Regional Funding Advice

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Regional Funding Advice

• The Advice of the North West Region
• Presentation by NWDA and 4NW
• Consultation event, Friday 9th January 2009

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Aims of today

• Explain approach to RFA2
• Short-term / Long-term
• Discuss benefits and opportunity
• Seek views on proposals

3
Programme for today

• 1330 Welcome and RFA2 Overview - Steve Barwick
  4NW and Patrick White NWDA
• 1345 Sustainability Equality appraisals
• 1355 Table discussions
• 1430 Transport - Dave Colbert 4NW
• 1440 Housing Regeneration - Peter Hart 4NW
• 1450 Economic Development - Ian Whittaker
  NWDA
• 1500 Skills - Ian Ruff RSEB
• 1510 Table discussions on themes
• 1540 Feedback
• 1555 Next Steps Close

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Essential Background

• SNR announced a second, expanded round of
  Regional Funding Advice
• Government asked regions to prepare advice for
  CSR period 2008-11 by 28 Feb 09
• RFA2 includes a wider range of funding than RFA1
• Major transport schemes
• LA block allocations for integrated transport and
  maintenance (2011/12)
• Regional housing pot
• EP funding
• Housing Market Renewal
• Growth funds
• RDA single budget
• ERDF
• Skills funding not included, though advice on
  priorities also sought

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Northwest RFA2

• For the Northwest, RFA2 equates to
• 1379m (inc 107m ERDF) 2008/9
• 1385m (inc 92m ERDF) 2009/10
• 1345m (inc 76m ERDF) 2010/11
• Beyond 2011 base on flat real growth of 2
• Indicative cash sum of 1487m (ex ERDF) in 2018
• Advice must
• Be based on strong evidence base
• Be realistic
• Reflect national priorities in emerging MAAs
• Offer value for money
• Consistent with existing/emerging regional
  strategies

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Northwest RFA2

• The advice should offer a clear vision for the
  region, showing
• How investment will meet regions sustainable
  economic growth objective help deliver PSAs
• Clear prioritisation based on strong evidence and
  demonstrating links between funding streams
• Advice to show Northwests priorities in
• Transport
• Housing and Regeneration
• Economic Development
• Skills

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Communication Engagement

• Wide and inclusive consultation
• Stakeholders involved at all stages
• Use existing structures
• 6 week written consultation period
• Regional consultation event
• 4NW and NWDA Board sign-off
• Submission to Regional Minister by end Feb

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NW RFA2 Core Principles

• Early view on potential priorities for Regional
  Strategy and review progress since RFA1
• NW advice
• To be signed off by 4NW and NWDA Board
• Start point has been currently agreed priorities
  (RES, RSS, RHS)
• Based on strong stakeholder engagement through
  relevant advisory groups and formal consultation
• Include skills priorities based on current
  investment levels
• Regard rail priorities as within scope

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NW RFA2 Approach

• Working group established, chaired and managed by
  NWDA, to develop regions advice
• 4 workstreams to develop priorities based on
  expertise
• Transport 4NW
• Housing Regeneration 4NW
• Economic Development NWDA
• Skills RSEB
• Each workstream has engaged relevant advisory
  bodies and stakeholders before going to regional
  consultation
• Advice will be subject to full sustainability and
  equality impact appraisals

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General overview

• RFA2 comes at time of economic downturn
• Appropriate short-term actions BUT focus remains
  on long-term priorities
• Considerable progress on RFA1
• Economic development mediacityuk, Daresbury
  Science and Innovation Campus, University of
  Cumbria, Capital of Culture
• Housing 49,000 net additions, 4 HMRs well
  established, 6 growth points identified
• Transport completion of A590 High and Low Newton
  Bypass, A58 Blackbrook Diversion St Helens and
  Blackpool Fleetwood Tramway emergency works work
  started on Metrolink Phases 1 and 2 Renewal and
  Phase 3a

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General overview (2)

• RFA2 based on existing regional priorities
• Single Regional Strategy to set out priorities
  from 2011/12
• RFA2 emphasises maintaining delivery of existing
  priorities in advance of single Regional Strategy
• Reinforces NWDA Corporate Plan to 2011, ERDF
  Programme 2007-2013, Regional Housing Strategy
  and HCA investment plan and transport priorities
  identified in RFA1
• Response to current economic conditions
• Alignment of priorities spatially to support
  strategic regional priorities

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Sustainability Appraisal

• Hilary Livesy, URSUS Consulting

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Sustainability positive effects

• Reducing disparities in economic performance
• Promoting sectoral growth
• Delivering urban renaissance
• Promoting economic and social inclusion
• Developing and maintaining a healthy labour
  market
• Improving access to decent, affordable housing
• Improving health and reducing health inequalities

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Sustainability mixed effects

• Promoting social inclusion
• Reducing the need to travel and promoting
  sustainable transport modes
• Protecting and improving air quality
• Mitigating climate change

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Sustainability uncertain effects

• Delivering rural renaissance
• Promoting resource-efficient housing
• Protecting and improving water quality
• Adapting to climate change
• Promoting energy efficiency and renewables

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Sustainability recommendations

• More detail to support rural economic
  regeneration
• Increase emphasis on meeting employment needs
  locally
• Include actions to develop economic potential of
  natural environment
• More actions to promote a low-carbon economy
• More emphasis on climate change mitigation and
  adaptation in housing stock, including energy
  efficiency and renewables

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Equality Impact Assessment

• Jo Somerset, Infrastruct

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Equality impact observations

