RBG-C-10 RBG Rural Application Guidance v.1.pdf - Watkin , Helen (CONTRACT COMPLIANCE OFFICER)

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Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) and UK Shared Prosperity (UKSPF) Rural Business Grant Application Guidance RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 1 of 20 12/09/2023 Part 1: Background 1.1 Introduction Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council (BMBC) has been allocated £650k of funding by the Rural England Prosperity (REPF) and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to invest in rural communities up to the 31st March 2025. The Rural England Prosperity Fund is integrated into the UKSPF which supports productivity and prosperity in places that need it most. For eligible local authorities, REPF is a rural top-up to UKSPF allocations. It supports activities that specifically address the particular challenges rural areas face. It is complementary to funding used to support rural areas under the UKSPF. UKSPF is a central pillar of the UK government’s ambitious Levelling Up agenda and a significant component of its support for places across the UK. Nationally, it provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. It will help places right across the country deliver enhanced outcomes and recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus 1.2 The Aim of the Project The Rural Business Grant aims to support the government’s Levelling Up White Paper and Future Farming Programme. It will fund capital projects for small rural businesses that will help them grow through improving productivity, developing new products, accessing new markets and/or new customers/visitors. The project will provide up to 50% grant funding for investments. The maximum amount of grant that can be awarded per business is £12,499. The balance of the investment must be provided by you, the applicant. Whilst the project is initially looking to safeguard businesses and jobs, priority will be given to those applicants that can best demonstrate how the investments will have a positive impact on the local economy through the creation of potential new employment opportunities in the borough. 1.3 How Will the Project Work? A Key Account Manager / Business Advisor from Enterprising Barnsley will work with you to review your business needs and support you in applying for the grant. The project will run as a competition with an Open Call inviting businesses to apply for grants of between £2,500 to £12,499 to support capital investment projects that will meet the programme requirements as detailed in section 1.4. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 2 of 20 12/09/2023 Businesses must have been trading for more than 12 months to apply for grants over £5,000. For businesses trading less than 12 months the applicant will be required to meet with the Council’s Launchpad team who support pre-start and early stage businesses in the borough https://enterprisingbarnsley.co.uk/start The call for grant applications will open in September 2023 and remain open until the funding has been allocated. Details of Panel dates will be published on the Enterprising Barnsley website https://enterprisingbarnsley.co.uk/programmes/rural-grant Grants are paid on completion of the project i.e. the goods have been received and paid for and the appropriate evidence has been submitted. It is imperative that you do not start the project, incur costs or place an order before the grant agreement has been signed. This will make the project ineligible and you will not be able to recoup your costs. 1.4 Eligibility To apply for the grant your business, or your project or beneficiaries must be in the defined area. The Rural team will complete a postcode compliance check for each application. To check if your business is in a rural location in Barnsley click on this link https://magic.defra.gov.uk/magicmap.aspx and follow the instructions below: • On the left side of the page, expand ‘Administrative Geographies’ by clicking on the ‘+’ box, then in the drop down expand and tick the box ‘other administrative boundaries’ • On the drop down select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’, tick the box • Zoom into the ‘Barnsley’ area on the map or search for Barnsley by typing ‘Barnsley’ in the search facility and select ‘Barnsley District (B)’ from the drop down • Next type your business postcode in the search facility, press enter, this will highlight your postcode area. Click on the ‘identify’ icon at the top of the webpage and then click on the area to determine whether it is considered rural. • A box will appear showing the ‘Site Check’ results letting you know if you are in ‘A Rural Area for the purposes of REPF (Rural Fund) or ‘Not a Rural Area for the purposes of REPF’. Disclaimer: Please note a postcode check on areas may cross the map boundaries giving both an ‘eligible’ and ‘ineligible’ result. If you are in doubt on whether your postcode is eligible, please contact us via the website contact form or email [email protected] providing details of your company name and full address. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 3 of 20 12/09/2023 The applicant must be a legal entity. • Private Businesses (SMEs) • Farmers • Growers • Charities • Voluntary / Community organisations • Someone who wants to start a business • Private forest holders Where appropriate, applicants will have to adhere to the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) definition. An SME is any organisation that has fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total less than €43 million. A breakdown of the different organisation sizes is in the below table. Turnover or balance sheet total Headcount Business size less than or equal to €50 million or €43 million less than 250 Medium sized less than or equal to €10 million or €10 million less than 50 Small less than or equal to €2 million or €2 million less than 10 Micro Anyone who works a minimum of 35 hours per week counts as 1 FTE employee. If your business is linked to other businesses, this might mean you exceed the business size requirements and the funding limits. