Cabinet
09 January 2012
Agenda Item No_____________
NORTH NORFOLK FLAG
FISHERIES & COMMUNITIES ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Summary:
Conclusions:
Cabinet agreement is sought to make available to North Norfolk
Business Forum (NNBF) an interest free loan for £50,000 over a 3 ½
year period. This loan is to provide cash flow support to the NNBF in
advance of the organisation making retrospective quarterly claims for
reimbursement from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
Authority is sought from Cabinet to advance a loan of £50,000 to the
North Norfolk Business Forum, under the terms of a Loan Agreement
made between this Council acting as Sponsor and the North Norfolk
Business Forum acting as Programme Manager. The North Norfolk
Business Forum agrees to repay the interest free loan to this Council
following the final grant payment received from the MMO at the end of
the 3 year programme.
The project contributes significantly to maintaining a viable fishing
industry in North Norfolk. The North Norfolk Business Forum is a
Community Interest Company supported principally by volunteers.
This facility will provide the working cash flow required in advance of
retrospective reimbursement from the Marine Management
Organisation.
Recommendations:
That Members agree:
•
to provide an interest free loan for £50,000 to the North Norfolk
Business Forum (NNBF) for a period of 3 ½ years to help the
organisations cash-flow while undertaking their agreed role
and responsibilities as FLAG Programme Manager.
Cabinet member(s):
All
Contact Officer, telephone number,
and e-mail:
Ward(s) affected:
All
Robin Smith
Economic & Tourism Development Manager
01263 516236
robin.smith@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Cabinet
2.1
09 January 2012
Introduction
Members will be aware that the Council has been successful in helping the North Norfolk
Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) secure European funding to bring forward a
comprehensive package of projects around the North Norfolk coast valued in total at more than
£2.4 million. The purpose behind this initiative is to ensure that the local fishing industry
continues to have a sustainable and profitable future, with an exciting mix of initiatives likely to
bring benefits well beyond the three year duration of the Programme.
The North Norfolk FLAG comprises representatives from the fishing industry, public
organisations and private business in the District and is chaired by local businessman John
Williams. An agreement signed between the FLAG and the Marine Management Organisation,
responsible for marine issues in the UK, has opened up access to this investment from the
European Fisheries Fund (EFF). The monies, made of EFF funding (60%) and match-funding
from other sources (40%), will be used to boost the competitiveness and sustainability of the
North Norfolk fishery, open up new markets, provide new infrastructure (including an innovative
approach to Broadband delivery) and ensure the environmental impact of fishing off North
Norfolk remains minimal.
2.2
Background
This Programme represents the collective aspirations of all the stakeholders involved in coastal
matters across Norfolk. Over the last five years local stakeholders have worked tirelessly
together and have now successfully established a Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG)
covering the Norfolk coastline between Thornham and Caister-on-Sea. It is the expressed wish
of the newly formed FLAG that this initiative should deliver an integrated programme of mutually
beneficial actions that support what is needed for the sustainable and profitable development of
the sector. This can only happen through community adaptation and improving the resilience of
the industry to the predicted future impacts of managing stocks and supporting ecosystems
through to the development of new markets, diversification and smarter working.
The North Norfolk FLAG is one of six organisations around the coast of England which will
represent the interests of their fisheries area and implement the projects approved for delivery
through EFF Axis 4.
The North Norfolk FLAG has already progressed through a competitive selection process
facilitated by the MMO and has produced a local development strategy and business plan
detailing a range of projects accessible by businesses and communities in North Norfolk and the
procedure for moving these projects forward between 2012 and 2014.
The North Norfolk FLAG has been awarded an EFF allocation of £1,430,000 estimated to a total
programme worth of £2,383,000. The EFF allocation has been divided up between seven
workstreams under which individual projects have been streamed.
2.3
Responsibilities
The North Norfolk Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) has been delegated responsibility by
the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to make decisions on applications for European
Fisheries Funding (EFF) based on the terms and conditions laid down in the EFF Axis 4
Framework Agreement.
The Framework Agreement governs among other things, the management of EFF Axis 4. It
sets out the principles and standards that the MMO expects the North Norfolk FLAG to comply
with and uphold.
The Sponsoring Body, namely North Norfolk District Council, will be responsible for ensuring
that the North Norfolk FLAG complies with the terms and conditions of the Axis 4 Framework
Agreement. In appraising a project or determining the merits of providing grant support, the
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09 January 2012
North Norfolk FLAG will be required to carry out a formal assessment of the project and in doing
so will be required to demonstrate a sufficient level of stringency which will satisfy the
Sponsoring Body’s requirements.
2.4
The Fisheries and Communities Engagement Programme
The North Norfolk FLAG is charged with developing and implementing an integrated local
development strategy for the North Norfolk fishing sector based upon positive community
engagement and a bottom-up approach. The FLAG must ensure that there is sufficient critical
mass of resources to support the strategy, including sufficient administrative and financial
capacity to administer the assistance, and ensure operations are successfully completed. These
conditions define the nature of the partnership and the basis of its operation. Thus, we are
talking here about a relationship that:
• brings together – on an equal footing – entities from the public, private and civic society
sectors;
• ensures that the sectors work together to identify and pursue the achievement of common
goals;
• is long-term, ie goes beyond a single project or short-term cooperation;
• involves the sharing of risks and benefits between all the partners; and
• recognises that in working together, building on and complementing each other’s
strengths and assets, the partners are stronger.
Sponsoring
Body
Lead Body
North Norfolk
District Council
North Norfolk
FLAG
Operational
Body
FLAG Project Board
Project
Manager
North Norfolk
Business Forum
North Norfolk FLAG Project Programme
The Fisheries and Communities Engagement Programme will provide the coordination and
management which will:
• bring forward project applications to the Project Board for approval in a timely manner;
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09 January 2012
• ensure that the programme outlined here will be commissioned according to a full
business plan; and
• deliver the aspirations of the whole North Norfolk fishing community.
