2024/25 is the 6th academic year of devolved Adult Skills Fund (previously known as the Adult Education Budget) managed by the West of England Combined Authority. The on- going revenue funding of circa £16.5m per annum continues to support delivery of the West of England Metro Mayor’s priorities to simplify and widen access to training opportunities, and to ensure people have access to good secure jobs regardless of circumstances or where they are in their career. By taking responsibility for Adult Skills, the Combined Authority is able to fund providers to offer localised, flexible programmes of learning tailored to meet the region’s specific needs. This provides our residents aged 19+ with the opportunity to: build confidence; develop skills; and gain the qualifications they need for work, life and further learning.
This fund has been introduced by the UK Government to support people and communities most in need across the UK. It will provide £220 million of additional funding to support people and communities most in need. It also intends to help the UK move smoothly away from the EU structural fund programme and is a pilot programme to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Further information can be found here.
The West of England Combined Authority have collated bids into this Government, applications from Local Authorities, Universities, Colleges, Third Sector organisations and others.
The projects that were submitted to Government are available to view.
Initially awarded in late 2018, with a further allocation announced in 2019, £103m capital grant has been allocated for the development and construction of major transport schemes to help influence modal shift and encourage more use of public transport. The funds have to be spent by March 2023 and form part of the West of England Combined Authority Investment Programme of £350m up to that period.
Overall, our four-year programme will invest:
The Combined Authority’s Investment Fund supports our Local Industrial Strategy and Regional Recovery Plan. The fund will bring £30 million per annum to the West of England region over a 30-year period. This funding is subject to Gateway Reviews by Government every five years. To secure the funding, we have to demonstrate that our work adds value to existing programmes and activities.
The first Gateway Review was due in early 2021. This review will unlock the next five years (£150 million) of investment funding. The research provider SQW has been contracted to carry out the Gateway Reviews. It has recently submitted a positive report on our progress. To support this, we have created a Locality Complementary Report. This provides the wider context for SQW’s independent evaluation of our Investment Fund.
The Local Growth Assurance Framework sets out how the Investment Fund operates alongside the principles and criteria set out in the Investment Strategy.
Through the Investment Fund we have created or extended a number of programmes managed by the Combined Authority which include provision of grant funding support to businesses or other organisations. These include:
At the West of England Combined Authority Committee, it was agreed to allocate £9.395m to support West of England businesses during the early phase of economic recovery as advised by the Covid19 Economic Recovery Taskforce. Eight programme elements which would fall within this funding were identified. The following have been approved through this delegation since January 2021:
The Regional Low Carbon Delivery programme supports the region’s aim to be Net Zero. There is grant of £7.1m available for Domestic Retrofit, £4.2m for Low Carbon Business Support and £3.6m for Renewable Energy. Schemes and projects include:
This £3.294m funding programme provides support to SMEs to assist them as they undertake research and development activities, including those contributing towards clean and inclusive growth. The programme is match funded through the Investment Fund and supported by £1.45m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund, which is part of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme 2014-2020. Established by the European Union, ESIF helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, job creation and community regeneration.
£2m investment fund: project will deliver a £800k business support programme (including continuation of the Creative Scale Up programme) and a £500k grant fund to SMEs across the West of England Combined Authority working in the creative industries. The business support programme will support 120 creative business to reformulate their operating and financial models, explore new business opportunities and review business plans in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The grant programme will support 25 SMEs and 150 freelancers in the sector.
The Made Smarter West of England programme which funded by the West of England Investment Fund supports production based small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to understand and overcome the production challenges through digital technologies. Partnering with the University of the West of England and the National Composites centre, Made Smarter offers a number of measures: in-depth business and technical diagnostic 1:1 sessions, match funded grants up to £20k, fully funded university level apprenticeships and digital leadership training. All this enables organisations to boost productivity, increase revenues, upskill staff and create new local jobs.
Culture West : The West of England Combined Authority has been granted £1m from Arts Council England's Place Partnership funding, along with £1.5m of match funding from the Mayoral Combined Authority and £640k from regional partners. This £3.1m funding package makes up Culture West, a 2 -year transformative programme which will provide more work for creative professionals across the West of England and increase access to creative spaces, give mentoring and business advice for freelancers, start-ups, and established sector organisations, commission new festivals, engage more schools with creative learning experiences and provide industry-led skills training and advice.
This £3.6m project funded through the investment fund, provides support to low income in-work residents in West of England Combined Authority to increase their confidence, motivation, wellbeing, skills and incomes. Through a one to one coaching service, the approach goes beyond training to identify and overcome a much wider range of barriers to career progress, tailoring support to the individual. The project will additionally provide information, advice and signposting to set all residents on the road to career progression. Read more.
This £480,000 funding programme provides support to SMEs to enhance their understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) and incorporate this within their business strategy. IP is an important factor in encouraging businesses to develop and protect new products, processes and/or services they create, and in the longer term attract investment, create jobs and achieve business growth. Through this fund businesses are able to commission an IP audit and take the necessary steps protect their IP. The programme is supported via the Investment Fund and match funding is provided by the business beneficiaries.
The £1m Pollinator Fund builds on the Combined Authority’s ‘Bee Bold Awards’ and will help to deliver on the West of England’s objective to increase the abundance of wildlife by 30% by 2030.
The Fund has been created to support community-led ecology projects that enhance biodiversity and pollinator habitats across the West of England region. The objectives of the fund are:
To create and enhance the biodiversity in the area with an emphasis on improving pollinator habitats to contribute towards the regional ambition to increase the abundance of wildlife by 2030
To raise awareness and empower communities to take action to address the ecological emergency
The Green Futures Project supports schools to align their careers activity and curriculum with the regional 'green' skills agenda. This £300k programme is a key part of the West of England Combined Authority’s Climate Emergency Action Plan and follows on from recommendations made in the West of England Combined Authority Green Skills Reports. Five projects will be funded that will support young people to be more interested and motivated to follow a ‘green’ career pathway and ensure they have the information and guidance they need. Projects will deliver a range of careers activities including experiences of the workplace, teacher CPD, large scale events and workshops as well as digital labour market information.
Funded through the Investment Fund Skills Connect provides a hub and spoke model aimed at supporting individuals navigate the complex employment and skills system in the West of England and access relevant support and training. The hub is a central website for individuals to self-serve whereas the local authority delivery spokes provide tailored 121 support to individuals providing signposting to relevant services as well as providing more in-depth information, advice and guidance to those who are out of work.
In the interest of openness and transparency in public spending, the Combined Authority have published the grants awarded from the following grant giving Combined Authority Projects: