Government to lead a bespoke consultation on funding scheme design - with a ministerial champion - to report on the issues and recommend reforms to government. |
86. Stakeholders have told us that the design of schemes can also be a blocker to their successful delivery. Well-intentioned schemes established by different government departments can, according to stakeholders, overlap and undermine each other, sending conflicting and confusing messages to those applying for funding.
"To help tackle fuel poverty and improve social housing, Cornwall currently draws funding from multiple Government funding sources, matched with our own and private funds. Each grant-funded activity needs to be managed separately and delivered to prescriptive funding criteria. Although improving, Government funding is still often characterised by ambitious delivery timescales and short lead-in times. The complex interplay between different funds and the need to manage multiple grants and parallel reporting procedures creates delivery challenges. This model increases costs and complexity and delays delivery, as each funding programme requires a discrete approval and contracting processes. The highly prescriptive nature of grant criteria is a barrier to our ability to blend funding, making area-based interventions unduly complex and inefficient to manage - undermining our ability to deliver outcomes efficiently"- Cornwall Council110
"The lack of a certain policy environment has proved challenging. For example, the renewable energy feed in tariff scheme was stopped suddenly, which created problems for many businesses. Creating policy in a way that gives some certainty in the direction of travel will be hugely helpful. The Landfill Tax Directive is a good example of policy that enabled businesses to plan for future changes in advance" - Business in the Community111
87. Government's task is not easy, and it is unlikely that this issue applies to net zero alone. However, it is clear that the current approach undermines the effectiveness of the money spent. We recommend that government leads a bespoke consultation on funding scheme design - with a ministerial champion - to report on the issues and recommend reforms to government.