Co-Financing

The European Social Fund Division (ESFD), now under the administration of the DWP, has decided to introduce Co-Financing to the ESF Objective 3 Programme. The ESFD defines co-financing as a means of channelling both ESF money and the required match funding to projects in a single stream. Organisations that co-ordinate this process are called Co-Financing Organisations (CFOs) and are allocated ESF money by Regional Government Offices through a bidding process.

The ESFD states Co-Financing Organisations’ objectives as follows:

1. to reduce bureaucracy and the burden of administration
2. to secure better value for money
3. to ensure more value is added to the delivery of Government programmes by promoting greater coherence in addressing the regional priorities in ESF Programmes.

Key Proposals

Only statutory authorities and agencies can become CFOs. Prospective CFOs apply to Government Offices (GOs) for ESF money and match it with their own funding streams e.g. the Local Intervention & Development Fund (LIDF). CFOs may apply to deliver in their respective areas some or all of the ESF priorities and measures. Government Office ESF Units assess these applications. Only local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) were permitted by the ESFD to apply to become the first CFOs and all 12 local Learning and Skills Councils in the South West and the South East regions have done so. More recently, the Employment Service with the Benefits Agency (now known as JobCentre Plus), some Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and some local authorities have also applied to become CFOs.

Reasons for Change

The ESFD gives the following reasons for the change. Training providers, by which the ESFD refers to ESF projects, have had to bid – and later account – to separate bodies for ESF money and match funding. This has, in the view of the ESFD, increased their administrative workload and their costs. Some “training providers” are unable to find the match funding. ESF support is available project by project (sic), which makes it harder to plan strategically how best to use ESF money to add real value.

However, "training providers" (projects) which have their own match funding, are entitled to bid directly to Government Offices. CFOs, which may have opted for certain measures not appropriate or open to a project bid and are, therefore, unable to fund it, may support these bids at their discretion.
Project organisations finding no measures relevant to their application covered by LSCs (CFOs) are entitled, in any event, to bid directly to Government Offices.

The ESFD anticipates that eventually all local LSCs (47 in England) and all Employment Service (Jobcentre Plus) regional branches will become CFOs and, on a smaller scale, local authorities, RDAs and some Higher Education Institutes.

Formula Funding

For more predictable projects, Formula Funding has been introduced which sets national funding rates for different aspects of project delivery and training provision. Projects addressing more problematic beneficiary needs, where less is known about the outcomes and greater costs are involved in different kinds of support, must make their case for funding over and above the pre-determined formula funding rates. The European Commission has already recognised that in order to reach and deliver ESF programmes to the highest priority groups i.e. the most severely disadvantaged and excluded people, there will be justification for costs beyond the average.

CFO Local Plans

CFOs must produce local co-financing plans to meet the needs of people and organisations in the areas for which they are responsible. The plans will draw heavily on local consultations e.g. with local authorities, voluntary and community organisations and the economic assessments provided by the Regional Development Agency. They will show how much ESF funding is available for each measure and activity as well as the mix of formula and non-formula funding to be used to match fund the ESF contribution. Prospective applicant organisations should first study the local CFOs plan and discuss project objectives in broad terms with their local CFO and Regional Government Office to determine which measures and funding are available to them.

Co-financing and the ESF Objective 3 Programme

Although co-financing has existed in EU member states for some time and is generally approved in principle, what gives rise to uncertainty in the UK is how it is being implemented without empirical evidence to demonstrate that ESFD theories are predicated upon valid assumptions that do not prejudice such a valuable programme. The concerns of many people, who deliver ESF projects, are that greater importance may be attached to co-financing to the detriment of the ESF Programmes identity and the purpose for which it was designed.

Contact details of the LSCs

Berkshire LSC Pacific House, Imperial Way, READING, Berkshire RG2 0TF	Madeleine Watters Tel: 0118 9082187
Bournemouth/Dorset/Poole LSC 25 Oxford Road, BOURNEMOUTH, Dorset BH8 8EY	Kerry Pierce Tel: 01202 652680
Devon & Cornwall, Crownhill, PLYMOUTH, Devon PL6 5XR	Maria Gammon Tel: 01752 754068
Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and West of England Zone Conway House, 33 –35 Worcester Street, GLOUCESTER, Gloucetershire GL1 3AJ	ESF Manager; Alison Thorpe Tel: 01452 450010
Hampshire & Isle of Wight LSC Eagle Point, East Wing, Little Park Farm, Segensworth, FAREHAM PO15 5TD	Julia Barret Tel: 01489 558512
Kent & Medway LSC 26 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, WEST MALLING, Kent ME19 4AE	Vivienne Foulds Tel: 01732 876900
Milton Keynes Bucks & Oxon LSC Latimer House, The Langford Business Park, Langford Locks, KIDLINGTON, Oxfordshire OX5 1GG	Colin Downing Tel: 01235 556212
Somerset and Dorset Zone East Reach House, East Reach, TAUNTON, Somerset TA1 3EN	ESF Manager; Alan Cox Tel: 01202 652682
South West Regional Zone	Head of ESF - Nigel Howells Tel: 01752 754116 ESF Central Manager: Sarah Fear Tel: 01752 754116
Surrey LSC 48 – 54 Goldsworth Road, WOKING, Surrey GU21 1LE	Angela Payne Tel: 01483 803215
Sussex LSC Prince's House, 53 Queen's Road, BRIGHTON, East Sussex BN1 3XB	Helen Rowden Tel: 01273 783527
West of England LSC St Lawrence House, 29-31 Broad Street, BRISTOL BS99 7HR	Gordon Rice Tel: 0117 3726467
Wiltshire & Swindon LSC Bora Building, Off Chelmsford Road, Westlea Down, SWINDON, Wiltshire SN5 7EZ	Julia Falaki Tel: 01793 608009

All the LSC's issue deadlines for tender. Please contact your local office for their timetable or the website www.lsc.gov.uk.

Other Co-financers

Jobcentre Plus SE Regional Office 3rd Floor, Ranger House Walnut Tree Close, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU1 4US	Simon Hayes Senior ESF Manager South East Region Tel: 01483 446080
Information on the Jobcentre Plus Co-financing programme is available on the following website: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Partners/Europeansocialfund/Dev_008234.xml.html
Jobcentre Plus SW Region The Pithay, BRISTOL BS1 2NQ	Christine Vine Tel: 0117 9456626
Information on the Jobcentre Plus Co-financing programme is available on the following website: www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Partners/Europeansocialfund/Dev_008230.xml.html
South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) SEEDA Headquarters, Cross Lanes, GUILDFORD, Surrey GU1 1YA	Zoe Gray Tel: 01483 470110
Information on the SEEDA programme is available on the following website: www.seeda.co.uk/Work_in_the_Region/European_Initiatives/European_Social_Fund/
Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council, Premier House, Station Road, SWINDON, Wiltshire SN1 1TZ	Nick Lowe Tel: 01793 466236
Information on the Swindon Borough Council programme is available on the following website: Swindon Borough Council