economic downturn.  Discussion with the sector has identified the need to adapt services to deliver by digital and remote means to continue giving residents the employability and skills support needed as the labour market changes.  The Community Chest - VCS Skills and Employability Fund will allow organisations to become more digitally agile in the services they can deliver, and by raising the digital skills and access of residents to engage with them.

The grant funding is available to any Northumberland VCS organisations delivering a broad base of skills and employability services to residents. This can include any activities which help residents improve the skills and attributes needed to enter the labour market, training, jobsearch, advice and guidance, and general support for progression in work.

The focus of the grant fund is to assist organisations to develop or convert services to be delivered digitally to those who would normally require face-to-face delivery. This can include services or equipment needed to support residents in the lockdown and post-lockdown period, and to raise digital ability to short labour market resilience in the longer term. A ‘digital divide’ has been identified as disadvantaging some communities and cohorts of people in their labour market prospects, particularly those in deprived areas and people who are unemployed or experience insecure employment. The fund should be used to demonstrate closing of digital divide in longer term

The fund can support where additional capacity for digital delivery is required as demand increases from existing unemployed or economically inactive people who need support, along with responding to the needs of those newly displaced in the labour market.

Eligible costs can include a range of delivery and/or equipment demonstrating conversion or development of services to be delivered digitally.

This following list identifies examples but is not exclusive, and innovative proposals which meet the specification are invited. 

• Digital conversion of existing learning and support packages
• New, or development of, software packages
• Webinar packages
• Online support platforms delivering guided and advice
• Consultancy or advice for design of products
• Costs of increasing social media communications. 
• Cost of IT equipment to enable digital learning and support delivery packages
• Delivery costs of IT skills training and support
• Cost of equipment for participants to access services (e.g. tablets, laptops, iphones etc.)
• Data or broadband costs (This may include an increase of data allowance for participants to access services through smart phones or other devices).

Grant Details

• Minimum Grant £2,000
• Maximum Grant £10,000
• 100% intervention rate (no match funding required)
• Grants are available for both equipment and day to day running costs related to the project
• Closing date is at noon on 22 January 2021
• Projects cannot start before 1 February 2021 and be completed by
  30 June 2021

Eligibility

• Applicants must be a not for profit Voluntary Community Sector organisation, Charity or Social Enterprise 
• Applicants must show they are currently delivering Skills, Employability or Inclusion services
• Beneficiaries must be domiciled in Northumberland although the delivery organisation does not need to be
• Previous applicants are welcome to reapply

• Application form
• Expenditure schedule (WORD format)
• Expenditure schedule (PDF format)
• Supplier set up form (WORD format)
• Supplier set up form (PDF format)
• Guidance

The Regeneration Programmes and External Funding team produce a regular Funding eBulletin that is distributed by email to NCC staff, external organisations, individuals and businesses in Northumberland and beyond. The eBulletin includes various funding opportunities from national and local charities, trusts, government and other sources. There is a brief description of the funding opportunity and an active link to take you directly to the funder’s website, where you can learn more about the fund and print off any information you require.

The list recent editions can be accessed click here

To be added to the distribution list, please email: regenerationinvestmentteam@northumberland.gov.uk

For NCC staff whose function involves searching for funding to support or develop Council services, we could provide a free licence to access the full range of Grantfinder services. Grantfinder is distributed by the Idox group and is Europe’s leading provider of up-to-date funding and policy information. Recipients must have a valid NCC email address therefore partner organisations may not be eligible for a licence.

Advance Northumberland is the economic regeneration company for Northumberland and is responsible for the Council’s business development activities. This includes being responsible for inward investment, strategic account management and the commissioning of a range of business support initiatives.

The mission is to:

• attract private sector investment in business and property
• promote enterprise and support business growth
• support the regeneration of disadvantaged places and neighbourhoods
• help create prosperous, attractive, sustainable communities throughout Northumberland

For further information, please go to the Advance Northumberland website.

Tel: 01670 528400

Email: enquiries@advancenorthumberland.co.uk​
 

 

The Growth Hub provides information and signposts to the latest in regional business support services and finance and funding opportunities, helping businesses access the funding and support they need to grow.

The Growth Hub is delivered by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP). The LEP works to make the North East a place where more businesses invest, grow and prosper, to deliver more and better jobs for everyone.  The North East area covers County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. 

To access the Growth Hub please click this link

 

The UK Government's Business Support finder allows you to explore finance and support options available to your business.

• The government’s online access point for business support in England can be accessed here.

• Northumberland Business Service Limited
• ​Big Lottery Fund
• Community Foundation Tyne and Wear
• North East Access to Finance
• Defra (Dept for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)
• Sport England
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• Coalfield Regeneration Trust
• Communities CAN
• North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP)
• European Union contracts and grant opportunities

A list of local and other Trusts, Charities and Foundations with a funding or support offer, that have previously been active in Northumberland and regionally can be found here.

Note: the editor’s decision on what is considered appropriate is final.

The information contained in these webpages is meant as a general guide only. It has been prepared from information provided by third parties and NCC accepts no responsibility for any actions taken or not taken in reliance on or in connection with this information.

Where reference or links (which may not be active links) are made to external publications or websites, the views expressed are those of the authors of those publications or websites, which are not necessarily those of NCC. NCC accepts no responsibility for the contents or accuracy of those publications or websites.

ECO Help to Heat statement of intent for flexible eligibility

• Reducing preventable excess winter death rates.
• Improving health and wellbeing among vulnerable groups.
• Reducing pressure on health and social care services.
• Reducing 'fuel poverty' and the risk of fuel debt or being disconnected from gas and electricity supplies (including self-disconnection).
• Improving the energy efficiency of homes.
• Households are considered eligible for flexible eligibility ECO if they are at risk of living in fuel poverty (FP) or a low income household, with at least one household member vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home (LIVC). Flexible eligibility only applies to private tenure so a property must be privately owned or rented.

GRANTfinder and Northumberland County 4 Community is a user-friendly, accurate UK wide professional funding tool which has helped users to secure millions of pounds worth of support. It is an online, step-by step process which enables you to identify and select funding schemes and awards that are appropriate for your project.

• A convenient one-stop-shop of funding information.
• Information source provided on over 8,000 funding schemes including grants, loans and awards from local, regional and national UK government, European funding, charitable trusts and corporate sponsors.
• Content ranging from modest community funds at one end of the spectrum to major, multi-level European initiatives at the other.
• Authoritative reference library of articles on topical funding issues (full subscription only).
• Newsflash service sending approaching deadlines, news of launched funds and policy decisions direct to your inbox (full subscription only).
• Information is presented jargon-free and in plain English.
• Interactive Update Bulletin sent weekly and categorised by subject, keeping you up-to-date on areas of interest to you (full subscription only).

The site also contains access to useful self-help guides, including:

• 10 steps to writing a constitution
• a beginner’s guide to regeneration terminology
• writing a fundraising strategy
• writing a successful business plan
• how to write a winning financial plan

You can access GRANTfinder by registering some basic details; Northumberland County Council hosts this service and pays a licence fee, but partners and community users can access the funding search service free of charge using the Council licence.

To register click here: GRANTnet webpage - Northumberland County 4 Community

Other free funding search websites and portals:
Grants Online Local Funding for Northumberland

For further information on Northumberland grants and funding searches, or if you wish to receive our funding bulletin by email, please contact: regenerationinvestmentteam@northumberland.gov.uk

If you are involved in writing funding applications, the Northumberland Knowledge website can provide informative research and statistics to support your bid.

• Click here to access the website.

 

• European Social Fund (ESF) focuses on improving the employment opportunities, promoting social inclusion and investing in skills by providing help people need to fulfil their potential.
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports research and innovation, small to medium sized enterprises and creation of a low carbon economy.
• European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) supports rural businesses to grow and expand, improve knowledge and skills and get started.

   

The aim of the NE-TA Project is to encourage potential partners and providers to understand the nature, range and scope of ESIF opportunities; allowing them to be better informed and to contribute to their delivery as appropriate.  The NE-TA  Project provides technical advisory support, ensuring that quality proposals are designed in accordance with ESIF and national funding requirements. The NE-TA team facilitate wide ranging access to the opportunities contained in the ESIF programme, through stakeholder engagement, capacity building activity and increases the visibility of ESIF funding across the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area.

