The Director of Regeneration and Place introduced a report which provided details of the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Place Based Business Support (PBBS) grant funding allocation of £952,320 from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA).

The report set out recommendations for how the Council should utilise the grant to deliver the required outputs and activities. The grant funding presents the opportunity to achieve savings against the Council’s revenue budget. The Council has commissioned Wirral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCC) under contract to deliver the Business Support Service (BSS) until 31 December 2023, with the option to extend delivery to 31 December 2025.

It was proposed that the BSS Contract is varied to incorporate PBBS outputs and be part-funded from the Council’s UKSPF PBBS allocation. The PBBS allocation l also enabled the commissioning of additional specialist interventions to support growth in key sectors and clusters and the funding of two full-time equivalent council staff posts during the UKSPF grant funding period.

Members queried if a Chamber of Commerce Value report would come to committee, with officers requesting clarification on what the report should contain. It was noted that the exempt appendix referenced the service level support and that there had been capital grant which was subject to a relevant officer decision report. Members were informed that the performance value of the contract had been tested and was included in the exempt appendices.

Resolved – that

1. the expenditure of the UKSPF allocation to deliver Place Based Business Support as outlined in paragraphs 4.1 to 4.7 of this report be authorised; and

2. the Director of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Director of Regeneration and Place be authorised to enter into an extension of the Business Support Service contract with Wirral Chamber of Commerce and Industry for an additional two years from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025.