Decision details

Decision to award non-allocated funds, realised through efficiency savings, arising within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Programme through the agreed protocol to a project that has engaged with the Programme. The proposal has been evaluated by the relevant Officer Panel and has also received political and Senior Officer approval:

Award of Funds in Support of the Boston Town Centre 2024 Christmas Event - £10,000

The funding will support the 2024 Boston Christmas Festival which will feature an ice rink as part of the event. This will build on last year’s success and expand the festival to support the local visitor economy and increase footfall within Boston and the town centre.

As part of HMG’s Levelling Up Agenda and in line with the commitments made by Boston Borough in the UKSPF Prospectus and Investment Plan, we have committed to invest in high-impact projects across three core themes:

• Communities and place - Supporting community groups and investment in community facilities; enhancing the cultural and heritage offer; widening the use of community buildings; initiatives to help support our town centres.
• Supporting local business - Helping local businesses invest for future growth; growing the food processing, horticulture, and logistics sector; encouraging new businesses to establish; helping the local social and community enterprises to innovate and grow.
• People and skills - Developing skills and employment opportunities within the fresh food, food processing and logistics sectors; creating new training hubs; supporting local residents with skills and access to employment.

This allocation meets the objectives that we have committed to under the Supporting Local Business Theme. With this project passing a rigorous assessment process, we are confident that it can deliver the outcomes expected from the Programme quickly and substantively. This has been the basis of the decision.

These funds were allocated through the agreed protocol on the allocation of UKSPF ‘underspent funds’ subsequent to the closure of the last open call for funds - Procurement or closed competition. This time, the latter was chosen, and the allocation was awarded to projects that had engaged with the Fund prior to its closure for applications or projects that had been referred from other Programmes within the Council. They were appraised competitively by the relevant officer panel and consultation occurred with the relevant Portfolio Holder. The decision was then made on a delegated officer basis by the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the UKSPF Programme.

The alternative option to awarding funds would be to not award the funding, which would bring severe reputational risk to the Council both with the public and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.