The team is made up of officers from all seven local authorities within the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and links to the relevant websites are detailed below.  They have the expertise to support those interested in making successful applications to the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.  Northumberland County Council is the lead delivery partner for this project on behalf of the North East Combined Authority (NECA).
The project aims to:

1. To raise awareness of the England 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme with partners, through delivering information and awareness raising events.
2. To support the efficient and compliant management and implementation of the ESIF Programme to help ensure that performance targets are achieved and that ESIF projects comply with applicable law.

As part of the NE-TA  Project, Northumberland County Council is able to provide advisory support to ESIF project applicants in Northumberland in order to promote the design and development of compliant projects at both outline and full application stages.

We are very interested in hearing from organisations who are developing ideas for future ESIF projects and who wish to share these ideas with TA officers prior to making a formal application.

For information about calls currently available and/or support to develop a proposal for the Northumberland area please email: regenerationinvestmentteam@northumberland.gov.uk

The treaty on the functioning of the European Union defines state aid as any aid granted by a member state or through state resources which distorts, or threatens to distort, competition by favouring certain undertakings that could affect trade.

The commission has said that state aid can include:

• grants direct subsidies
• tax exemptions
• preferential interest rates
• loans, guarantees and provision of goods or services on preferential terms
• indemnities against losses
• contracts not open to competitive tendering
• tax relief

Please note: this list is not exhaustive.

The rules restrict the support the public sector can give organisations that operate in a commercial or economic environment. They don’t apply to the whole sector, only where support could inhibit fair competition with other businesses.

Some aid is illegal under EU rules because it distorts competition in a way that is harmful to the EU. But where it is unavoidable, state aid can be given legally by using a set of approved EU mechanisms for state aid, such as:

• compliance with de minimis regulation
• compliance with a block exemption regulation

Not all public funding is necessarily state aid. It is present when a scheme meets all the criteria listed in Article 107 of the treaty of the function of the European Union (TFEU).

If your answer to all four of these following questions is “yes,” your assistance is almost certainly state aid. If some of your answers are “no” then aid may not be present. If you are unsure, seek legal advice.

1. Is the assistance granted by the state or through state resources?
‘Granted by the state’ means by any public or private body controlled by the state (in the UK, this means national or local government). ‘State resources’ can include tax exemptions, lottery funding and EU structural funds over which the state has significant control.

2. Does the assistance give an advantage to one or more undertakings over others?
An ‘undertaking’ is any organisation engaged in economic activity. This is about activity rather than legal form, so non-profit organisations, charities and public bodies can all be undertakings, depending on their activities.

Support to an organisation engaged in a non-economic activity isn’t state aid, e.g. support to individuals through the social security system. This can also include operators and ‘middlemen’ if they benefit from funding ‘economic activity’ means putting goods or services on a market.

It is not necessary to make a profit to be engaged in economic activity. If others in the market offer the same goods or services, it is an economic activity.

An ‘advantage’ can take many forms. It’s not just a grant, loan or tax break but also the use of a state asset for free or less than market price. Essentially, it is something an undertaking could not get normally.

3. Does the assistance distort or have the potential to distort competition?
If the assistance strengthens the recipient relative to its competitors, then the answer is likely to be ‘yes.’ The ‘potential to distort competition’ does not have to be substantial or significant. It may include relatively small amounts of financial support and firms with a modest market share.

4. Does the assistance affect trade between member states?
The interpretation of this is broad, as it is enough that a product or service is tradable between member states, even if the recipient itself does not export to other EU markets.

Aid given illegally has far reaching consequences:

• If the EU Commission investigate and find aid incompatible with the treaty, you will have to recover with interest, regardless of consequences or difficulty.
• Even if aid is found to be compatible with the treaty (approvable), interest for the period it wasn’t notified may still have to be recovered.
• If you get it wrong, it is those you want to help who will suffer the most.
• A competitor could take you to court in the UK and seek damages. 

De minimis
The de minimis regulation is a useful EU mechanism for state aid, based on the commission’s view that small amounts of aid are unlikely to distort competition. The regulation allows small amounts of aid – less than €200,000 during three fiscal years – to be given for a wide range of purposes. If you use this you don’t need to notify or get approval, but records of aid granted must be kept and all rules of the regulation must be followed.

State aid modernisation (SAM)
In May 2012, the European Commission set out an ambitious state aid reform programme. The modernisation has three main, closely linked objectives:

• foster growth in a strengthened, dynamic and competitive internal market
• focus enforcement on cases with the biggest impact on the internal market
• streamlined rules and faster decisions

The European Commission has now adopted the long-awaited replacement for the 2008 general block exemption regulation (universally known as GBER).

