European Social Fund in England
2007 - 2013
Using this guidance
The organisations and projects receiving financial support under ESF must comply with requirements laid down in EU regulations and Member State Operational Programmes and guidance. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in ESF activity being deemed to be ineligible with the result that the ESF must be repaid.
It is recommended that any organisation that is likely to be involved with the operation and delivery of the ESF programme in England and Gibraltar reads the relevant parts of the guidance and requirements carefully so that they understand their obligations. Please note that the devolved administrations will issue separate guidance on ESF in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Contact information is available in section 1.14.
This guidance has been written and structured to meet the needs of practitioners involved in the day to day management and operation of ESF.
The guidance is divided into self contained chapters or manuals to assist those practitioners primarily in Co-financing Organisations (CFOs), Government Offices (GOs) and European Social Fund Division (ESFD). Although designed to be comprehensive, inevitably issues will arise that are not covered by the guidance and will need to be referred to the Managing Authority (MA) in ESFD and Government Offices.
There are seven manuals covering the key elements of the ESF programme:
Details of all revisions to the Guidance Manuals.
Manual 1: Programme overview; eligibility rules; innovation and transnationality; and how to apply for ESF funding
Manual 2: Co-financing beneficiary guidance and requirements
Manual 3: Non-Co-financing guidance and requirements
Manual 4: Managing Authority guidance and requirements
Annex 3 - MA organisation chart
Annex 4 - delegated authorities
Annex 5 - financial allocations
Annex 6 - funding agreement proformas
Annex 9 - fraud referral proforma
Annex 10 - Verification of ESF Ops
Annex 11 - Article 13 forms:
- Article 13 Form - CFO baseline review
- Article 13 Form - CFO quarterly review
- Article 13 Form - CFO provider
- Article 13 Form - CFO on the spot check
- Article 13 Form - non CFO baseline
- Article 13 Form - non CFO annual review
- Article 13 Form - Technical Assistance
Annex 12 - Manual system claim checks
Manual 5: Certifying Authority guidance and requirements
Manual 6: Audit Authority guidance and requirements
Manual 7: IT systems guidance and requirements