Cabinet was requested to approve the financial recommendations of the Wirral Economic Development and Skills Partnership (WEDS) and the Investment Board in relation to Working Wirral funding and note that the Government had now confirmed the Working Neighbourhoods Fund allocation for 2009/10 at £9,879,402.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning Strategy welcomed the report.

Resolved - That

(1)  Cabinet as accountable body for the Working Neighbourhoods Fund agrees the recommendations of the WEDS Partnership and Investment Board, subject to detailed contracting Working Wirral expenditure for:

• Advocacy in Wirral – Wirral Bridges project up to a maximum of £49,246 for the period 2009 – 2011;
• Wirral Learning Consortium – Supporting Wirral project up to a maximum of £1,104,998 for the period 2009 – 2011;
• Wirral Mind ABC Together Project to a maximum of £752,783 for the period of 2009-2011
• Remploy- Linking people to Employment project to a maximum of £806,308 for the period 2009-2011
• Cheshire & Wirral NHS Foundation Trust – Improving Health project to maximum of 163,140 for the period 2009-2011
• Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted – Training and Development project to a maximum of £37,253 for the period 2009-2011
• Wirral Metropolitan College – First Steps to Employment project to a maximum of £130,000 for the period 2009-2011
• Enterprise Solutions - 3 month extension to the WirralBiz programme up to a maximum of £262,500 for the period 1 April to 30 June 2009;
• International Links Project up to a maximum of £360,000 for the period 2009-2011
• Support for Small Medium Sized Enterprises project up to a maximum of £1,600,000 for the period 2009-2011
• Infrastructure studies up to a maximum of £50,000 for the period 2009-2011.

(2)  if any advance funding for cashflow reasons is required, it is only done for voluntary and community sector groups on the maximum of a quarterly basis at a time and that it is subject to:

i)  the organisation clearly evidencing a need for advance funding, and

ii)  that the quarterly performance report submitted at the end of each quarter demonstrates that the project is performing to target and timescales before any further advance of funding is made.