European funding

The Leeds City Region has been notionally allocated £338 million of funding from the European Union to support business growth and create jobs for people in the region over the next seven to ten years. The LEP plays a key role, working alongside other stakeholders, in determining how this funding should be invested to create the best economic outcomes for our City Region.

Our European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Strategy sets out how our City Region's EU funding allocation will be invested to achieve a range of objectives over the next seven to ten years. You can download the Strategy, along with FAQs and other useful documents, via a link at the bottom of this page.

Our European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Programme 2014-2020 is drawn from three separate European funds; the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

For the purpose of ESIF only, the Leeds City Region excludes Barnsley, which sits within the Sheffield City Region.

Consultation

We've carried out extensive consultation with stakeholders to ensure that our ESIF strategy meets both local need and wider ambitions for growth in the region. Following the consultation, we submitted our ESIF Strategy to government in May 2014. It describes the local needs and opportunities, the outcomes we'll deliver, and why specific projects and programmes are needed.

Implementation

The ESIF programme is managed by government agencies referred to as the managing authorities. For ERDF this is the Department for Communities and Local Government, for ESF this is the Department for Work and Pensions and for EAFRD this is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Implementation of the ESIF Programme began in March 2015 with the managing authorities launching of a first round of calls for applications. All calls will be published on the ESIF pages of the Gov.uk website.

Governance

The ESIF Programme is governed by a local sub-committee made up of representatives from a variety of organisations from across Leeds City Region. The composition of the committee reflects the breadth of partners relevant to the nine thematic objectives and three funding streams that make up ESIF.

A full list of local sub-committee members is available to download below.

Keeping in touch

You can keep up to date with regular news, activity, sounding groups - which are used to further consult with stakeholders to help shape programme areas - and other events related to this programme by following the Leeds City Region ESIF Twitter. Or join our ESIF mailing list by e-mailing ESIF@the-lep.com to receive regular email alerts.

Details of stakeholder sounding groups, which are helping to shape programme design, and other ESIF events can be found on our events page on Eventbrite - click here to visit the page.

If you require any support with an ERDF or ESF application or project, please see a list of local contacts in the downloads section below who may be able to provide assistance.

All queries for EAFRD should contact RPA on 03000 200 301 or GPEnquiries@rpa.gsi.gov.uk.

Downloads

ESIF Project Repository - Download
ESIF E-newsletter January 2017 - Download
European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Strategy - Download
Summary of Changes to the Leeds City Region ESIF Strategy (March 2016) - Download
ESIF Programme summary - Sterling Values (February 2016) - Download
ESIF Stakeholder FAQs - Download
Leeds City Region Destination Plan - Download
Local Authority ESIF contacts - Download
Local Sub Committee contacts - Download
Local points of contact - Download
Presentation (SFA DWP Event - 18.09.15) - Download
Presentation (Big Lottery Event - 22.10.15) - Download
Presentation (DWP Event - 29.01.16) - Download
Presentation (Stakeholder Event - 27.04.16) - Download