All capital and revenue grants will require an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be completed.

EOI's will be assessed for completeness and eligibility by the Economic Development team. The EOI will include a supporting statement (maximum 250 words) explaining why the applicant should receive the grant. The EOI will be scored against a standard scoring framework. If an EOI meets the minimum threshold the applicant will be invited to submit a funding application form.

Should the applicant be deemed ineligible for funding, they will be notified by email. The decision will be final.

Advice and guidance will be provided by the Economic Development team to applicants in completing their funding applications. Any enquiries regarding guidance should be directed to: kieran.carr@eastcambs.gov.uk (external link).

Funding applications and any supporting information will be reviewed for completeness by the Economic Development team. Points for clarification will be made by email to the applicant and responses noted and included as part of the funding application.

Applicants will be informed within six weeks of receipt of their funding application as to whether they have been successful, and the value of the grant awarded.  A formal grant funding agreement will be issued and must be signed and returned by the applicant before any expenditure on the project detailed in the funding application can be committed or incurred. 

The decision is considered final.

The grant funding agreement will specify monitoring and reporting requirements specific to the outputs and outcomes of the successful project. This will include where appropriate evidence of:

• New jobs created 
• Jobs that have been safeguarded or sustained 
• New products or techniques implemented 
• Demonstrate improvement in business productivity 

All successful applicants will be required to provide a project competition report as specified in the grant funding agreement.

Fixed and major assets 

Where a funded project involves the purchase of a major fixed asset, the beneficiary must maintain an asset register. The asset register can be specific to the project or be included in a corporate asset register. The beneficiary will need to consult with the council regarding the disposal of any said asset within three years of the grant award. A fixed asset will be considered as £2,000 or more for equipment (excluding IT), machinery or £1,000 for IT equipment.

Advice on taxation 

Grant income received by a business is taxable therefore funding paid under this grant scheme will be subject to tax where applicable to the business.

UK subsidy control 

To be eligible for a grant, all applicant businesses must demonstrate that they meet the UK subsidy allowance rules by completing the MFA declaration - grants can only be awarded to compliant businesses.

It is a requirement of UK subsidy allowance rules that a grant may only be awarded when it produces an incentive effect. The grant is considered to have an incentive effect if it enables the beneficiary to carry out activities or projects which would not have been carried out in the absence of the grant aid. Grant funding may only be awarded if it has an incentive effect. It shall be considered to have an incentive effect if, before work on the project has begun, the intermediary, (East Cambridgeshire District Council) has verified that documentation prepared by the applicant establishes one or more of the following criteria:

• A material increase in the size of the project due to the aid 
• A material increase in the scope of the project due to the aid 
• A material increase in the total amount spent by the beneficiary on the project due to the aid 
• A material increase in the speed of completion of the project concerned: or that the project would not have been carried out in East Cambridgeshire in the absence of the aid 

The applicant must also be able to demonstrate additionality convincingly, confirming that without grant assistance the project would not be undertaken or, with reference to the scale, timing or location - any payment to an applicant will impact the applicants project such that one or more of the following will apply:

• A material increase in the size of the project/activity due to the provision of state funds 
• A material increase in the scope of the project/activity due to the provision of state funds 
• A material increase in the total amount spent by the beneficiary on the project/activity due to the provision of state funds or a material increase in the speed of completion of the project/activity concerned 
• With regards to regional aid, that the project would not have been carried out as such in the location concerned in the absence of the state funds 

More information on UK subsidy control (external link) can be found on GOV.UK's website.

Fraud 

As part of the application process, due diligence checks will be carried out for all applicants. These include credit checks, bankruptcy, county court judgements and director disqualifications.

Any business caught falsifying their records to gain grant payments may face prosecution and any funding issued will be subject to claw back. Applicant businesses will be expected to complete a declaration that confirms the applicant has:

• Read and understood all documents about this scheme, including all information about eligibility 
• Provided true, accurate and complete information to support the application 
• Understood that, by giving wrong or incomplete information, which is known to be misleading, the applicant may be committing a criminal offence and could face prosecution 
• Understood that ECDC will investigate all applications where they suspect fraud, will check all the information the applicant provides and may ask for further details if necessary and they agree to repay any money that they receive to which they are not entitled 
• ECDC may utilise due diligence tools such as the Government's Grant Management and Counter fraud digital tool, spotlight to check pre-payment and post-payment compliance
• Businesses must inform ECDC of any changes in the circumstances that might effect eligibility for grant payment (s). Failure to do this could lead to grant claw back 
• Provided accurate details regarding previous grant funding received in regard to subsidy control legislation 

East Cambridgeshire District Council will reserve the right to visit any business that has been awarded a grant to ensure it has been used for the purpose it was intended as stated in the FA form and check records to show costs that have been incurred in line with the grant funding agreement.

Publicity  

Decisions relating to the allocation of funding will be published on the East Cambridgeshire District Council website.

In promoting the project successful applicants should acknowledge the award of the grant via the East Cambridgeshire District Council. Additional guidance will be provided to successful applicants on branding and publicity for UK government levelling up funds as part of the grant funding agreement.