East Wales Regional Competitiveness and Employment Operational Programme European Social Fund 2007-2013 Investing in your future in your Investing Europe and Wales: Wales: and Europe Regional Competitiveness and Employment – ESF and Employment Regional Competitiveness Welsh European Funding Offi ce Wales Isle of Anglesey Flintshire Conwy Denbighshire Wrexham Gwynedd Local Authority Boundary (1.4.03) Ceredigion Powys Pembrokeshire Carmarthenshire Merthyr Tydfil Blaenau Gwent Torfaen Monmouthshire Neath Port Talbot Swansea Rhondda Cynon Caerphilly Taf Newport Bridgend Cardiff The Vale of Glamorgan © Crown copyright 2006 Based upon digital information supplied by Lovell Johns Ltd. Oxford Cartographics : Welsh Assembly Government : ML/3/06.07/econ init G/MH/2716/11-07 November Typeset in 12pt ISBN 978 0 7504 4436 1 CMK-22-03-105 © Crown copyright 2007 WELSH EUROPEAN FUNDING OFFICE EAST WALES REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS & EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND 2007 - 2013 CCI No: 2007UK052PO001 16 October 2007 OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME CONTENTS Chapter Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 ANALYSIS 3 3 STRATEGY 59 4 PRIORITIES 103 5 CROSS CUTTING THEMES 129 6 IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS 139 7 FINANCIAL ALLOCATIONS 171 Annexes1 Annex A - Public Consultation Responses Report Annex B - Equal Opportunities Analysis and Matrix Annex C - Environmental Sustainability Matrix Annex D - Lessons Learnt Report Annex E - Ex Ante Evaluation Report Annex F - Welsh Assembly Government Organogram Annex G - Indicative List of Strategic Frameworks Annex H - Strategic Framework Co-ordinator Responsibilities Annex I - Financial Flows and Controls Annex J - Summary of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Annex K - Indicators Annex L - Cross Cutting Themes Lessons Learnt Report 1 The annexes are available in electronic format on the WEFO website: www.wefo.wales.gov.uk List of Operational Programme Figures and Tables Figure 1 Map of the East Wales Reigional Competitiveness and Employment Programme Area...........................................................5 Figure 2 Analysis of GVA per head differences across Wales compared to the UK average, 2001 – 2003 average ..........................................7 Figure 3 Population age profile percentage point difference in age group shares, East Wales and West Wales and the Valleys compared to Welsh average, 2004 .....................................................................9 Figure 4 Population age profile percentage point difference in age group shares, Wales and the UK compared to EU average.......................10 Figure 5 Age breakdowns of population change, 1991 – 2004 ......................12 Figure 6 Local authority analysis of population change, 2001 – 2004............13 Figure 7 Progress against Lisbon targets 2005 and 2010..............................18 Figure 8 Employment rates by local authority ................................................21 Figure 9 Economic inactivity rates by local authority......................................22 Figure 10 Economic inactivity rate by reason given, 2004 ...............................23 Figure 11 Number of economically inactive in Wales in excess of UK average inactivity rates by age group, gender and reason, 2003.....25 Figure 12 Bus and walking access to key employment centres ......................27 Figure 13 Older worker employment rate.........................................................32 Figure 14 Average gross weekly earnings ......................................................33 Figure 15 Qualifications / skills set ..................................................................37 Figure 16 Economic inactivity rates by highest qualification, 2004 (percentage of the working age population) .....................................41 Figure 17 Civilian workforce jobs .....................................................................46 Figure 18 Overall index of multiple deprivation ................................................50 Figure 19 Access to services ...........................................................................52 Figure 20 Physical environment deprivation.....................................................53 Figure 21 Links between Operational Programmes, CSGs and Integrated Guidelines ........................................................................................67 Figure 22 Link between CSG objectives and ESF and ERDF Regional Competitiveness & Employment Priorities .......................................68 Figure 23 Wales Spatial Plan areas map .........................................................75 Figure 24 Wales Policy Map.............................................................................76 Figure 25 Key Strategies Map..........................................................................77 Figure 26 Wales Spatial Plan collaboration and implementation structures...146 Figure 27 Proposed Committee structure.......................................................148 Figure 28 Setting selection and prioritisation criteria......................................152 Figure 29 Applying selection and prioritisation criteria ...................................153 Figure 30 Signposting on eligibility and framework fit ....................................154 Table 1 Contribution of the factors that explain GVA per head differentials, percentage of total gap ......................................................................8 Table 2 Population by age group, 2004 ..........................................................9 Table 3 Population change since 1981 .........................................................11 Table 4 Components of population change, 2001 – 2004.............................12 Table 5 Average annual net migration trends area analysis, 2002 – 04........14 Table 6 Labour market summary, EU25 comparison (percentage)...............17 Table 7 Labour market summary ..................................................................20 Table 8 Percentage of adults reporting selected illnesses/conditions...........24 Table 9 Labour market summary, disaggregated by disability and ethnicity (percentage).......................................................................29 Table 10 Employment rates by gender and age .............................................31 Table 11 Employment rate by highest qualification, Wales.............................36 Table 12 Levels of highest qualifications held by persons of working age, percentage of working age population .............................................38 Table 13 Levels of highest qualifications held by persons of working age by gender, percentage of the working age population, 2004............39 Table 14 Attainment of pupils in final year of compulsory education (percentage) 2005/06 provisional results .........................................42 Table 15 Attainment of pupils aged 17 at the start of the academic year, 2005/06 provisional results ..............................................................43 Table 16 Participation in lifelong learning, 2004..............................................44 Table 17 Employment in high, and medium high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services, percentage of total employment.......................................................47 Table 18 Risk of being in low income groups after housing costs, percentage (3 year rolled average 2002/03 – 2004/05) ...................48 Table 19 Number and percentage of LSOAs within each local authority that are within the most deprived (10%, 20%, 30% or 50%) in Wales ....51 Table 20 East Wales SWOT ...........................................................................54 Table 21 East Wales challenges addressed by the ERDF and ESF Operational Programmes.................................................................61 Table 22 Community Strategic Guidelines addressed by the ERDF and ESF Operational Programmes .........................................................65 Table 23 Priority 1 – Contribution of priority to EU and UK policy priorities.....80 Table 24 Priority 2 - Contribution of priority to EU and UK policy priorities .....81 Table 25 Programme Level Tracking Indicators..............................................91 Table 26 Programme level indicators..............................................................92 Table 27 Responses to the Public Consultation by Sector..............................99 Table 28 Priority 1 - Indicators and targets ...................................................109 Table 29 Priority 2 – Indicators and targets...................................................120 Table 30 Representative membership of PMC by sector organisation .........148 Table 31 East Wales ESF Regional Competitiveness & Employment Programme 2007 – 2013 – Priority axes by sources of funding (in euros millions)...........................................................................174 Table 32 East Wales ESF Regional Competitiveness & Employment Programme 2007 – 2013 – Year by sources for the programme (in euros millions)...........................................................................175 Table 33 Indicative allocations by category of intervention ...........................176 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction The agreement of the European Council and the European Parliament on the EU budget for 2007-2013 means that East Wales will receive “Regional Competitiveness & Employment” funding – the second highest level of support available under the next round of Structural