Decision

The Executive has decided to allocate £1.310m from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund for high impact projects benefiting the communities in Middlesbrough.

Analysis

outcome: The second tranche of proposals totaling £1.310m was approved to be funded from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund.

summary: The decision involves the allocation of funding from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund for high impact projects benefiting the communities in Middlesbrough.

topline: The Executive has decided to allocate £1.310m from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund for high impact projects benefiting the communities in Middlesbrough.

reason_contentious: This issue may be contentious as it involves prioritizing and allocating funds for specific projects, which could impact different stakeholders and communities.

affected_stakeholders: ["Communities in Middlesbrough", "Council Directorates", "Executive Members"]

contentiousness_score: 6

political_party_relevance: There are no explicit mentions of political parties influencing the decision.

URL: https://moderngov.middlesbrough.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=439

Decision Maker: Executive

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: For Executive to approve budget allocations for future initiatives from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund.

Content: The Mayor submitted a report for Executive consideration. Proposals for funding from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund from Directorates were subject to completion of a pro-forma outlining the proposal and detailing both which of the Council Plan objectives and scheme criteria the proposal linked to. All proposals received from Directorates were added to proposals received from Executive Members and were collated into an overall ‘log’ spreadsheet which was assessed by the Mayor, with support from the Chief Executive, to determine which were to progress for approval by Executive within each tranche and which measures were either of lower priority or could be funded by other means.   As signalled in the Executive report of 30 April 2025, following this prioritisation the decision to implement the selected measures, or not, would be taken by Executive. Once implemented the measures would be tracked as part of the Council’s performance management framework, including measurement of the impact and outcomes. As detailed in the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund report to Executive on 30 April 2025, a Middlesbrough Priorities Fund of £4.367m for 2025/26 only was established and approved by Full Council on 19 February 2025 as part of the 2025/26 Revenue Budget, Medium Term Financial Plan, and Council Tax setting report. The intention of the Fund was to deliver high impact, one-off projects for the benefit of the communities in Middlesbrough. A breakdown of the proposals submitted to date were detailed at paragraphs 4.3 to 4.18 of the report.   OPTIONS For no further proposals to be submitted. However, the absence of any other proposals would mean that the Fund was not utilised to its maximum potential provided for in the 2025/26 Budget approved by Council on 19 February 2025.   ORDERED that the second tranche of proposals totalling £1.310m as detailed in the report, be funded from the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund.   AGREED for it be noted if the proposed schemes included in the report were approved, the unallocated balance remaining in the Fund would be £2.142m.   REASONS This would enable effective use of the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund budget allocation set aside for 2025/26 and ensure Best Value was obtained.  

Date of Decision: July 16, 2025