New GBER and regional aid regulations
The purpose of regional state aid is to support economic development and employment. The regional aid guidelines set out the rules under which member states can grant aid to companies to support investments in new production facilities in advantaged regions of Europe or to extend/ modernise existing facilities.

State aids

An-introduction-to-assisted-areas
bis-14-768-uk-assisted-areas-2014-2020-amended-23-may
bis-14-943-state-aid-general-block-exemption-guidance
New-GBER

Certain categories of state aid can only be granted within assisted areas that fulfill the conditions of Article 107(3)(a) of the TFEU. For the purpose of the new state aid regulations, the assisted areas map for Northumberland has been updated and can be found here.

The BIS state aid manual
The attached manual is intended to assist public sector officials understand the state aid rules, show how they apply in practice and explain that it’s not a substitute for the official documentation available from the EU Commission.

BIS state aid manual: BIS-15-148-state-aid-manual

Commission to prolong EU State aid rules and launch evaluation

The European Commission plans to prolong for two years seven sets of State aid rules, otherwise expiring in 2020. The Commission has also launched today an evaluation of those rules and of other State aid rules to assess whether to further prolong them or possibly update them in the future.

Since May 2012, the Commission has implemented a major reform of EU State aid rules, the State Aid Modernisation. This allows Member States to quickly implement State aid that fosters investment, economic growth and job creation, leaving the Commission to focus its State aid control on the cases most liable to distort competition. More than 97% of all State aid measures are now implemented by Member States without the need for prior approval by the Commission. As part of the State Aid Modernisation, the Commission has revised a considerable number of State aid rules since 2013.

A number of the State aid rules adopted as part of the State Aid Modernisation are due to expire by the end of 2020. Other State aid rules adopted as part of the Modernisation process have no fixed expiry date. To provide predictability and legal certainty, whilst preparing for a possible future update of the State aid rules adopted as part of the State Aid Modernisation, theCommission will take two steps.

First, the Commission intends to prolong for two years (until end 2022) the validity of those State aid rules, which would otherwise expire by end 2020. They are the following:

•         General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
•         De minimis Regulation
•         Guidelines on regional State aid
•         Guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments
•         Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy
•         Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring
•         Communication on important projects of common European interest (IPCEI).

Second, in line with the Commission's Better Regulation Guidelines, the Commission will evaluate those rules together with the other State aid rules, which were adopted as part of the State Aid Modernisation. The evaluation was launched today. It takes the form of a “fitness check”. It will provide a basis for decisions, to be taken by the Commission in the future, about whether to further prolong or possibly update the rules. The evaluation will cover the following rules, all of which were adopted as part of the State Aid Modernisation:

• General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER)
• De minimis Regulation
• Guidelines on regional State aid
• Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation (RDI)
• Communication on important projects of common European interest (IPCEI)
• Guidelines on State aid to promote risk finance investments
• Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines
• Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy
• Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring

The “fitness check” will also cover the Railways Guidelines from 2008 and the Short term export credit Communication from 2012. Those rules were not revised as part of the State Aid Modernisation, but an evaluation is relevant in the light of developments in EU law and the Commission's case practice. 

The “fitness check” will involve internal analyses by the Commission and public consultations as well as, in some cases, studies prepared by external consultants or targeted consultations of specific stakeholders. The results of the exercise will be summarised in a Commission Staff Working Document.

Background
Under the Better Regulation Guidelines, the Commission evaluates if specific laws, policies and spending activities are fit for purpose and have delivered, at minimum cost, the desired changes to European businesses and citizens. The evaluation findings help the Commission decide whether EU actions should be continued or changed.

More specifically, fitness checks assess whether the regulatory framework for a policy sector is “fit for purpose”. Their goal is to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value of specific parts of the EU acquis, thus promoting better/smart legislation, making it more responsive to current and future challenges and helping improve implementation. This includes identifying excessive administrative burdens, overlaps, gaps, inconsistencies and/or obsolete measures that may have appeared over time, and considering the cumulative impact of EU legislation and activities. Their findings serve as a basis for drawing policy conclusions on how well EU policies have been performing and feed into possible consideration on the future of the relevant regulatory framework.

