What is Eligble and Ineligible

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What is eligible/ineligible

General Guidance
LEADER projects must not start before approval of funding has been given by the LAG. Retrospective funding for physical work undertaken on a LEADER project prior approval is ineligible.

Project funding will be made up of two or three elements as follows;

	up to a maximum rate of up to 50% LEADER funds towards eligible costs
	local match funding
	applicant's contribution of a minimum of 5% of the project costs

The LEADER grant cannot be released until match funding is confirmed.

The total amount of all public grant support may not exceed 95% of the LEADER project's eligible costs. The exception to this is where the applicant is a public organisation in which case 100% may be from public funds. Public funding is all funding from public Agencies whether national or local and also from the various Lottery funds.

Eligible Expenditure -

Projects generally fall into two categories:

	Capital: Infrastructure such as building works or material goods
	Revenue: Cultural, educational, historical, social enterprise staff costs

Eligible costs may include:

	Site/building acquisition
	Professional fees
	Site preparation
	External services
	Internal services
	Fixtures and fittings
	Environmental improvements and enhancements
	Feasibility studies
	Staffing costs for personnel directly engaged in a LEADER project
	Marketing costs relevant to the project
	Non-Recoverable VAT
	In-kind Contributions - the supply of landing kind costs as part of the direct delivery of a LEADER project may be considered as eligible costs.
	Contributions which are "in kind" must be able to be assigned a monetary value (eg based on standard hourly labour costs) and must involve a logical audit trail.

Funding Restrictions -

	the minimum LEADER project cost is £1,000
	existing/ongoing core staff costs are ineligible for LEADER funding
	general running and overhead costs of an organisation which are not directly related to the LEADER project are ineligible
	no funding will be granted for activities which are statutory obligations of regional corporate bodies (SEPA, SNH etc)
	prize money is not eligible for funding
	professional fees for architectural, landscape design and engineering services can be funded up to a maximum level of 10% of the total building costs.
	within the context of collaboration, the costs of land and buildings which are to be used as part of a trans-regional or trans-national joint venture can only be funded with Scottish LEADER resources if they are situated within Scotland. Scottish funds can be used for the co-financing of trans-regional or trans-national projects situated outside Scotland, provided the Scottish Government can determine their use

Selection Criteria -

The Criteria the Moray LAG will base their decisions on LEADER applications are:

	Project located within the LAG area.
	Project can evidence that equal opportunity policies are in place and that the project is designed to be inclusive of all individuals and social groups.
	The project will bring community benefit through environmental, social or economic additionality.
	Project will assist the LAG in implementation of the Local Development Strategy and relates to at least one of the strategic priorities in the Strategy.
	Project confirms compliance with funding restrictions under LEADER.
	Project is innovative.
	Amount of match funding available from other sources, i.e. leverage.
	Project can prove that value for money is being obtained from grant funding.
	Project can demonstrate that it will be economically viable over the longer term.
	Where support is for building projects and land purchase it is expected that the project will deliver the originally funded intention for 10 years, and five for completion or delivery for all other types of intangible items.