Description of programme

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is responsible for managing and co-ordinating INTERREG in England. A principal aim is to maximise UK participation in three of the four IIIB Programmes in which the UK has an interest: North Sea (NS), North West Europe (NWE) and Atlantic Area (AA) Programmes (the Northern Periphery Programme is managed and co-ordinated by the Scottish Executive). To meet this aim, DCLG works in partnership with the regional Government Offices throughout England, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the help of Devolved Administrators. In addition DCLG’s International Planning Unit (IPU) liaises closely with a wide spread of non governmental agencies to consider how particular UK interests can best be served.

With the assistance of the Government Offices and Devolved Administrations, the UK Contact Points and the UK Liaison Group, the DCLG maintains an overview of the projects which are coming forward from the UK to ensure that quality trans-national projects with tangible outcomes measured by outputs are developed and promoted successfully; that they are in line with the main aims and funding priorities of the Programmes, and they take forward relevant regional and territorial planning priorities.

While the DCLG is not directly engaged in project development activities it has appointed UK Contact Points who provide advice to those wishing to develop projects in the NS, NWE and AA Programmes. The DCLG also manages a fund (£9 million) to help provide successful UK ERDF project applicants with match funding.

The DCLG is represented on the Programme Monitoring Committees which manage the Programmes and on the Programme Steering Committees which decide whether a project will be granted ERDF.

Levels of grant

Along with ERDF funding, the UK partners to the EROCIPS project also applied for funding from the ODPM. The application was successful and the project was awarded €254,739 in total.

visit:
Interreg III (UK)