UK State Aid proposals post BREXIT: UK state aid and competition policy proposals post BREXIT

For further information on state aids, please contact David Baird on 01670 623888.
Please note: we are unable to give specific advice on individual cases.


 

The RGN - Local Growth Fund awarded to Northumberland County Council is a notified scheme. The following is a list of all those projects awarded GBER state aid within the notification period:  

Project name	Amount of aid awarded £	State aid mechanism
The Sill; National Landscape Discovery Centre	1,000,000	GBER Article 53
The Thinford Development	223,881	GBER Article 56
Wansbeck Business Park - New Industrial Estate	186,934	GBER Article 56
Hownsgill Park Industrial Workshop Development	358,968	GBER Article 56
The Amble Inn	448,500	GBER Article 56
Morpeth Railway Station Enterprise Hub	500,000	GBER Article 56
Thinford Phase II	207,000	GBER Article 56
Lynx Precast Ltd -  Design and manufacture of precast concrete stair and landing units	170,000	GBER  Article 14

Section 106 agreements are sometimes entered into with housing developers to fund sport and play in some areas of Northumberland. The money collection method is based on current planning documentation from the former districts.

This documentation remains in place until the new local development framework is introduced. This means the amounts collected and the items/projects on which the money can be spent can vary.

The council is keen to see the development and improvement of children's play and outdoor sports and recreation facilities. In most of Northumberland, S106 money is collected based on individual agreements for precise amounts for a specifically agreed purpose.

However, in certain areas of Northumberland (south east, former Tynedale and parts of the north), funds are collected and may be spent in specific geographical areas on a variety of sports, play and recreation projects.

What can be funded?
The funding is for items only for children's play areas or outdoor sports facilities, plus some indoor sports and recreation facilities in areas of the north. The funding is for new facilities or improvements to existing ones, for example:

• new children's play areas
• new sports pitches/areas
• new equipment in an existing play area
• upgrading of facilities for outdoor sports such as changing rooms
• Specialised sports equipment, eg cricket roller

Projects must be within specified locations and be open to the general public.

Who can apply?
Projects must be located in specific geographical areas and applications can be made by not-for-profit organisations, such as:

• community groups
• residents' associations
• sports clubs
• schools

Individuals or businesses are not eligible for funding. Where a local sports club or school is looking to develop or improve facilities, it needs to include appropriate arrangements for wider community use.

How much funding is available?
The level of funding available will depend upon the amounts collected at the time and requests from other projects in the same area. This means funding can be limited and sometimes there will be no funding available.

How can I apply for funding?

• Applications for funding can be made by completing the S106 Housing Developer Fund Application Form. The application form and accompanying guidance notes and application completion supporting notes can be downloaded from the useful links section.

Applications will be considered by a cross officer panel, which will meet according to the timetable below, and which will make recommendations for approval (applications of more than £100k will be subject to a longer approval process).

Upcoming Housing Developer Fund Panels (Sport & Play) 2021-22
 

Panel date meeting	Deadline for receipt of applications	Result of application by:
Tuesday 2 March 2021	Friday 12 February 2021	Friday 26 March 2021
Tuesday 8 June 2021	Friday 21 May 2021	Friday 2 July 2021
Tuesday 14 September 2021	Friday 20 August 2021	Friday 8 October 2021
Tuesday 7 December 2021	Friday 19 November 2021	Friday 31 December 2021
Tuesday 8 March 2022	Friday 18 February 2022	Friday 31 March 2022

 

• S106 Application Form - When completing the S106 application form, it is important that reference is made to all the following supporting documentation: S106 Evaluation Criteria; Guidance Notes for Applicants; Additional Notes to support completion of the application form.  These documents can be found under 'Funding for Sport and Play Useful Links
• S106 Evaluation Criteria
• S106 Contributions Table - Housing Developer Fund Available Balances
• CW S106 Guidance Notes for Applicants
• CW S106 Additional Notes to support completion of application form
• Former Tynedale Area - S106 Housing Developer Funding Awards List
• South East Northumberland Area - S106 Housing Developer Funding Awards List
• North Northumberland - S106 Housing Developer Funding Awards List

• For General Advice, advice on how to apply and application procedures call 0345 600 6400
• Alternatively, email: maureen.dixon@northumberland.gov.uk