Kick-Starter Grant Scheme - Find a freedom of information request

1. What was the exact date and time by which 250 applications were received?

2. Were all of your servers at all times within capacity, such that all users of the servers were given an exactly equivalent chance of getting their application accepted? (I could not get any details of the application itself to display until after 9am on the morning of launch).

3. Were any details of the application process published or in any other ways given to users before the 9am embargo on the morning of launch? (I am particularly interested in any informal conversations or emails that might have been sent by your business advisors, as well as any accidental uploads to your official web site. You have previously said that no details were released prior to 9am, but I would like you to investigate and check as I do not believe it would be physically possible to complete an application from scratch within the time (20 minutes) that you claim was taken before the scheme was fully subscribed, let alone for 250 to be completed).

4. What consideration was given to the discriminatory effects of the design of the screening process, in particular the likelihood that it would discriminate against smaller companies, companies staffed by people who type at normal or slower than normal rates, or companies with slower email or network connections?

What measures did you consider to mitigate this discrimination?

5. What assessment was made of the process that you adopted for screening applications, who did the assessment and where is it recorded? May I have a copy please? I would particularly like to understand if you considered whether the process you designed was likely to support high quality applications worth supporting, rather than randomly scattering public money to companies with fast internet access, fast mail servers and fast typists?

Please provide a copy of the assessment if one exists.

1. It should be noted that the scheme opened for Expressions of Interest at 9am on Thursday 3rd of September, which is stage one of the application process. The exact date and time that 250 Expressions of Interest were received was 09.37, the attached log shows the first 290 expressions of interest.

2. Yes – all servers were available for the launch time. We had communicated with our 3rd party system provider that there was likely to be high demand to access that grant page at 9am on Thursday morning, so this was being monitored and there were no system issues due to high volumes of users.

3.There was a communication campaign implemented ahead of the launch day / time which included all of the Business Lincolnshire channels – the Growth Hub adviser team, website, newsletter and social media. This included the launch of the grant scheme page on the Business Lincolnshire website which included the full details of the scheme and the application process. This information was freely available to all.

At 9am on Thursday 3rd September, as published, the link to the form to Express an Interest in the scheme was made live. This was a very simple email form asking for - Business Name, Contact Name, Telephone Number, Email Address, Business Address & a brief summary of what the grant is to be used for. The grant scheme page makes it clear that there would be an Application Form stage following a successful Expression of Interest. At the application stage scrutiny regarding the eligibility of the business and the project would be applied.

4. We do not believe that the process was discriminatory. The Expression of Interest form was equally available to all and made live at the time that was pre advised. The Expression of Interest form was very short and easy to complete and designed so as not to ask applicants to spend too much time on the process as there was a high chance that many would be unsuccessful.

As published on the grant scheme page on the Business Lincolnshire Website, step one of the application process was an Expression of Interest. As stated, an Expression of Interest is not a guarantee of funding. Eligibility checks form part of stage 2 of the process which includes rigorous checks against eligibility criteria as defined by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), i.e., businesses must be eligible for European Regional Development Funding and be located within Lincolnshire. The business must be able to show how they have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and the project must be to support recovery from the impacts of Covid 19.

Examples could be;

• Specialist advice e.g. HR, accountants, legal, financial, H&S, IT / digital or sector specialists etc.
• Purchase of minor equipment to adapt business processes, e.g., minor building works, equipment to deliver productivity improvements such as process controls, line cameras, new tooling;
• New technology in order to continue to deliver business activity or diversify in response to COVID 19 – ecommerce platforms, contactless payment systems, website developments such as e commerce systems, software development, IT hardware and software to support remote working.

If it is found that the business or project does not meet the eligibility criteria, the application will be terminated and the grant allocation will be added back into the available funding pot.

5. The grant is being administered in line with the guidance provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is subject to strict audit requirements.

Detailed information of the application process and eligibility criteria is available via the grant scheme page on the Business Lincolnshire Website. The Application Form which is emailed to applicants successful at the Expression Of Interest stage collects all of the information to enable a robust test that all of the eligibility criteria has been met and that application is in line with the policy used to administer the grant. Applications that do not meet these tests will not progress and will release funding back into the grant pot.

Those applicants that were successful at the Expression Of Interest stage that opened on 3rd September are now completing the Application stage which allows 3 weeks for Application Forms to be completed. Therefore the 'screening' step is still in progress. Full auditable records of the grant application and payments to business will be maintained as both a paper and an electronic record and held on file in line with European Regional Development Fund Document Retention requirements. All records in relation to this grant funding may be subject to independent audit.

Should enough funding be released back into the grant pot to exceed the current number of Expressions of interest received, a further window for Expressions of Interest will be opened. Individual grant applications cannot be shared due to commerciality and GDPR regulation.