Decision details

The Cabinet Member for Environment is asked to give approval for Kent County Council to deliver the Low Carbon Across the South and East (LoCASE) programme by accepting to act as  the accountable body for the European Structural Investment Funding (ESIF) administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Specifically, for the Cabinet Member to:

(i)     Accept £14,748,886 European Structural Investment Funding administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

(ii)   Give approval that KCC act as the Lead Partner (Accountable Body) for the partnership delivering across multiple Local Enterprise Partnership areas

(iii) Delegate authority to Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into contracts and other legal agreements, as necessary to implement decisions to spend the grant.

A decision is being sought to approve the continued delivery of Low Carbon Across the South and East (LoCASE), which is an integrated programme of financial assistance and business support to increase demand for low carbon technology, increase efficiency and grow business in the low carbon environmental goods and services sector. This is an extension and expansion of the successfully established LoCASE project led by Kent County Council.

The programme has a budget that totals (£30,937,771) is part funded by the European Structural Investment Fund (£14,748,886), Private Sector (£13,950,000), Kent County Council (£107,827) and public sector contribution from 16 programme partners (£2,131,058).

This decision supports the continuation and expansion of the successfully established LoCASE project which ran from 29/2/2016 to 31/12/2020, and supported 1,278 small and medium sized enterprises, through £5,014,939 of grant funding, totalling investments of £12,537,348.

Encouraged by MHCLG after the demonstrated success of the LoCASE project, the additional funding is to continue and grow LoCASE to deliver a multi-LEP business support programme through a partnership made up of 16 public and private sector organisations across four Local Enterprise Partnerships (South East, Coast2Capital, Enterprise M3, and the Solent).

The programme activities will be undertaken by partners, and outputs delivered through a range of Partnership Agreements and contracts administered by Kent County Council in its role as Accountable Body.

LoCASE directly delivers elements of Themes 1 and 2 of the Kent Environment Strategy, Priority 9 of the Energy and Low Emissions Strategy, and greener recovery of the COVID-19 Economic Renewal and Resilience Plan. 

LoCASE supports the following priority actions of Setting the Course – Kent County Council’s Interim Strategic Plan: Work with our partners to deliver essential support for local businesses; Champion the rural and green economy; and deliver net-zero for Kent by 2050 and promote climate resilience.

Options:

A full options analysis was carried out and is detailed in the LoCASE Application Forms and MHCLG assessments. It considered the alternative options below where Options A and B were rejected, and Option C was the preferred option:

Option (a): Do nothing – no ESIF investment, business support for energy efficiency and low carbon sector development ends, and no mechanism to achieve green recovery outcomes. This would limit the regions capacity for growth and competitiveness.

Option (b): Reduce the business support programme by limiting it to Steps to Environmental Management (STEM) only – no ESIF investment, limited support for business improvements in environmental management, development of the energy efficiency and low carbon sectors and achieving green recovery outcomes

Option (c): Continue and expand the LoCASE programme – additional ESIF investment required, more enhanced support for business improvements in environmental management and development of the energy efficiency and low carbon sectors and achieving green recovery outcomes; delivery mechanism to assist green recovery of the economy.

Decision:

As Cabinet Member for the Environment, I agree to:

Give approval for Kent County Council to deliver the Low Carbon Across the South and East (LoCASE) programme by accepting to act as  the accountable body for the European Structural Investment Funding (ESIF) administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).  Specifically, I

i)   Accept £14,748,886 European Structural Investment Funding administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

ii)  Give approval that KCC act as the Lead Partner (Accountable Body) for the partnership delivering across multiple Local Enterprise Partnership areas.

iii) Delegate authority to Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into contracts and other legal agreements, as necessary to implement decisions to spend the grant.