The Interim Director of Corporate Services presented a report setting out key outcomes that have been achieved to date as a result of the following regeneration programmes:

• Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) – WNF was allocated £30.5 million from April 2008 and was planned to run only until the end of March 2011.  Activities progressed through WNF had resulted in a range of outcomes which had a beneficial impact on the Borough.  Outcomes from the programme up to the end of December 2010 were set out in paragraph 5.3 (Table 2).

• Business Start and Business Support programmes - A key priority for use of WNF resources had been to ensure that a comprehensive business start and support service was in place. Branded as WirralBiz the programme had  outperformed other areas of the north west and details of its achievements were set out in paragraph 6.3

• Future Jobs Fund (FJF) - The Future Jobs Fund (FJF) was launched in 2009 with the aim of creating 150,000 jobs nationally, either for young people unemployed for over 6 months or for those in unemployment ‘hotspots’.  A successful Liverpool City Region bid secured funding for Wirral to provide 719 six month job placements.

  The programme was planned to finish at the end of September 2011.  At the end of February 2011 the programme had created 581 posts and was on target to fill the remaining 138 by the end of March 2011.  Of the jobs created to date, 29% were in administrative and secretarial occupations, 20% were for Teaching Assistant posts in schools and the remainder were spread across a wide range of activities including environmental work, marketing, IT, maintenance and caretaking, catering, sports coaching and nursery work.

A number of council departments had utilised FJF to pilot new services such as the Dog Foul Warden posts and the Assistant Recycling Officers both of which had now secured core funding to allow continuation of these services.

• Housing Market Renewal (HMRI) - Wirral’s HMRI programme which began in 2003  had resulted in the development of 473 new homes and the outputs from the programme were set out in paragraph 8 (Table 5).  The Government had announced that there would be no further funding for the HMRI programme, but that resources could be accessed from sources such as the Regional Growth Fund or the New Homes Bonus.  Officers were currently discussing these options with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).  However, the original objectives of the HMRI programme would be reviewed to determine whether they were still relevant or deliverable given the changes in Government policies.

The report also outlined the Government’s proposed future regeneration programmes which were being progressed to provide opportunities for addressing local priorities within the borough.

In terms of the Council’s response to the changing funding mechanisms, the Council had agreed that additional funding would be made in the budget for 2011/12 to:

·  Continue to support the Wirral Apprentice Programme;

·  Provide dedicated business advice and support to Wirral businesses;

·  Provide grants to businesses to support growth;

·  Support the development of social enterprises and mutuals in Wirral;

·  Continue to support investment in housing through a range of energy efficiency measures;

·  Enable posts funded through WNF to be made permanent;

·  Support further housing investment through the capital programme.

There was a general discussion highlighting the need for analysis of outputs from the Council’s increased investment in regeneration activities to ensure the expected improvements; funding of the new Apprenticeship Programme; the support currently being given to the different levels of qualification within the Apprenticeship Programme, ways of encouraging the attainment of Level 3 qualifications and access to higher paid employment opportunities; improving the current support for apprentices 19 or over; ways of building on the successes of the Apprentice Programme e.g. Open Days, case studies, mentoring, and an apprentice award scheme.

Resolved –

(1)  That the Committee note the progress made in the delivery of the regeneration programmes and projects and also note the outline of the Government’s future regeneration programmes.

(2)  That the Director report back to the next meeting on the issues raised by Members relating to the development of the Apprentice Training Programme.