Issue - meetings

The Strategic Director – People and Economy, presented a report to the Board which provided an update on the delivery of the £15m Liverpool City Region (LCR) Business Growth Grant Programme.

The Board was advised that the LCR LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) successfully secured £10m from round 3 of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF) Programme and a further £5m from RGF round 4, to establish a pan-Merseyside scheme to provide grant support of between £50,000 and £1m to eligible businesses across the City Region. 

The LCR Business Growth Grant supported businesses planning to invest in capital or equipment that directly created or safeguarded jobs and increase business output and was also designed to unlock private sector investment.  It was explained therefore that Private Sector leverage must be at least 5:1, so every £5.00 invested by a business could potentially lead to £1.00 of support from the Grant.

The report went on to explain how the scheme worked in Halton using the Council’s Business Improvement and Growth Team.  It also provided information on the final RGF 3 spend position and the current RGF 4 spend position, as well as a summary on the LCR Business Growth Grant Spend and Output.  Members were referred to Appendix 1 to the report which provided a detailed breakdown of the spend and outputs associated with the LCR Business Growth Grant in Halton.  The Operational Director (EEP) also gave Members details of the types of schemes that had been supported.

It was noted that the Council was working with the businesses who received the grant to offer assistance and receive feedback on how the grants were being spent.

RESOLVED:  That the Policy and Performance Board supports the performance on the Liverpool City Growth Grant Programme in Halton with respect to:-

a)    the number of companies supported;

b)    the level of grant contracted and paid;

c)     private sector leverage generated as a consequence of the receipt of grant; and

d)    the anticipated number of jobs created and safeguarded as a consequence of the receipt of grant.