Guidance

075/22 Reminder to all ESF beneficiary organisations of the need to submit claims by ESF deadlines

Updated 29 February 2024

Date Issued	27 January 2022
Review Date	31 January 2023

1. Who should read

All European Social Fund (ESF) beneficiary organisations (Direct Bid Grant Recipients and Co-Financing Organisations), the Greater London Authority and other Intermediate Bodies.

2. Purpose

This Action Note is to remind all ESF beneficiary organisations of the need to submit claims by the ESF deadlines set each quarter, alongside accurate and timely progress reports.

Where spend and outputs are in question, it is important that you engage with your Contract Manager to discuss whether either a recovery plan or a project change request is appropriate.

All Grant Recipients (GRs) are asked to support the ESF Managing Authority (MA) in ensuring that they spend according to their profile, and if this cannot be achieved, speak to their Contract Manager as early as possible, as any unused funding will ultimately be returned to the European Union.

Having an early conversation with your Contract Manager will ensure that the MA has the best chance of recycling any project underspends, ensuring that we maximise the funding available.

3. Background

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 the MA has worked closely with European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) partners across government, ESF stakeholders and with the European Commission (EC) to develop measures that respond to the impact of COVID-19 on projects and their local communities.

Our focus has been on measures to help existing and new projects get through this period by taking practical steps to adjust some activities and processes in line with needs that emerged.

European Social Fund supports jobs, helps people get better jobs and ensures fairer job opportunities for all, funding is critical in supporting:

• individuals
• communities
• employability getting people back into the labour market
• improving skills
• working with local employers
• COVID-19 recovery

As the MA is approaching the end of its capability for re-investing funds, it becomes more important that GRs proactively discuss underperformance with their CMs with a view to returning funds rather than the money being lost and returned to the EC.

The Managing Authority has increased its focus on projects spending their funding in time and in line with their financial profiles, where this is not the case and where underperformance is identified, the Contract Manager continues to contact the GR, as per ‘business as usual’.

However, it is also important that GRs are open and honest in self-identifying underperformance and that they ‘give up’ funding where they recognise that current circumstances mean they are unable to spend their funding allocation.

Doing this, provides an opportunity for other projects in the region or in their locality or another local organization to access and benefit from that funding.

The MA would like to remind GRs of the importance in submitting claims and accurate, timely progress reports. Claims need to be sent in on time with all relevant supporting evidence. Submitted claims need to reflect profiles against spend and output targets as this is key in ensuring expenditure can be managed and unspent funds recycled to other projects.

Unused funding ultimately will be returned to the European Union if it is not recycled and used by projects by the end of 2023.

4. Action

ESF beneficiaries are asked to submit claims to ESF on time as this is key to ensuring expenditure can be managed and unspent funds recycled to other projects.

ESF beneficiaries are reminded that, all relevant supporting evidence needs to be sent in on time and submitted claims need to reflect profiles.

Where this is not the case and where underperformance is identified, your ESF Contract Manager will be able work with you and assist with any queries you may have.

5. Contact

If you have any questions about this Action Note please contact esf.2014-2020@dwp.gov.uk