• Government Equalities Review Equal life chances
  RFA covers 3 out of 10 domains
• NW Equality and Diversity Strategy focus on
  discrimination in labour market, concentrations
  of worklessness and skills disparities for
  equalities groups
• How does RFA2 advice contribute to narrowing the
  gap between disadvantaged groups and the NW
  population?
• Consider inequality re. ethnicity, disability,
  gender, age, religion, sexual orientation,
  poverty, deprivation, rurality.
• Linked solutions to overcome multiple barriers of
  discrimination

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Equality impact observations

• How is RFA advice taking account of these issues?
• Are transport proposals improving travel to work
  or training for isolated rural areas, teenagers
  and women?
• Will proposals to tackle worklessness reduce
  unemployment amongst disabled people and BME
  communities?
• Are initiatives to stimulate enterprise ensuring
  take-up by BME, female and young business owners?
  
• Are housing plans going to contribute to
  community cohesion in areas with potentially
  conflicting communities?
• Are skills plans going to increase the earning
  power of women by increasing their level of
  managerial skills?
• How are housing plans addressing projections for
  increased number of vulnerable people needing
  supported or independent living, therefore
  helping them to access employment and training?

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Table discussions

• Discuss the overall approach and general/cross
  cutting issues
• 1 key point per table for the feedback session

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Transport

• Dave Colbert, 4NW

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Transport - Scope

• Major trunk road schemes on routes of regional
  importance
• Local authority major schemes
• Integrated transport and maintenance block
  funding from 2010/11
• Enhancements to the HAs strategic national
  network
• Rail enhancements

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Transport - Issues

• De-prioritisation rules
• Over-programming assumptions
• Delivery of existing programme NW potentially
  in breach of DfT thresholds
• Funding of small schemes of local significance
• Review of HA scheme costs
• SEMMMS Relief Road
• GM TIF decision

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Transport - Outcomes

• RFA1 now 35 over-programmed
• Trunk Road schemes account for over 70 of the
  increased cost
• No new major transport schemes
• Need to defer c200m of expenditure to beyond
  2015/16
• Assessment of strategic fit

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Transport outcomes

• No change to distribution of block allocations or
  balance of spend between major schemes,
  integrated block and maintenance block
• Further work to evaluate advantages and
  disadvantages of top-slicing the integrated
  transport and maintenance blocks to fund sub-5m
  local schemes

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Housing and Regeneration

• Peter Hart, 4NW

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Housing Regeneration - Scope

• Funding
• RHP - NAHP, LA Decent Homes, GT
• - Private Sector Renewal (LA
  allocations)
• HMR
• EP
• Growth Points - involves little or no new
  funding
• Homes and Communities Agency
• Now up and running and responsible for key
  funding streams()
• funding increasingly aligned with strategic
  priorities and delivered via single
  conversation model

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Housing Regeneration - Issues
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Housing Regeneration - Outcomes

• Delivering the longer term vision of the revised
  RHS
• to create balanced housing markets across
  the North West that support economic growth,
  strengthens economic and social inclusion and
  ensure that everyone has access to appropriate,
  good quality, affordable housing in sustainable,
  mixed and vibrant communities
• The 3 driving objectives are
• Achieving the right quantity of housing
• Continuing to raise the quality of the existing
  housing stock
• Connecting people to the improved housing offer.

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Economic Development

• Ian Whittaker, NWDA

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Economic Development - Scope

• Covers NWDA Single Programme and ERDF
• Private Sector leverage
• Stronger spatial economic context
• RES provides current overarching context
• Contributes to building a single Regional
  Strategy
• Addresses economic downturn

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Economic Development - Issues

• The longer-term impact of the international
  credit crisis nationally and regionally
• Uncertainty over energy and foodstuffs prices
• Impact of tighter controls on government spending
  nationally
• Ageing population and reduction of the working
  age population
• Ongoing high worklessness/concentrations of low
  productivity/enterprise
• NWDA budget reductions

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Economic Development Priorities

• NWDA Corporate Plan for 2008-11 and ERDF
  Investment Frameworks to provide basis for RFA2
  during that period
• Improve competitiveness/productivity across
  Business, People and Places
• Spatially responsive
• Flexibility to address economic downturn
• Single Regional Strategy to inform post-2011
  spending priorities

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Skills

• Ian Ruff, RSEB

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Skills - Scope
RSEB

• RFA2 should
• Outline future skills priorities and issues
• Ensure integration of skills priorities into
  broader advice
• Review national investment in regional context
• Contribute to building a Single Regional Strategy

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Skills - Issues
RSEB

• Policy and delivery challenge of current economic
  downturn
• Continuing need to stimulate investment in skills
  by employers and individuals for competitive
  economy
• Move towards demand led system
• Machinery of Government changes and potential
  impact on regional infrastructure

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Skills - Outcomes
RSEB

• Alignment of RSEB activity to support wider
  economic development priorities
• Reinforced skills priorities 2007-10
• Skills and employment issues and principles for
  single Regional Strategy
• 2 shorter term responding to the economic
  downturn
• 4 longer term young people, workless, adults,
  employers

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Table discussions

• Each table allocated a theme to discuss
• 1 key point per table to feedback

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Feedback session

• Two points from each table please
• One on general/cross cutting issues
• One on specific theme

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Next Steps

• Consultation ends 30th January
• Responses collated and analysed
• Amends as necessary to final advice
• Sign-off from NWDA and 4NW boards
• Submitted to Regional Minister by end February

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Any questions?