Hope’s costly ERDF branding error
Liverpool Hope University has been forced to repay £27,987 to the European Regional Development Fund because it did not carry a logo on a billboard advertising its Urban Hope regeneration spin-off.
Urban Hope, part of the university's Hope Business Gateway department, received £2.2m from ERDF towards its Urban Hope initiative, which the university says provides 'expertise in the areas of widening access, regeneration and enterprise' in regeneration through project management and consultancy. Among Urban Hope's clients are Cosmopolitan Housing Group, Wirral Council and Kensington New Deal for Communities.
ERDF, managed in the UK by Department for Communities & Local Government, demands repayment – or 'financial correction' – from organisations and companies who fail to comply with the European Commission Information & Publicity Rules.
Other North West organisations which suffered financial correction include Carlisle City Council, The Mersey Partnership, and Envirolink, though all lesser amounts than Hope had to repay.
The chief executive of Urban Hope, Dr Martin Carey, is on annual leave this month and unavailable for comment.
For the 2007-2013 ERDF Programme, the following financial corrections have been imposed, due to failure to comply with the EC Publicity Regulations:
|
Organisation |
Project Name (Regional ERDF Programme) |
Monetary Value of the project |
Nature of the breach |
Financial Penalty or correction |
|
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council |
Inclusive Enterprise (Yorkshire and Humber) |
£8,000,000 |
Failure to appropriately advertise ERDF support during radio advert |
£5,250 |
|
Yorkshire Forward |
Grants for Research and Development |
£9,137,077 |
Failure to acknowledge ERDF contribution in the grant award material |
£9,752 |
|
Yorkshire Forward |
Large Company R&D Award Scheme |
£16,384,215 |
Failure to acknowledge ERDF contribution in the grant award material |
£1,753 |
|
Bradford MBC |
Enterprising Bradford |
£10,093,630 |
Publicity material failed to include EU logo |
£986 |
|
University of Northampton |
Modelling and Visualisation Centre (East Midlands) |
£8,628,858 |
The project did not have the required billboard up in time (8 week period). |
£56,477.70 |
|
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council |
South Black Country SUD Package (West Midlands) |
£202,000 |
Failure to acknowledge ERDF Programme in text or display logos in job adverts. |
£5,046 |
|
The National Museum of Labour History |
Peoples History Museum (North West) |
£756,300 |
No logo on billboard |
£7,223 |
|
North West Vision & Media |
NW Vision and Media Cluster Development (North West) |
£2,716,950 |
Marketing materials without logo |
£12,005 |
|
Merseytravel |
James Street Underground Station (North West) |
£1,700,000 |
Insufficient publicity at project start |
£13,600 |
|
The Merseyside Partnership |
Partners for Tourism (North West) |
£11.947,934 |
Use of incorrect logo |
£5,492.50 |
|
Business Link |
Business Link Brokerage Service (North West) |
£3,270,695 |
Job Advertisement without ERDF logo |
£5,296.47 |
|
Carlisle City Council |
Carlisle Roman Gateway |
£2,067,377 |
Advertisement without branding |
£88.00 |
|
Cumbria Tourism |
Regional Marketing and Cultural Heritage |
£4,775,979 |
Merchandise without branding |
£240.00 |
|
Envirolink |
Low Carbon Market |
£1,850,843 |
Unbranded promotional material |
£167.67 |
|
Liverpool Hope University |
Urban Hope Innovation and Enterprise Centre |
£4,296,663 |
Billboard did not contain branding |
£27,987.84 |
|
NCGE |
HEI Champions |
£1,279,141 |
Advertising without branding |
£1,000.50 |
