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Due to technical difficulties, HIPP staff are unable to access email.  It is hoped that this will be resolved sometime on Friday 6th, if not by Monday 9th July.

If you would like to contact staff please telephone the appropriate office; Inverness: 01463 279500; Stornoway: 01851 703581; Lerwick: 01595 744929.

Partners may have been experiencing difficulty in accessing the applications and claims system over the past few days.

The Scottish Executive is aware of the problem and is trying to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. 

The requirement for Final Claim Audit Certification has been withdrawn with immediate effect.

The Scottish Executive has advised that all final claims received after 31st March 2007 will no longer require certification by external auditors. These claims will require however a full transaction list detailing all transactions covering the total expenditure declared.

We appreciate that some organisatins may have, or be in the process of obtaining, certificates.  In such cases the following arrangements apply:

• Where audit certificates have been secured, costs remain eligible for grant.  The normal arrangements for  claiming grant apply.



• Applicants may cancel final claim audit work but any call-off fee will not be eligible.



• Where audit costs feature in approved costs, we will accept offsetting by any cost overruns.  This will help minimise underspends and any need to re-cycle grant.

If you have any queries regarding the above please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Letters have been issued on 5th April 2007 to all applicants who have not reached their final claim advising them of the above.

Innovation in Scotland is facing its challenges head on. A conference is taking place on 21 to 23 February 2007 to allow all who share an interest in innovation to come together to hear about the creative elements and the challenges faced by projects supported by the Scottish Innovative Actions Programme.

Find out more information on http://www.innovatingnation.co.uk/

We have been set interim targets for N+2 2007 by The Scottish Executive.  The first of these is to meet 30% of the outstanding required spend by April. For ERDF and ESF these are as follows:

ERDF - £3,944,587

ESF - £805,685

Currently we have met the ESF target and have only £2.4 million remaining to meet this interim ERDF target.  We would encourage partners to keep regular contact with staff on the submission of claims and expenditure progress.  We would be grateful if all ERDF claimants could submit a claim between now and the middle of March to contribute towards this target. 

The Highlands and Islands will receive €158m (approx. £105m) as a “statistical effect” transitional region under the Convergence Objective, which replaces the Objective 1. This figure which will cover both the ERDF and ESF Programmes, represents an equivalent reduction of 40% thereby demanding a more focused approach.

The new Structural Fund regulations will be more restrictive with an emphasis on activities which support the EU’s renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. The regulations contain a list of earmarked activities and in the Highlands and Islands, 60% of activities must come from this list. The full list can be found on the European Commission website at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds2007/index_en.htm There will be less scope for many activities traditionally funded by the Structural Funds, e.g. large scale infrastructure projects in transport, tourism or economic development, and more focus on activities such as workforce development, encouraging enterprise, business growth and support for innovation, commercialisation and research and development.

The completion of the UK consultation on the National Strategic Reference Framework has allowed public consultation on the draft Scottish Operational Programmes for the 2007 – 2013 Structural Funds to begin. The consultation began in late October and will end on 8th January ’07. The documentation relating to this exercise can be found on the following website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/10/20155426/0

Applicants are reminded of the requirement to provide a full transaction list to support expenditure in claims received by the PME on or after 1st June 2006.  Failure to provide this information will prevent payments being made. The lists will be required to clearly identify the individual costs that make up the claim, a description of that cost and the date that the expenditure was defrayed. Staff costs will need to be attributed to the staff post that the expenditure relates to.

On 28 February 2006 Alun Michael launched a consultation on the UK’s draft National Strategic Reference Framework for Structural Funds 2007-13.  An electronic version of the document can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/europe/nsrf.html.  The consultation period ends on 22 May 2006.  The National Strategic Reference Framework sets out the UK’s main priorities for future Structural Funds Programmes and from this will flow the Operational Programmes that will be established across the regions.

More recently, the Scottish Executive, Environment and Rural Affairs Department has initiated a consultation on the Rural Development Programme for Scotland.  The Consultation Document can be viewed online at www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.  Responses are required by 27 June 2006 and should be sent to RDProgramme@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

The executive has indicated that all responses will be made available to the public on the Scottish Executive web pages by 1 August 2006.  It is anticipated that the Programme will be submitted to the Commission by the end of July with the Commission having four to six months to respond.  Please take the opportunity to respond.
The European Fisheries Fund scheme is programmed to run between 2007 and 2013. It will provide the opportunity to provide continued support for many of the areas covered by the previous FIFG scheme.

In the meantime, SEERAD is working with stakeholders on developing Scotland’s Strategic and Operational Plans.  All operators in the aquaculture and fisheries sectors are encouraged to work with their respective trade bodies to ensure that their views concerning operation of the new scheme are taken into account.  All contributions should be sent to the contacts detailed below:

Paul Jarron
Freshwater Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Pentland House, Edinburgh
0131 244 6243
Paul.jarron@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Phil Balls
Freshwater Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Pentland House, Edinburgh
0131 244 6468
Philip.balls@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Funding advice under the existing FIFG scheme should be directed to:
Gordon Hart
FIFG Manager, SEERAD, Pentland House, Edinburgh
0131 244 6089

A revised Guidance Note has been published on the Downloads section of this website, under Additional Guidance.

The Note covers the following topics: Transaction Lists, Defrayed Expenditure, Repairs and Maintenance for Vehicles, Annual Monitoring Forms, and Audit Certification of Final Claims.

It is recommended that all project sponsors read this note.

Monday 27th March – Dundee 

Not to be missed! The Economic Development Association Scotland profiles new research that claims Scotland is witnessing the next Highland Clearance.

A steady drift of population away from the north and west, to the east, concentrated around the Edinburgh area, is causing economic activity to move in the same direction, leading to greater geographic inequalities in Scotland.

Chaired by Professor David Bell, Scottish Economic Policy Network, this briefing presents Professor Robert Wright’s new findings; with conflicting opinion from Dr Donald Houston, University of Dundee; updates on national statistics from Registrar General, Duncan MacNiven; and stirring audience discussion, Labour MSP, Richard Baker, on the political, strategic and economic implications for Scotland.

More details and booking at www.edascot.org.uk/event.php?id=31