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 4 of 20 12/09/2023 Examples of Projects The main driver for the project is the delivery of the following economic outcomes: • Jobs created • Jobs safeguarded • Number of new businesses created • Number of businesses adopting new to the firm technologies or processes • Number of businesses with improved productivity • Number of businesses experiencing growth To achieve the outcomes the following ‘types’ of projects will be prioritised • Investment that creates jobs and/or safeguards jobs • Improves a business’ productivity • Helps develop new products or processes and/or adopts new to the firm technology or processes • Enables a business to access new markets • Attracts new customers and/or visitors to the defined area (see 1.4) The application process is competitive therefore prioritisation will be given to those applicants who can address as many of the objectives/outcomes/outputs as possible, providing value for money and the required economic step change required for the borough. Below are several examples of the types of projects that could be supported, please note that this isn’t an exhaustive list and we would welcome a discussion if you feel you have a project that could create new employment opportunities whilst not displacing trade from other local South Yorkshire competitors. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 5 of 20 12/09/2023 Intervention Example projects Objectives Indicative outputs Indicative outcomes Funding (capital grants) for Creation and expansion of rural leisure and Creating jobs and boosting • Number of • Jobs created small scale investment in micro tourism businesses. For example: community cohesion. businesses supported • Jobs safeguarded and small enterprises in rural • Creating event venues or farm tourism • Number of farm • Number of new areas. facilities such as accommodation, wedding Increasing private sector businesses supported businesses created venues and leisure facilities investment in growth- • Number of farm • Number of businesses • Provision of facilities for pet and equines such enhancing activities, diversification adopting new to the as kennels, livery and pet health venues through targeted support projects supported firm technologies or for small and medium-sized • Number of micro processes Purchase of equipment for food processing for businesses to businesses supported • Number of businesses non-farmer-owned businesses. For example: • Undertake innovation with improved • Purchasing new process and packaging • Adopt productivity productivity machinery such as brewing equipment and enhancing, energy • Number of businesses onsite vending machines efficient and low carbon experiencing growth • Equipping development kitchens, or technologies and modernising existing kitchen equipment for techniques increased energy efficiency or increased productivity through automation Purchase of ‘Net Zero’ infrastructure. • All businesses who are wanting to invest in energy efficient and low carbon technologies and techniques will initially be mandated to work alongside the Council and the Barnsley Business Innovation Centre via the ‘Barnsley Net Zero’ project https://www.business-village.co.uk/net- zero-accelerator/ Diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture to encourage start up, expansion or scale up. For example • This could involve converting farm buildings into other commercial or business uses. Capital investments to improve business productivity and/or capacity. For example • Funding new machinery / manufacturing equipment to meet existing or future demand • The implementation of a quality management programme, this could include investing in new production equipment to improve product quality, output and reduce waste. Funding (capital grants) for Creation of multi-functional rural business Creating jobs and boosting • Number of • Jobs created growing the local economy and hubs providing shared workspace and community cohesion. businesses supported • Jobs safeguarded supporting innovation. This networking opportunities for rural businesses. From capital grant support • Number of farm • Number of new includes: For example: for starting businesses to businesses supported businesses created • Community business • Flexible access to commercial kitchens visible improvements to • Number of farm • Number of businesses • Cooperatives and social • Co-working spaces local retail, hospitality and diversification adopting new to the enterprises • Business infrastructure such as broadband leisure sector facilities. projects supported firm technologies or • Research and development and electric vehicle (EV) charging points. • Number of micro processes sites Enhancing rural visitor businesses supported • Number of businesses • SME’s Enterprise Innovation for New Markets – economy and rural leisure with improved support entrepreneurship in new and existing opportunities. productivity This intervention corresponds to businesses seeking to enter new markets. For • Number of businesses the UK Shared Prosperity Fund example increasing their (UKSPF) intervention E26 • Agricultural Products – small scale export capability. processing, product development. • Investments in equipment and infrastructure. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 7 of 20 12/09/2023 • Forestry – small scale processing, adding value to and marketing of wood products, developing wood fuel supply chains Funding (capital grants) for the Development of local visitor trails and Creating jobs and boosting • Number of • Jobs created development and promotion infrastructure to support this, such as: community cohesion. businesses supported • Jobs safeguarded (both trade and consumer) of • Information boards • Number of visitor • Number of new the visitor economy, such as: • Visitor centres Enhancing rural visitor experiences businesses created • Local attractions • Grants to develop local tourist attractions. economy and rural leisure supported • Number of businesses • Trails • Development of local visitor experiences opportunities. • Number of farm increasing their • Tourism products more based on the local offer. businesses supported turnover generally • Number of micro businesses supported This intervention corresponds to the UKSPF Intervention E17 You should also consider how investments contribute to net zero and nature recovery objectives. To support green growth, think about how your project can work with the natural environment to achieve objectives. At a minimum, you need to consider the project’s impact on our natural assets and nature. We will prioritise projects that deliver the greatest economic, environmental and social benefits. Rural Fund projects can be part of a wider UKSPF intervention. In Barnsley these are currently the Start Up grant via Launchpad and the Business Productivity and Low Carbon programmes, which can all be accessed via the Enterprising Barnsley team. They can provide extra funding where the objectives are to add value. All grant recipients will be asked to meet with the Council’s Employability and Skills team to help implement the boroughs ‘More and Better jobs’ strategy. https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/more-and-better-jobs/opportunities-you-can-offer/ RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 8 of 20 12/09/2023 Ineligible Expenditure Below is a list of excluded costs, this isn’t an exhaustive list and the Programme Management Team have the discretion to omit costs if they deem them ineligible and/or not within the scope of the project. • Revenue funding • Salaries • Pension contributions • Rent • Utility chargers • Insurance • Tax / inc VAT • Recruitment fees • In kind contributions inc. labour, vehicles, office space • Equipment hire • Licence fees, subscriptions and service charges • Replacing like-for-like IT hardware / software • Mobile phones • Consumables • Marketing costs inc. web hosting • Contingency costs • The costs of getting permissions or consents, such as planning • Relocation costs • Costs for statutory compliance • Repairs and maintenance of existing buildings, equipment and machinery • ‘Like for like’ replacement of existing items • The costs of moveable fittings • Renewable heat and energy systems that are claimable via RHI • Purchase of land • Non-specialised vehicles • Standard buildings, machinery and equipment for growing and harvesting agricultural and horticultural products. • Standard agricultural or horticultural inputs like animals and crops • The cost of agricultural production rights and payment entitlements Other activity which will not be allowed includes • Reimbursement of goods/services already purchased prior to the date of a grant offer letter • Repayment of existing loans or debts • To avoid issues concerning local displacement you will need to confirm if your business generates most of its turnover from trading outside of South Yorkshire. If not, your application will need to demonstrate how the grant supported project will lead to this. 1.5 How Do I Apply? To apply, please contact Enterprising Barnsley via the following channels Online Chat / Enquiry form – enterprisingbarnsley.co.uk/programmes/rural-grant Email - [email protected] Telephone - 01226 773003 RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 10 of 20 12/09/2023 Part 2: Completing the Application Form A Key Account Manager or Business Advisor from BMBC will work with you to support you with your application. Applications that pass stage 1 will be assessed competitively based on the information provided in the application form. 2.1 Stage 1 - Eligibility Criteria You must demonstrate that your business / project meets all the eligibility criteria. Any projects that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not progress to stage 2 – Application. Please enter Yes or No in the boxes provided (Stage 1 - Page 1 of the Application form). Q1 There is a strong emphasis on economic growth and job creation in this programme therefore all projects must directly support the rural economy and be based within the defined area, the postcode can be checked for eligibility following the instructions in point 1.4. Applicants must be a business based in Barnsley and must pay business rates to Barnsley. The address must be the registered office or trading address of the business. If the applicant works from a residential property as their main business base, they are still allowed to apply but those using ‘virtual’ tenancy agreements will be precluded from applying. The business address must be the place where the project activity takes place. Q2 The focus of the funding is to support Small and Medium sized Enterprises, not large organisations. For the definition of a Small and Medium sized Enterprise please use this link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-small-to-medium-sized-enterprise-sme-action- plan/small-to-medium-sized-enterprise-sme-action- plan#:~:text=An%20SME%20is%20any%20organisation,is%20in%20the%20below%20table. Q3 The project can provide up to 50% of grant towards the total project cost. To ensure the project can proceed you have to confirm whether you have private finance available, either your own from a bank or other commercial finance. Your project must be paid in full to your supplier before you can claim the grant amount from us. Q4 The purpose of the grant is to provide added value and ensure there is true need for the grant therefore within the application form you will need to evidence viability of the project and the need for grant support. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 11 of 20 12/09/2023 Q5 Financial support provided to your company through the project is considered Subsidy Allowance as part of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/23/enacted). It is your responsibility to declare compliance with the Subsidy Control Act. Under the scheme rules your company may not receive more than £315,000 subsidy allowance during the elapsed part of the current financial year and the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year. Q6 To avoid issues concerning local displacement you will need to confirm if your business generates most of its turnover from trading outside of South Yorkshire. If not your application will need to demonstrate how the grant supported project will lead to this. For visitor attraction projects, the applicant must evidence that there are no other similar types of businesses/organisations operating within the South Yorkshire area. Q7 For property related ‘fit out’ costs on leased premises, you will need to confirm you have the approval of the landlord and your lease doesn’t expire before the completion of your project. Q8 As part of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's Inclusive Economy Approach they have introduced an 'Employee Promise' to help local businesses play a key role in growing the local economy. The Employer Promise encourages all types and size of organisations to offer what they can to actively help young people and adults, from improving the health and wellbeing of your workforce to employing local graduates. As part of receiving the grant you will be asked to speak to the Employment and Skills team to discuss how you can participate. Q9 If your business has been trading for less than 12 months, you will be referred to the business start-up team, Launchpad, for an initial discussion regarding your plans. 2.2 Stage 2 - Completing the Application Form Please use the information in this section to answer each question in the application form as fully as possible. Brief guidance is included under each question regarding the information required, along with the assessment criteria and available marks. There is no formal word limit but each individual response to Questions 1 - 5 should ideally not exceed 500 words. Scoring Criteria Each question will be scored on how the response meets the scoring criteria for that question, the questions are each worth up to 5 marks. An appraisal panel will score each application and reserves the right to disqualify any submission which scores below 60% of the total available marks. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 12 of 20 12/09/2023 The table below will be used by the judging panel to score each question on how it meets the specific criteria highlighted in Part 2 of this Application Guidance. Score out of 5 The response meets the criteria for the question and identifies factors that will 5 EXCELLENT offer added value. The response meets the criteria for the question and provides some evidence to 4 GOOD support the response. 3 AVERAGE The response is acceptable but with reservations. The response is lacking in key areas and requires the reviewer to make 2 POOR assumptions. 1 UNSATISFACTORY The response is of poor quality. Applicant Details Please provide details of your business, including details of the primary contact for the project. This should be the person the Project Administrators will contact with any questions regarding the application. All sections of the application should be completed. Subsidy Allowance The UKSPF Rural Business Grant project is part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Council considers that financial and non-financial support given to your company as part of this project will be a subsidy for the purposes of section 2 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (“the Act”). Under the Minimal Financial Assistance (“MFA”) rules contained in section 36 of the Act, the Council and other public authorities are allowed to award low value subsidies without needing to comply with the majority of the subsidy control requirements. MFA has a financial threshold so no organisation* can receive more than £315,000 over the applicable period. The applicable period is: • The elapsed part of the current financial year (i.e., from 1 April 2023), and • the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year The £315,000 limit over this time period includes all MFA awards under the Act, but also: i. any previous subsidy your organisation has received which was provided under the 325,000 Special Drawing Rights allowance set out in Article 364 of Chapter 3 of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”) ii. any previous de minimis State aid your organisation received under any of the EU Regulations listed in section 42(8)(c) of the Act; iii. any SPEI financial assistance awards under section 38 of the Act within the applicable period above. You must cumulate all of the above support together when assessing your organisation’s eligibility to receive MFA support. