Maritime and Fisheries Fund (MFF) how to apply for funding
General Guidance Note – for applicants applying in England

This guidance explains the types of funding you can apply for, the types of projects that can be funded, how much money you can apply for and how to apply. You must read this in conjunction with the specific guidance note that applies to the type of project you are applying for.

If you work in the fishing and maritime sectors, you may be eligible to apply to the MFF for support to fund sustainable development and support growth and jobs in coastal communities.

Projects to be considered under the MFF scheme should not have a total project cost exceeding €2million at the exchange rate valid on the day of submission. 

Applicants cannot be awarded more than €1million, based on relevant exchange rates, in any calendar year during the scheme, including the accumulated values of multiple projects. 
If you or your project is based in England you should contact Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for more details.

Alternatively;

If you or your project is based in Scotland you should contact Marine Scotland.
If you or your project is based in Northern Ireland you should contact the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

If you or your project is based in Wales you should contact the Welsh government.

DEFINITIONS;
In these notes:

•	You means the applicant. You can employ an agent or consultant to help you complete your application form but you must sign the form. You will be responsible for ensuring that all of the terms and conditions of grant are fulfilled. Responsibility for the content of the application and any supporting information and documentation rests with you and cannot be transferred to your agent or consultant. In particular, this means that you will be expected to retain ownership of the work which is being grant aided.
•	We means the MMO.
•	Fisherman means any person engaging in commercial fishing activities, as recognised by English law.
•	Fisheries area means an area with a sea, river or lake shore, including ponds or a river basin, with a significant level of employment in fisheries, which is functionally coherent in geographical, economic and social terms and is designated as such by English law.
•	Inland fishing means fishing activities carried out for commercial purposes in inland waters by vessels or other devices.
•	Vessels operating exclusively in inland waters means vessels engaged in commercial fishing in inland waters and not included in the fishing fleet register.
•	A public law body is an organisation financed, managed or supervised by the government.
•	Small-scale coastal fishing (SSCF) means fishing carried out by fishing vessels of an overall length of 11.99 metres or less and not using towed fishing gear as per The Common Fisheries Policy (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

The information provided in this Guidance Note must only be taken as a guide to the grants which are available. The legal basis for the grants is The Grants for Fishing and Aquaculture Industries Regulations 2015 no. 1711.

1.	Who can apply?
The funding under MFF is available to private applicants only. You can usually apply for the scheme if you’re at least one of the following, but you should read the specific guidance for your particular type of project:
•	the owner of an English registered fishing vessel and commercially fishing from a port based in England
•	a fisherwoman, or spouse or legal partner of a fisherman
•	a producer organisation or Inter-branch organisation 
•	an aquaculture business or organisation
•	an organisation of fishermen or fisherwomen
•	involved in production, processing, marketing, distribution or commercial retail of fisheries and aquaculture products
•	an association, including new aquaculture farmers
•	Micro, small and medium-sized businesses- see below
•	Scientific organisations working in the maritime sectors

Micro, small and medium enterprises SMEs

MFF Funding is only available to Micro, Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as defined in The Common Fisheries Policy (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 with the exception of Promotion of human capital and networking where funding can be granted to large aquaculture enterprises if their project relates to and is engaged in knowledge-sharing with SMEs.
To be able to determine whether or not you are an SME you need to know staff numbers, turnover and balance sheet totals as well as how your business links to other enterprises.
Micro-enterprises are defined as enterprises that employ fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed the sterling equivalent of €2 million;

Small enterprises are defined as enterprises that employ fewer than 50 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed the sterling equivalent of €10 million;
Medium-sized enterprises are defined as enterprises that employ fewer than 250 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed the sterling equivalent of €50 million.
You will also need to understand and declare your company’s relationship(s) with other businesses. It is up to you to determine and declare your business type from the three categories below:
•	Autonomous – if the enterprise is either completely independent or has one or more minority partnerships (each less than 25%) with other enterprises
•	Partner – if holdings with other enterprises rise to at least 25% but no more than 50%, the relationships is deemed to be between partner enterprises
•	Linked enterprise – if holdings with other enterprises exceed the 50% threshold, these are considered linked enterprises

If you remain unsure as to which category your company falls under, please contact the MMO before making your application.
2.	Who can’t apply?

Publicly funded organisations which can include charities, universities and local and national government organisations cannot apply to the MFF.

You can’t apply if you are not an eligible applicant type, if your business is a large business see SME guidance for advice on this, your vessel is not registered as a fishing vessel in England and/or you are not a commercial fishermen.
You can’t apply for and receive MFF funding if you’ve been convicted of fraud under any previous fisheries grant scheme.
You can’t apply for and receive MFF funding if you’ve been convicted of an offence that the MMO considers to be a ‘serious infringement’ or fraud, in the 12 months before applying.
Please read the Guidance on Inadmissibility and fraud on the MMO website.

