Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what measures were in place to mitigate against potential conflicts of interest during the funding process to award a £2.5 million grant to Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd in November 2020.
Answered by Luke Hall
The South East Local Enterprise Partnership's conflict of interest policy is freely available on their website: https://www.southeastlep.com/app/uploads/2020/04/Conflict-of-Interest-Policy-2020-1.pdf.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the commercial basis for his Department’s decision to award a £2.5 million grant to Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd.
Answered by Luke Hall
The business case prepared for this project and all associated papers are freely available on the South East Local Enterprise Partnership website: https://www.southeastlep.com/app/uploads/2019/09/Riding-Sunbeams.pdf.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the award of a £2.5 million grant by his Department to Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd, whether officials in his Department had (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with representatives of (i) the Friends Provident Foundation and their investment director and (ii) Thrive Renewables.
Answered by Luke Hall
No such meetings have taken place and there has been no correspondence
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the grant of £2.5 million by his Department to Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd in November 2020 for a local infrastructure project, what safeguards his Department put in place to ensure that that project (a) was completed by March 2022, (b) provided a return on investment and (c) met the objectives of the Getting Building Fund.
Answered by Luke Hall
All Getting Building Fund projects have been funded on the understanding that they will complete by March 2022 and this is stipulated in the contract. The independent technical evaluator's report on the project's business case confirmed their view that the project was high value for money and fully met the objectives of the Getting Building Fund.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the (a) readiness, (b) level of risk and (c) potential effect on employment of the Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd project granted £2.5 million in funding under the Getting Building Fund in November 2020.
Answered by Luke Hall
These were assessed by the Local Enterprise Partnership's independent technical evaluator, who judged that (a) there were good grounds for believing the project could start on time and be completed by March 2022, (b) there was a degree of risk attaching to the Network Rail's commitment to purchase power from the project for an initial 2-4 year period only, with no guarantees beyond this test period, meaning that full long term benefits may not accrue if the contract to purchase power were not expended and (c) the projected figure of 40 jobs was robust and moreover 'the investment is in line with the UK government's aim to stimulate post Covid-19 economic recovery through investment in infrastructure.'
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd met in being awarded £2.5 million in funding under the Getting Building Fund in November 2020.
Answered by Luke Hall
In assessing the business case for the project the Local Enterprise Partnership's technical evaluators, Steer Davies Gleave Ltd, said: A compelling strategic case has been developed demonstrating that the scheme is well aligned with the strategic objectives of the Getting Building Fund. The scheme is expected to generate a total of 40 jobs, and it supports the Green Recovery by enabling trains to be powered by renewable energy. Moreover, this investment is in line with the UK government's aim to stimulate post Covid-19 economic recovery through investment in infrastructure.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what due diligence was carried out by his Department ahead of the award of £2.5 million to Riding Sunbeams Apollo Ltd in November 2020 to ensure that those funds will not be used directly or indirectly to support campaign groups (a) Stop Funding Hate, (b) Momentum and (c) ToppleTheRacists.
Answered by Luke Hall
Due diligence was delegated to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) and focused on the track record of the company in delivering public contracts and its acknowledged expertise in its field. The contract between East Sussex County Council and Riding Sunbeams does explicitly prohibit funding being used for any purpose not part of the agreed project budget.