Organisations get £1.2m share of Government cash

FIVE organisations across North East Lincolnshire are celebrating, following an announcement that they will share a total pot of £1.2m from central Government for a range of projects.

All with the main aim of boosting job prospects and opportunity for residents across the borough, the five awards were announced this week by the UK Community Renewal Fund.

They are:

• CPO & CatZero, £147,125 for an Inclusion into Employment Programme. The organisations will work together to support people aged 16-plus into work through a bespoke programme of activities addressing their needs;
• Keeping the wheels moving with training in the logistics sector, £214,922. This bid was submitted by MODAL Training to provide additional capacity to deliver key qualifications required – ensuring individuals have the opportunity to access skills and training most relevant to the local economy.
• Reignite, £199,849; The project supports participants, focusing on those aged 45-plus, who have found themselves unemployed due to the pandemic and helps them to secure employment by addressing the barriers to or moving closer to the labour market;
• Smarter Energy North East Lincolnshire, £300,000. A council bid to develop and test the feasibility of innovative approaches to SME engagement and energy reduction. This includes supporting provision and evaluating their effectiveness for inclusion in delivery of future support packages;
• UK Food Valley Pilot (Seafood Sector), £433,510. This is a project to test an innovative food sector support programme to develop the industry’s skills, innovation capacity and ability to attract new talent, helping to ensure the position of Grimsby’s Seafood Cluster as a global hub. It is supported by the University of Lincoln.

North East Lincolnshire Council had invited local organisations to bid for money from the UK Community Renewal Fund, in the late spring of this year. It received interest from 27 organisations of which 14 had been put forward to the Community Renewal Fund for an award. This fund, worth up to £220m, has been released to bridge the gap between European Structural Funds and the successor funding programme, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The five above were successful and have therefore been judged as meeting the criteria, which covered Investment in Skills, Investment in local business, Investment in communities and place and Supporting people into employment.

Deputy leader of North East Lincolnshire Council and portfolio holder for finance, resources and assets, Councillor Stan Shreeve, said: “Whilst of course we would always want as many bids to be successful as possible, the news that these five have been successful is great. They are proven organisations with good records of supporting and helping people within our communities and we are pleased they will be able to continue that good work.”