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 13 of 20 12/09/2023 Project Details Please provide full details of the project that will be funded with the grant. If the address where the project will be undertaken is different to your registered/trading address, please confirm the project location. This grant will only fund projects that are identified as eligible for the Rural Fund in the rural map - see 1.4. Please provide anticipated start and finish dates for the investment being supported by the grant. It would normally be expected that this would be less than 1 month from receipt of your Grant offer Letter and that you will enter into a contract with your supplier within 1 month of receipt of the grant offer letter. Projects must complete by end December 2023. Please state the total project cost and the amount of funding being requested. Please provide a brief project description (200 words max). This should include an explanation of the challenge your business is facing and provide an overview on what the grant will be funding. Projects can only be capital. The grant investment must be clearly linked to the programme intervention, objectives, outputs and outcomes as stipulated on pages 6 – 8. Questions Please note that any projects up to £24,999 will need to answer Questions 1-5 of the application form. For any projects £25,000 and over, questions 1-7 of the application form need to be answered. Q1 Tell us about your project In this section you need to provide a brief outline of your project, making reference to the following areas. • Project Activities – what will the project do and what is the aim? • Demand – why do you think this project is needed? • Duplication / Displacement – does this project duplicate other services/activities within the area? • Challenges Addressed – what challenges will this project address Examples of the types of challenges you have may include: • A requirement to introduce new products / processes / services to access new markets. • Constraints with existing premises that require either new or expansion of existing operational space. • A requirement to invest in new machinery to increase capacity and / or bring new capability. Within the application you will need to explain why grant funding is needed, with reference to the viability of the project with or without grant funding. Support will only be provided to projects that demonstrate: • the project will not proceed without grant support; or, • grant support will allow a project to proceed within a shorted timescale; or RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 14 of 20 12/09/2023 • the project will not proceed in South Yorkshire without grant support; or, • grant support will enable a project to proceed on a larger scale, at a higher level of quality and/or with greater impact. Grant is only payable for costs incurred after the application is formally approved. Grant is only payable to the applicant business and upon production of evidence that costs have been incurred by the same business (not another business in a group structure for example). Any costs which have not been incurred by the applicant business will be ineligible. Any expenditure which is deemed ineligible will not be paid and any offer of grant will be withdrawn. Q2 Outline what is required to deliver your project? If your total project is £25,000 or more, you must provide 3 quotes for each product or service and must complete Q6 & Q7 in this application Please include a • Cost breakdown – list your supplier/s, item costs and product descriptions • Attach a copy of the quotation/s from your preferred supplier. The quotation must include both the content of the Project Description and the project item cost. • You must provide details of any conflict of interest with the supplier/s you have chosen. Q3 How is your project innovative? Please refer to at least one of the following within your answer; • new process(es) • new service(s) • new approach(es) • new product(s). Q4 How will your project address any of the following themes • Equal opportunities • Sustainable Development • Poverty and Social Inclusion • Digital Inclusion RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 15 of 20 12/09/2023 Equality and Diversity Projects supported by UKSPF must adhere to the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. You should briefly explain the steps you have taken to understand the potential impact, both positive and negative, of the project on different equality groups listed under the Equality Act including race, gender, age and disability. Projects must demonstrate commitment towards addressing equality issues and meet the highest standards, exceeding baseline legislative requirements wherever possible. Equality should be integrated into all aspects of project planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It must be embedded not only within the services the project provides, but also in the way the project is delivered. Positive Environmental Impacts All projects should seek to ensure that their activity does not have adverse effects on the environment and possible negative effects are minimised. Projects should also seek to enhance positive environmental aspects. You need to demonstrate that you have thought about how your project is likely to impact, positively and negatively, on the area in which it will be sited. Positive environmental impacts could include improvements in energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions, enhancements of natural habitats, eco-systems and biodiversity or investments to help reduce the loss of biodiversity, reduction in waste generation, use of recycled materials or consideration of sustainable