ESEP Download Resources : UP-date March 2010
Welcome to the March 2010 issue of UP-date, the e-Newsletter for the Lowlands and Uplands Scotland Programmes
PROGRAMME NEWS
Project Announcements
East of Scotland Investment Fund
On 19 March 2010, First Minister Alex Salmond announced the creation of a £5 million East of Scotland Investment Fund which will offer loans of up to £50,000 to growth businesses in the East of Scotland. The Fund is supported by £2 million of ERDF funding and £3 million of funding from the 12 local authorities that will deliver the scheme: Fife, Aberdeen, Angus, Edinburgh, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Moray, Perth & Kinross, Stirling and West Lothian. The Fund has the potential to generate increased turnover of £34.56 million in SMEs and could create approximately 1,300 new jobs.
Scottish Funding Council – The College Sector: Investing in Recovery
This £15.3 million project will create an extra 4,100 new college places in the most deprived areas of Scotland. £6.9 million of ESF funding is being match-funded by £8.4 million from the Scottish Funding Council to support colleges in the most socially deprived areas where demand for places has increased during the economic downturn. First Minister, Alex Salmond said “These new places will provide more than 4,000 people with a real opportunity to train, learn and develop their skills so they are work ready and well equipped to find long-term employment despite the current economic climate.
Implementation of the ERDF Programme
The current grant commitment levels in the ERDF Programme prior to any funding decisions being made by Scottish Ministers on Third Round Applications is detailed below in Table 1:
Table 1: Cumulative Summary of Financial Commitments in ERDF Programme to Date:
| ERDF PRIORITY |
TOTAL ERDF GRANT ALLOCATION (£)* |
NUMBER OF PROJECTS APPROVED |
TOTAL ERDF GRANT COMMITTED (£) | ERDF GRANT YET TO BE ALLOCATED (£) |
| Priority 1: Research and Innovation | 82,898,704 | 43 | 66,828,657 | 16,070,047 |
| Priority 2: Enterprise Growth | 109,967,669 | 30 | 71,180,169 | 38,787,500 |
| Priority 3: Urban Regeneration | 91,357,756 | 18 | 16,470,153 | 74,887,603 |
| Priority 4: Rural Development** | 46,017,241 | 17 | 11,932,541 | 34,084,700 |
| Priority 5: Technical Assistance | 8,120,689 | 4 | 4,205,982 | 3,914,707 |
| TOTAL | 338,362,059 | 112 | 170,617,502 | 167,744,557 |
* An average exchange rate of 1 EURO = £0.90 has been used.
** The figure for Priority 4 includes all awards made by the South of Scotland Global Grants Body.
Implementation of the ESF Programme
The current grant commitment levels in the ESF Programme prior to any funding decisions being made by Scottish Ministers on Third Round Applications is detailed below in Table 2: The current grant commitment levels in the ESF Programme prior to any funding decisions being made by Scottish Ministers on Third Round Applications is detailed below in Table 2:
Table 2: Cumulative Summary of Financial Commitments in ESF Programme to Date:
| ESF PRIORITY |
TOTAL ESF GRANT ALLOCATION (£)* |
NUMBER OF PROJECTS APPROVED |
TOTAL ESF GRANT COMMITTED (£) |
ESF GRANT YET TO BE ALLOCATED (£) |
| Priority 1: Progressing into Employment | 128,875,053 | 158 | 95,140,651 | 33,734,402 |
| Priority 2: Progressing through Employment | 89,640,744 | 43 | 20,858,281 | 68,782,463 |
| Priority 3: Improving Access to Lifelong Learning | 18,582,758 | 27 | 12,070,808 | 6,511,950 |
| Priority 4: Technical Assistance | 5,830,293 | 4 | 3,020,298 | 2,809,995 |
| TOTAL |
242,928,848 | 232 | 131,128,231 | 111,800,617 |
* An average exchange rate of 1 EURO = £0.90 has been used and the total grant allocations for Priorities 1 and 3 take account of a recent Commission decision on resource virement.
OTHER NEWS
Scottish Government Economic Recovery Plan
Scottish Government’s Economic Recovery Plan was recently updated. It identifies a number of priorities for Scottish Government for the coming months to accelerate economic recovery and increase sustainable economic growth in Scotland.
Europe 2020 Strategy
On 3 March 2010 the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 Strategy, the successor to the Lisbon Strategy, to prepare the EU economy for the next decade. The Commission identifies three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete actions at EU and national levels: smart growth (fostering knowledge, innovation, education and the digital society), sustainable growth (making production more resource efficient while boosting competitiveness), and inclusive growth (raising participation in the labour market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against poverty).
The Europe2020 strategy consists of a series of flagship initiatives:
- Innovative action
- Youth on the move
- A digital agenda for Europe
- Resource-efficient Europe
- An industrial policy for green growth
- An agenda for new skills and jobs
- European platform against poverty
Further information and policy documents can be found on the Europe 2020 website .
