ERDF for 2007-2013

Between 2007 and 2013, €3.2 billion (around £2.5bn) ERDF is being invested in the English regions.

Introduction


The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was set up in 1975 to stimulate economic development in less prosperous regions of the European Union (EU).

As EU membership has grown, ERDF has developed into a major instrument for helping to redress regional imbalances. The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) manages ERDF in England.

The nine English regions have benefited substantially from ERDF. For the 2006-2006 round of ERDF programmes, the English regions were allocated £3.4 billion split between Objective 1 (£1.2bn) Objective 2 (£2.2bn) areas.

How much is available through ERDF for 2007-2013?

Between 2007 and 2013, England will benefit from an investment of a further €3.2 billion (aprox £2.5 bn) of ERDF. It will be delivered by one Convergence programme in Cornwall & Scilly Isles and a Competitiveness and Employment programme in each of the English regions.

The breakdown of ERDF between the regions is:

Competitiveness programme :-

€755.5 million North West
€375.7 million North East
€583.6 million Yorkshire & Humberside
€110.9 million East of England
€268.5 million East Midlands
€399.9 million West Midlands
€23.7 million South east
€181.9 million London
€124.7 million South West

Convergence programme :-

€458.1 million Cornwall

England is also receiving a further €177 million ERDF for two national cross-border Co-operation programmes with France, Flanders and the Netherlands.

Another €193.8 million is available to the United Kingdom for participating in three transnational Co-operation programmes across the North West Europe, North Sea and Atlantic areas.

Priorities

The 2007-13 ERDF programmes in England have been developed in line with existing regional strategies (e.g. Regional Economic and Spatial Strategies). There is a greater emphasis in this new round of programmes on concentrating and targeting funding towards city regions and fewer and bigger transformational regeneration projects at regional and sub-regional level. This also fits with the UK’s National Strategic Reference Framework, which aims in England to:

Increase growth via employment and productivity
Despite good macroeconomic performance, address any regional disparities and low employment and skills
Reduce gaps in growth rates between regions and stretch employment and skills targets

Two English regional ERDF programmes will help achieve these aims.

The Regional Competitiveness and Employment programme – outside of the least developed regions – is aimed at strengthening a region’s competitiveness and attractiveness by:

Promoting innovation and knowledge transfer
Stimulating enterprise and supporting successful business
Ensuring sustainable development, production and consumption
Building sustainable communities


The Convergence programme aims to speed up the convergence of the least-developed regions by improving conditions for growth and employment through:

Promoting innovation and knowledge transfer
Stimulating enterprise and business development
Improving accessibility and connectivity


ERDF will continue also to be available to a wide range of projects, in terms of scale, that impact on these overall objectives to build prosperous communities.

What ERDF is used for

ERDF is directed at projects offering substantial benefits which meet the needs of an area and would not take place without a grant. It is used to provide help towards the project costs. These grants are set at a minimum level required to allow the project to go ahead. As a general rule, however, the EU contributes no more than 50% of the eligible cost, although it can be as much as 75% for projects in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The rest of the funding, known as ‘match funding’ comes from other sources such as:-

Regional Development Agencies (RDAs)
local authorities
government schemes, including the Single Regeneration Budget
other public bodies
private sector


As the Managing Authority for ERDF programmes in England, CLG takes the strategic lead in ensuring they are implemented in the regions and that activity conforms with EC Regulations.

There is a new development from the previous round of ERDF programmes in 2000-06. The RDAs have taken over administration of the 2007-13 programmes from the regional Government Offices (GOs). This gives them responsibility within their regions for setting priorities with local partners and ensuring programmes and their objectives are implemented effectively.

They will work with partners in their region to ensure an integrated and strategic approach to programme delivery by addressing the following main themes as set out by the European Commission:

Regional Competitiveness and Employment programme:

anticipating economic and social changes, including those linked to the opening of trade
increasing and improving the quality of investment in human capital, innovation and the promotion of the knowledge society and entrepreneurship
protecting and improving the environment
improving accessibility
improving the adaptability of workers and businesses
development of inclusive job markets


Convergence programme:

Improving the quality of investment in physical and human capital
Developing innovation of the knowledge society
Adaptability to economic and social changes
Protection and improvement of the physical environment
Administrative efficiency.