transport. Negative Environmental Impacts Negative environmental impacts could include visual impact, significant increases in traffic, pollution (including noise and dust) and impacts on wildlife habitats and biodiversity. These might be short-term impacts (for example, whilst the project is being constructed), or longer-term impacts from the ongoing presence and use of a facility. Where it is identified that a project may or is likely to have negative effects on the environment, these possible effects should be assessed, and plans put in place to mitigate, avoid or reduce the impact. In preparing the project application, it may be necessary to consult a competent environmental authority, depending on the nature of the project. Describe what actions will be taken to mitigate or minimise these impacts – e.g. tree planting to screen development, environmental or natural habitat enhancements, offsetting environmental areas, road improvements etc. Explain what assessments have been completed. Explain the steps that have been taken to ensure project sustainability and minimise the project’s negative impact on the environment, including its carbon footprint. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 16 of 20 12/09/2023 Climate Change Your project might seek to achieve recognised environment or sustainability standards or accreditations. Explain any standards, assessments or certifications you are working to achieve. Provide details of any local organisations that have helped advise and inform your project design to enhance the environmental and sustainability elements of your project. Sustainable and environmental building assessments Where your project involves building works, the final design may incorporate environmental and sustainable features. This is encouraged wherever possible. You may choose to include a BREEAM environmental assessment and accreditation process within your project design or another equivalent environmental accreditation. Explain what environmental and sustainability features have been considered, included and excluded when drawing up the final design, and why. Explain the assessments and accreditations that will be incorporated into your project. Where you will not include any assessments within your project, please explain why you feel they are not appropriate or applicable. Social Inclusion Social inclusion is about involving everyone within a community and making sure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in society. People can feel excluded or isolated for a number of reasons e.g. older people, people on low incomes, people living in isolated rural areas, people with a disability. You should consider how you will target those people who are socially isolated within your community and how best to promote your activities in order to ensure that those who will most benefit are aware of the activities. Information about digital inclusion https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/01/13/a-checklist-for-digital- inclusion-if-we-do-these-things-were-doing-digital-inclusion/ Q5 What outcomes / outputs will be achieved as a result of the project? You will need to detail the outcomes resulting from the proposed investment(s). The answer must clearly show how the activity will improve business productivity and how this will be measured. Please summarise the outcomes in the table using numbers and figures, not percentages. In the ‘Improvement’ column provide the ‘increase no./figure’ as a result of the project only, not the ‘baseline + improvement’, e.g. for Jobs created, baseline is current no. of employees = 7, the improvement could be ‘2’ if there are 2 new jobs created as a result of the project. The forecast will be monitored and contribute to a wider evaluation of the Rural Business Grant Project. Jobs Created - The number of new, permanent, paid, full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs created following support. This includes both part-time and full-time jobs, which should be recorded relative to full-time equivalent (FTE – 35 hours). ‘New’ means it should not have existed before intervention. Jobs Safeguarded - A safeguarded job is a permanent and paid job that was at risk prior to support being provided, and which the support helped the business to retain. Productivity - The figures in the table will establish the productivity baseline for your business. The information requested should be available from your accounts but please contact your relevant business RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 17 of 20 12/09/2023 advisor if you are unsure. This information will be requested again after completion of your project to see if the grant has had made a positive impact on your GVA. You will need to provide details of current approaches you take to measuring productivity in as simplistic way as possible. The measurements must relate to the particular process(es) which are relevant to this application and the improvement your business is trying to create. If possible, please provide details of reporting frequency, methodology and rationale. Questions 6 and 7 only apply if your total investment is £25,000 and over Q6 Provide a summary of the company financials and forecasts (3 financial years including current and following year forecast) Please provide the period of your accounting year i.e. 1st April to the 31st March. For the current year to date, we only require data up to the current point in your accounting period when you submit your grant application. Q7 Provide a summary of 3 different suppliers and attach a copy of each of the quotes to your application. As the total project investment is £25,000 or over, you are required to obtain at