The application process

You can apply for a Programme Informal ESOL Grant if you are a:

  1. Voluntary and community organisation
  2. Registered charity
  3. Constituted group or club
  4. Social enterprise
  5. Group of organisations, if led by a voluntary/community organisation or social enterprise
  6. Community interest company (with two or more directors)
  7. Statutory organisation

The scheme will not accept applications from individuals or limited companies (that are not registered charities or social enterprises).

Bidders may submit the application form (enclosed) any time, as the Scheme will operate on a continuing basis for the first two years. Awards will be granted four times a year, as follows: 

Application submitted by Decision by Project to commence by
31 March 2023 28 April 2023 5 June 2023
30 June 2023 28 July 2023 4 September 2023
31 October 2023 30 November 2023 8 January 2023

Applications forms will be assessed according to the aims, conditions and criteria specified here. The proposals will be assessed by the Informal ESOL Grant Scheme Panel (the Panel), which consists of members of the Lancashire Refugee Integration Team at Lancashire County Council, and at least one external Panel member with lived experience of being a refugee or asylum seeker. Application forms must be submitted by email to RITTeam@lancashire.gov.uk.

Please note the following:

  1. Decisions will be made at the absolute discretion of the Panel. The Panel makes no guarantee as to the number of awards it will make.
  2. The Panel reserve the right, at their discretion, to call bidders for a face-to-face, telephone or video informal interview as part of the assessment process, to seek clarifications or to request any further information.
  3. Panel decisions will be communicated to all relevant bidders within two weeks of the decision deadline.
  4. Where a proposal is unsuccessful, but the Panel believes that it has potential, the Panel may decide to:
    1. Include the proposal, without any changes, in the next round of applications; or
    2. Request changes to the proposal and that it is submitted in a new form (this by no means guarantees the success of a revised proposal).
  5. The Panel's decisions are final and there will be no appeals process. The Panel will endeavour to explain constructively why a proposal was unsuccessful, but there is no obligation for it to do so.
  6. There is no minimum or maximum spend for each round of applications, and the Scheme carries no obligation to spend the full (maximum) amount assigned to it by the Lancashire Refugee Resettlement Programme.
  7. When awarding grants, the Panel will have regard to the number of families resettled by different Local Authorities in Lancashire – this means that areas that resettled more families are likely to see, proportionately, more funding awarded for projects benefiting resettled refugees there.
  8. If there is an excess of proposals for certain Local Authority areas, and a concomitant dearth of proposals in others, the Panel may negotiate with some bidders about the possibility of projects being implemented in areas for which they were not originally intended.

For informal discussions about the Scheme, please contact:

Murad Al Hamwi, ESOL Coordinator
Email: Murad.Alhamwi@lancashire.gov.uk

Or

Mary Sharples, Refugee Resettlement Commissioner
Email: Mary.Sharples@lancashire.gov.uk

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