2.5
Financial Implications and Risks
The Fisheries and Communities Engagement Programme is a vital one to secure the future of
the fishing industry along the North Norfolk coastline. Without this Programme it is unlikely that
the FLAG will be able to bring forward the individual projects identified in the programme of
activity.
The North Norfolk Business Forum (NNBF) has been selected as the main facilitator to help
drive through the North Norfolk Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) projects. The funding for
this project is ultimately to be provided by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) through
the FLAG but the NNBF are a small organisation and as such are not able to finance the project
in advance of receiving the grant payments, which are to be drawn down from the MMO
quarterly in arrears.
The ‘facilitator’ role to be taken on by the NNBF has provisionally been allocated a total scheme
budget of £270,000 over a 3 year period which equates to £90,000 per annum. It is hoped that
the Council can provide a facility whereby an interest free loan is provided to the NNBF to
enable them to start the project, which they will then repay to the Council at the end of the
scheme upon receipt of the final grant income from the MMO. This arrangement will be in place
for just over 3 years and cover the life of the project as the drawdown of funds will always be
quarterly in arrears from the MMO and will mean that some form of financial support will be
required by the NNBF over the period to help with the cash-flow requirements in advance of the
drawdown of grant monies.
It is assumed that cash-flow requirements will be fairly even over the year as the project is
based on staffing and associated costs and therefore the quarterly anticipated spend would be
approximately £22,500. The Council would need to advance this amount to the NNFB to cover
the first quarter’s expenditure. Following the end of quarter 1 the NNFB would then submit a
claim to the MMO to be processed to cover the quarter 1 expenditure. At this point the NNFB
would still not have received any grant monies and therefore the Council would need to provide
further cash-flow facilities to cover the second quarter’s expenditure. During this second quarter
the MMO will be able to process the claim for quarter 1 and then pay this money over to the
NNBF, which will then be used by the NNBF to help fund the next quarter’s expenditure (quarter
3). This situation will then continue over the life of the project, with the NNBF claiming grant
monies from the MMO quarterly in arrears.
Based on the assumptions above the maximum exposure to the Council would be no more than
around £45,000 (2 quarters advanced payments based on £22,500 per quarter) although it is
thought to be prudent to build in a bit of flexibility with this as there may be some upfront setup
costs. A draft loan agreement has therefore been prepared to cover these arrangements and it
is recommended that a loan offer of £50,000 be made to the NNBF for the purposes of providing
cash-flow facilities in advance of the grant drawdown from the MMO.
There is a potential risk to the Council as the repayment of the loan will be dependent upon the
successful drawdown of funds by the NNBF from the MMO and this will be dependent upon the
NNBF complying with the terms and conditions of the grant, for example in relation to what
constitutes ‘eligible expenditure’. Based on the project proposals submitted by the NNBF there
is no reason to believe the grant claims will not be successful, and monitoring and support for
this process will be undertaken by both the FLAG and the Economic Development Team at
NNDC.
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09 January 2012
At the end of the 3 year project following the final grant claim and audit of the project the NNBF
will repay the £50,000 loan to the Council. However due to the fact that the claims are quarterly
in arrears it is recommended that the actual loan agreement be for a period of 3 ½ years.
Should any pre-condition set between North Norfolk District Council and North Norfolk Business
Forum be contravened the Council will have the legal right to pursue formal action.
2.6
Summary
This Council recognises that partnership working, based on wide industry support, is the only
way of reaching this long-term horizon and that all the partners should play their part in
delivering the strategic goals. New ways of working based on trust and new alliances must be
sought in order to encourage the realistic ownership of projects by the fishing industry.
A critical and central component to drive and steer the successful delivery of FLAG project over
the next three years is the North Norfolk Fisheries Community Engagement Programme. This
programme has been created to be directly owned by the FLAG as the underpinning resource
that harnesses the strengths of all the stakeholders. This will create the necessary dynamic
within the partnership to produce the required level of energy in order to sustain commitment to
drive projects through to their successful conclusion.
At the heart of the FLAG programme, the Fisheries and Communities Engagement Programme
has been developed to promote and encourage the uptake of projects applied for by businesses
and individuals within the target area. Local fishing businesses can expect to be contacted by
the Animator (liaison officer) from the Business Forum, whose role is to help with project and
funding applications, and to represent the fishery at future meetings and consultations.
This model has been used effectively by this Council over the past ten years, enabling the
communities in North Norfolk to successfully deliver more than £30 million worth of investment
to projects jointly owned by public, private and third sector stakeholders.
The adoption of this approach will ensure effective facilitation of projects from their earliest
stage of development through to the timely and eligible targeting of European Fisheries funding.
The Fisheries and Communities Engagement Plan will coordinate the initiation of projects in
alignment with the workstreams (reference diagram above) and each project or initiative will
undergo EFF, MMO and Fisheries proofing to ensure that the spirit and rationale of the
programme is upheld for all the partners’ sakes.
The project contributes significantly to maintaining a viable fishing industry in North Norfolk. The
North Norfolk Business Forum is a Community Interest Company supported principally by
volunteers. This facility will provide the working cash flow required in advance of retrospective
reimbursement from the Marine Management Organisation.
2.7
Recommendations
That Members agree:
•
to provide an interest free loan for £50,000 to the North Norfolk Business Forum (NNBF)
for a period of 3 ½ years to help the organisation with cash-flow while undertaking their
agreed role and responsibilities as FLAG Programme Manager.