least 3 quotes to show you have explored the market and tested value for money. You must provide details of any conflict of interest with the suppliers you have chosen. You need to attach a copy of the quotation(s) from your preferred supplier(s) to the application form. The quotation must include both the content of the Project Description and the Total Project Cost. The application form must be signed by the Director/Owner/Chief Executive and an email address for that person must be provided as the offer letter is sent via Adobe for electronic signature and must be received by the person who has the authority to sign. 2.3 Timescales Your allocated KAM/Business Advisor will review your application form. You will be notified of the outcome via the grant portal. It is important to note the approval of the project at this stage does not mean you can make any purchases, this can only happen after you have sent back your signed grant offer letter. It is estimated to take up to 2 weeks for the project panel to assess an application. It is essential that you provide all necessary information and that you fully explain the reason for the grant and what it will be used for. Any missing information can delay your application. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 18 of 20 12/09/2023 If your application is successful you will receive a formal grant offer letter. This will inform you how to proceed and what documents you need to keep to claim the grant. It is estimated to take up to 10 days to process a grant offer letter after the panel decision. Once you have purchased the goods/services in line with your grant offer letter, you will submit a grant claim to evidence the purchase including an invoice and bank statements. It can take up to 1 month to process your claim and pay the grant to you, and any missing information can delay the payment of grant. You must not place an order with your chosen provider, commission or purchase any goods/services prior to receiving the offer letter, as grant payments cannot be made retrospectively against activity that has already occurred. Projects approved in the financial year 2023/24 must complete by end December 2023 and claims submitted by the end of January 2024 at the latest. Projects approved in the financial year 2024/25 must complete by December 2024 and claims submitted by the end of January 2025 at the latest. 2.4 Procurement Guidance The basis of procurement with regard to products supported by grant award from this programme is one of ‘business choice’. This means that you as the business choose the supplier(s) for your project. If your total project value is below £24,999, you will only be required to provide a copy of 1 quotation per goods/services to be purchased, for your grant request to be considered. However, as a matter of good business practice we would suggest that you may want to seek alternative quotations to ensure you are going to get best value. The minimum value per quote is £500, this is to avoid multiple quotes and invoices for small amounts which hinders both the grant approval and grant claim processes for both the business and the Programme Management Team. If your total project value is over £24,999 you are required to obtain a minimum of 3 quotes. It is both the business and Programme Management team’s responsibility to ensure that best value is being obtained from public funds and the team do reserve the right to seek further information from you to confirm your decision. The quotation(s) of the preferred supplier(s) must be adequately detailed and fully align with the information on your Grant Application form. It is not permissible for any arrangement to be made between yourselves and the provider organisation which may be seen as any form of ‘payment offset’ for example credit notes or related financial transactions which in any way reduces the Gross Cost of the products or services, or in any way reduces the net contribution you are making to these costs. For successful grant applicants, there is a requirement for them as part of the grant claim process to demonstrate full payment before making their claim. This means that any form of lease or hire purchase agreement will not be acceptable. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 19 of 20 12/09/2023 2.5 Document Retention You will be required to retain documentary evidence of the support received, and to provide copies of this evidence to the Programme Management Team to claim the grant and to retain originals which must be made available for inspection by an auditor. You must retain the original documentation about the grant as per the document retention requirements. Records must be kept until 2033. In the event that your business ceases trading within this period, the documentation must be passed to the Programme Management Team to retain. The evidence to be retained includes: • The grant offer letter; • The original invoice from the service provider; • The bank statement(s) showing payment of the total cost of the service to the provider; • Procurement evidence. 2.6 Complaints Whilst we endeavor to run a transparent and fair project we appreciate that there will be applicants who may not be happy with the result of their submission. Therefore, if you feel that you have been treated unfairly, you must first contact your local authority contact to discuss your issue. If you still cannot resolve your complaint, please email [email protected]. The Programme Manager for the project will then review and raise your complaint at the Rural Business Panel Board. The Chair of the Board will have the final say on any complaint received. RBG-C-12 Rural Application Guidance v.1 Page 20 of 20 12/09/2023