DN 10/2020 AJ1 Project Road Safety Fund

DN 10/2020       Date 20/05/2020 

AJ1 Project Road Safety Fund

Background

The AJ1 number plate was the first registration number issued in the North Riding of Yorkshire when vehicle number plates were introduced in 1903. Its first use was in that year on Chief Constable Major Sir Robert Bower’s Argyll car.  The Vehicle Registration Number is no longer in use and in June 2019, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan and Chief Constable Lisa Winward agreed to sell the Vehicle Registration Number with the money raised to be invested in two projects.

The first project supported work improving the Memorial Garden in the middle of North Yorkshire Police Headquarters at Alverton Court.  The money was used to relocate the stones, restore them, and protect and preserve them for the future. It has also been used to commission a new memorial obelisk to honour those North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service officers and staff that have fallen in the line of duty, and also colleagues and friends of the organisations who have passed away.

The second project is to invest in community road safety with a new ‘AJ1 Project Road Safety Fund’. 

AJ1 Project Road Safety Fund approach

A one-time application and panel process will be set up to determine applications.  To ensure decisions are informed by experience, the panel will include representatives of partners involved with the 95 Alive Partnership:

• North Yorkshire Police (NYP)
  • Road Traffic and Partnerships / Youth Engagement;
• Office of the North Yorkshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC)
• North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS)
• North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) and City of York Council (CYC)
  • Community or Road Safety
• Highways England
• Yorkshire Ambulance Service
• Public Health 

Funding applications criteria

This non-recurring funding opportunity is intended to strengthen the work of local communities and organisations and groups with a local and/or thematic focus, such as parish councils to improve road safety across North Yorkshire.

Applications will be invited over a one-month period with a further one-month between application closing and panel, to allow for review and determination.

To be eligible for consideration for funding, projects are required to support the 95 Alive Strategic Priorities as identified in the 2016-20 strategy, with a particular focus on Education and Engagement:  https://www.roadwise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/65410-Road-Safety-Strategy-FINAL-2016.pdf 

• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Engagement

Projects are required to focus on priority/ vulnerable groups identified in the above strategy: 

• Parish councils and other local groups delivering road safety initiatives in their communities
• Children and Young People
• Cyclists
• Motor Cyclists
• Older Road Users

Projects are required to be community focussed and clearly evidence added value: 

• Where applications are for existing projects or services, the added value that would result from a successful application to this funding stream must be clearly evidenced.
• Applications must provide a clear breakdown of the specific finances requested in relation to this funding.

Individual applications awards will not exceed £20,000.00.  To encourage applications that use the fund for more sustainable and long-term purposes, a conditional top up initiative has been developed.  Applicants who are able to attract partial or full match funding, will be able to claim up to an additional 10% of grant funds.  To support this partnership approach, therefore, 10% of this funding will be set aside to support projects with identified match funding.

Projects are required to evidence sustainability and partnership applications with identified match funding will be incentivised as below:

• This funding is one-off and non-recurring; sustainability must be evidenced.
• Partnership applications with specified match funding will be awarded with an additional, maximum 10% funding.

The final decision for agreeing projects to support rests with the panel.

All successful projects will be expected to produce monitoring report and full evidence of expenditure as explained below.

Decision Record

The Commissioner has considered the proposed funding approach and has approved.  Any grant monies, following a successful award from the panel, will be subject to ongoing monitoring arrangements, and any changes to the way the grant is to be used must be discussed and agreed with the Commissioning & Partnerships Manager on behalf of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner.  All successful applicants will be required to evidence how the money has been spent, and the Commissioner may request to visit the project supported by the Road Safety grant.

Julia Mulligan
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire

Statutory Officer Advice

Legal, Management and Equality Implications

Having read this Decision Notice in draft and having considered such information as has been provided at the time of being asked to express this view, the Interim Chief Executive & Monitoring Officer is satisfied that this Decision Notice does not ask the Commissioner to make a decision which would (or would be likely to) give rise to a contravention of the law.

Financial and Commercial

The Commissioner’s Chief Finance Officer and S151 Officer is content that the described approach to receiving applications is supported by a robust assessment process, and will help ensure the funding is used to best effect.

Apply for funding

• Apply for the AJ1 Project Road Safety Fund