Latest insights from s151 officers
Lisa Quinn
During 2021, the Towns Fund Delivery Partner (TFDP) facilitated the creation of a network of s151 officers, deputy s151 officers and supporting finance officers, in support of the Towns Fund Programme.
This network was a great success, and so the TFDP was keen to continue to support this network when we commenced our new support period, in February 2022. We reconnected with the s151 officer network in March 2022, and we have already supported two s151 officer focus group sessions (held on 5th April 2022 and 4th May 2022). We had good attendance at each session, and it was great to welcome back familiar faces from previous network sessions and new attendees from across the 101 Towns. As ever, the open discussion continued to enable sharing of practical tips on how to navigate some of the challenges that Towns face at each milestone.
Insights from s151 offices can provide valuable points of reflection for Towns, as you work through the next stages of your programme. Based on the sessions held in April and May this year, we present the main themes below:
April session themes and insights:
There was positive feedback on the success of establishing local Towns Fund programmes, with good progress on local reporting via the accountable body and the TDB.
Some officers are still not sure that the Town Deal Board or the political leadership of the accountable body fully understand the importance of the s151 officer role.
Sign-off of Business Cases is challenging. In some cases, this is due to the programme not allowing sufficient time, and in other cases, s151 officers have had to ask the Town Leads for more detail or for clarity on certain elements of the summary document to ensure they are happy to sign it off, leading to delay.
Some s151 officers are concerned about ultimate DLUHC Business Case Summary Document submission deadlines. It was clear that, in some cases, extension requests were becoming inevitable.
Some Towns are looking at transitioning and strengthening their governance and assurance frameworks, as they may not have the necessary internal skills / capacity. This is usually due to the size of the accountable body and / or relative size of capital programme.
Project delivery can be more successful when a project is based on a planned position prior to the Towns Fund Programme; it can be more challenging when a project was identified for the first time at Town Investment Plan stage.
Many accountable bodies are having to seek significant external support for larger and more complex projects.
The practical reality of financial year-end is a key concern. The application of capital swaps is not always possible, and due to the approach for 5% upfront payments and subsequent payments, there could be in even bigger challenge for 2022/23 year-end.
In terms of project adjustment, cost pressures, supply chain issues and contractor availability are making it really challenging to deliver certain projects, leading to requests for mergers or amendments to projects.
Matched funding is a key challenge and concern; in some cases, the original matched funding can no longer be secured, for instance due to change in circumstance post-pandemic. In other cases, match funding is yet to be secured or even yet to be identified.
Officers are concerned over safeguards. Due to volume of projects, there may be some that fail, leading to revenue implications of abortive projects. Towns would benefit from flexibility and greater clarity on how clawback will be dealt with to manage concerns.
May session:
Although towns are doing their best to comply with DLUHC financial and M&E reporting requirements, they are looking ahead to delivery challenges, such as cost increases. Towns are facing delivery problems with some projects, and they have yet to realise issues for projects earlier in the project development and specification process.
Working on several fronts in addition to Towns Fund, such as Future High Streets Fund, Levelling Up Fund and Shared Prosperity Fund, is proving very challenging.
Town Deal Board structures are being reviewed in light of governance requirements for other funding streams; for instance, Shared Prosperity Fund is on a larger footprint but has similar governance arrangements.
Some Officers are concerned about timeframes for the project adjustment approval process, which can delay delivery significantly and exacerbate cost inflation issues.
The issue of revenue affordability for Towns Fund programmes continues to be a cause for concern. This has also been a particular challenge over the year-end period.
Accountable bodies have been trying to ensure that funding lands in the correct financial year. Delays in funding, including external partners, has required accountable bodies to fund upfront at risk.
As with the April discussion, cost inflation is a key concern, with increases running into several millions in some cases. This can significantly impact on planned outputs and outcomes.
Officers’ ability to apply flexibility to these situations is very important to realising outputs and outcomes from the programme; this may need to include flexibility across wider funding streams.
We now look ahead to the s151 officer focus group sessions organised for 8th June 2022 and 7th July 2022. If you have already signed up for one or both sessions, we look forward to seeing you and hearing about progress for your towns. If you have not yet had chance to sign up for these sessions, please do, so that you can benefit from this opportunity to share experiences.