Guidance

Regional Growth Fund: a guide for bidders

Due diligence, publicity and monitoring and grant claim information for Regional Growth Fund bidders and recipients.

From:
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published
3 May 2013
Last updated
28 August 2015 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

No future rounds of the Regional Growth Fund Round are proposed. Funding is still available through the RGF programmes.

Applies to England

Due diligence

The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) team will work with successful bidders to agree the terms of the support RGF can provide and to make sure the project or programme can be completed.

Successful RGF bidders will need to provide a confirmatory due diligence report confirming the facts of your application. This is important as ministers select RGF bids on the basis of the claims you have made in your application form, and the benefits you have promised to provide. Successful bidders must get the services of a due diligence provider to undertake confirmatory due diligence and prepare the report for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The RGF due diligence guide explains to bidders who is eligible to carry out the due diligence work, and provides a template for appointing the due diligence provider. It also explains to potential providers what is necessary to gain approval to undertake confirmatory due diligence. The scope of the due diligence required will be set out along with the terms and conditions of your funding in your Conditional Offer letter.

Please note that (BEIS) must approve an applicant’s choice of due diligence provider. Due diligence providers must submit a declaration.

If you have any due diligence or general RGF queries please email growthfund@beis.gov.uk.

State aid

The RGF scheme is notified to the European Commission under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). RGF awards are made under GBER, although awards may also be made under the de minimis regulations.

GBER sets out a range of aid measures which may be provided without the need to notify and get approval by the Commission. You must tell the Commission and get approval for aid that is not exempted under GBER, eg aid that exceeds the GBER thresholds or is out of scope. You must do this before any award may be made.

Read GBER information on the Commission website.

The legal basis for RGF awards is primarily the Industrial Development Act 1982 (Sections 7 and 8). Those sections mean that the Secretary of State can provide selective financial assistance for industry in Assisted Areas and for industry generally.

It is possible to make RGF awards under other funding powers available to the Secretary of State, for example:

  • Science and Technology Act 1965 (Section 5)
  • Housing Grant Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Section 126)
  • Banking Act 2009 (Section 228)

Further information on state aid.

Publicity

A joint communications approach is an important responsibility for RGF recipients. If we select your bid to receive RGF funding, you need to work with the RGF team on all communications and publicity relating to that bid.

This means that government officials may:

  • request small amendments to press releases and other marketing materials
  • negotiate timings of announcements with you
  • offer ministerial quotes in support of your announcement and publicise it with you
  • in some cases we will offer you a visit from a minister to see how you are spending the RGF contribution

Recipients need to inform the RGF team of media activity in good time and coordinate communications with government.

Contact the RGF team if you have any queries about:

  • your publicity
  • to notify us of any proposed plans
  • for further information about communications

For general enquiries email growthfund@beis.gov.uk.

For marketing, logos and press releases contact Michelle Summer on 0107 215 1589 or email michelle.summer@beis.gsi.gov.uk.

The RGF identity guidelines also helps bidders to promote projects and programmes with RGF support.

RGF monitoring and grant claims

Successful RGF bidders will need to complete and provide monitoring reports on a quarterly basis. This is set out in the grant offer letter. This monitoring report forms part of the RGF grant claim form (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 155 KB), which is a spreadsheet. The claim form spreadsheet includes sections for:

  • expenditure
  • grant draw down
  • jobs created and/or safeguarded
  • issues and risks
  • an update on the project’s progress

Successful bidders can make a grant claim each financial quarter. Guidance documents for recipients of RGF are also provided. These explain monitoring requirements, and the principles behind the RGF risk and issue management policy. Recipients will need to provide an update on any issues and risks as part of the monitoring report on the project.

Please note this model grant claim form template is for information. It’s subject to agreement between the successful applicant and RGF case officer.

Published 3 May 2013
Last updated 28 August 2015 + show all updates

  1. Included information about state aid.

  2. Round 6 successful bidders announced and guidance updated.

  3. Update on bidding process.

  4. Regional Growth Fund Round 6 updates added.

  5. NAO report update added.

  6. Round 5 of the Regional Growth Fund closed for bids at midday.

  7. Several sections amended/deleted: What happens next, Round 4 selected bidders announced, Grants and Monitoring, and Information for SMEs.

  8. Contact details changed.

  9. RGF Round 4 selected bidders announced, also due diligence workshop on 23 July 2013.

  10. First published.

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