Cabinet,  on 19 October 2022(‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan’), resolved to:

1.      Endorse the Oxford City Council UK Shared Prosperity Investment Plan, as submitted to government on 1 August under a delegated officer decision, in order to secure up to £1m of funding for the city;

2.      Delegate authority to the Executive Director (Development) to take the necessary decisions and actions to oversee the UKSPF investment plan, including implementing and administering the scheme and the resulting projects in accordance with the requirements and priorities of the prospectus and fund;

4.      Recommend to Council the establishing of capital and revenue budgets in accordance with paragraph 21 of the report.

Council, on 28 November 2022, resolved to establish capital and revenue budgets in accordance with paragraph 21 of the report.

1.       To agree a proposal for the council’s Year 3 UKSPF investment plan, including the activities to be delivered under the People and Skills Investment theme.

2.       To allocate £210k of the People and Skills funding to a set of projects deliver the outputs and outcomes in the investment plan for E39: Green Skills, and E33: Supporting people into employment and training. This includes:

-         £95k on Demand Stimulation activities – to generate awareness of and demand for green skills courses, including among cohorts where these skills aren’t currently sought. This includes an investment in internal capacity to embed these outcomes into Community Employment and Procurement Plans; and providing funding to support community level triage into skills, training and employment opportunities.

-         £115k on Course Delivery – Including a Demand-responsive fund to support businesses and individuals to achieve Green Skills qualifications; and an investment in OCC capacity to deliver Carbon Literacy courses to staff and ZCOP partners.

3.       To reallocate £30k from People and skills investment theme to support Strategy/Feasibility gaps elsewhere in the programme. Includes investments in a Skills Gap Analysis, Affordable Workspace Strategy, and Enabling works for City Centre Animation.

The decision delivers an achievable balance of course delivery whilst stimulating the provider market and generating demand for green skills in a range of contexts.

Projects are expected to exceed the forecast UKSPF outputs of:

·        (at least) 50 people achieving a qualification or completing a course.

·        (at least) 40 people supported to be closer to skills and labour market opportunities.

The decision achieves a balanced spend profile which will support the UKSPF programme objectives:

Course Delivery - Considered alternative options for delivery of courses, including block-buying a set number places through a local college, and allocating the funding directly to strategic partners. The chosen option achieves a balanced range of delivery routes, and allows for an open and transparent allocation of funding.

Demand Stimulation – considered a range of options including commissioning a new service or delivering the outreach and triage services through in house teams.

Decision taken by Tom Bridgman, Executive Director (Development).