3.	What can I apply for?
You can apply for funding to:
•	improve the energy efficiency of your gear or vessel
•	meet certain aspects of the Landing obligation (note-only one gear replacement can be funded per vessel under the MFF scheme)
•	expand your business into new markets and find new ways of increasing productivity and throughput
•	improve health and safety on board and on shore
•	boost the value and quality of your product including ways to use unwanted catch
•	improve fishing ports, landing sites, auction halls and shelters
•	try innovations in fisheries, the maritime sector and aquaculture
•	implement marketing measures
•	process fishery and aquaculture products
•	start an advisory service
•	start a partnership between scientists and fishermen
•	create jobs within eligible areas
•	create social dialogue
•	create support for the systems of allocation of fishing opportunities
•	implement conservation measures and regional co-operation
•	limit the impact of fishing on the marine environment and adapt fishing methods to protect species
•	support innovation that could conserve marine biological resources protect and restore marine biodiversity and ecosystems
•	improve inland fishing including health and safety and value of catches
•	aid inland aquatic fauna and flora productive investments in aquaculture management, relief and advisory services for aquaculture farms projects that increase the potential of aquaculture sites
•	create innovation in aquaculture
•	projects that promote human capital and networking in aquaculture
•	purchase or lease vehicles only if the vehicle in question has a direct contribution to the project and is not used for any other purpose
This list is not exhaustive. Contact MMO if you’re unsure whether the activity you want to apply for is eligible.

Activities you can’t apply to fund
You cannot get MFF funding to:
•	increase the fishing effort, the capacity of your vessel or increase the ability of your vessel to find fish
•	increase the capacity of fish holds
•	build fishing vessels or import them
•	stop fishing activities temporarily or permanently, unless otherwise provided for in the MFF regulations
•	carry out exploratory fishing
•	transfer ownership of a business
•	fund direct restocking unless explicitly provided for as a conservation measure or in the case of experimental restocking
•	fund the purchase or construction of inland fishing vessels.
•	fund the construction of Lobster Hatcheries
•	statutory or mandatory undertakings - Items and services that are statutory or mandatory requirements of law and bylaws cannot be funded
•	maintenance of any vehicles
•	operating costs are not eligible unless expressly allowed for by the MMO.
•	interest on a debt
•	purchase of land or housing that’s worth more than 10% of your project’s total expenditure
•	your business’s operating costs, unless the MMO has told you otherwise in your Offer Letter
•	re-payments of loans on any item(s) you have purchased or
•	 the costs of any item(s) bought with a loan until the loan is repaid (this does not include leased items as long as your Offer Letter allows funding for them.
•	any costs that you could recover in part or in total by making a claim on an insurance policy or by seeking compensation or damages.

Contact MMO if you’re unsure whether your project is eligible or ineligible

4.	How much funding can I apply for?

•	the type of applicant you are, for example if you are a private business, a producer organisation or a fisherman’s association
•	the size of your vessel if you are applying for equipment or gear. There are different rates for vessels 11.99m and under not using towed gear and those vessels that are larger or do use towed gear
•	the activity you are applying for as some high priority project types can get a higher rate in some circumstances
Funding rates are different for each type of project and you should look at the specific guidance note for your proposed project type for more advice.

5.	How to apply
To apply, you need to propose a project. You can apply for funding using the E-system and associated guidance. You need to choose the guidance relevant to your project; please note you may need to complete more than one application if your project has different elements within it.
The 6 project types are;

1.	Fishing vessel energy improvements

2.	Investments on board vessels

3.	Improvements to shore-based facilities

4.	Partnerships and information sharing

5.	Seafood processing and investments in fisheries management

6.	Aquaculture, animal health and inland fishing

The MFF scheme is designed to assist those who cannot afford to fund projects without support. If it is considered that you can afford your project without support your project will not be approved.

You should consult the specific guidance note to find out how much funding you can apply for. The tables are called ‘Funding Rate Tables’.
It is important to note that all funding issued under the MFF scheme must be matched from a UK public source and in most cases another private source.
The matched amount from a public source is called the ‘National Funding’. In England the UK public source or National Funding is usually MMO but can be another public source such as Local Government.
There are limits to how much you can apply for on a single application. These limits depend on what you are doing and therefore which Article of the regulation you are applying to. These are in place to ensure that as many applicants as possible can benefit from the funding available. In exceptional circumstances these limits can be exceeded but the decision to authorise this rests wholly with MMO and you should discuss your project with MMO before applying if your planned project costs exceed the rates offered. There are no guarantees that you will be authorised to exceed the limits set out so you should consider alternative plans or funding.

Projects to be considered under the MFF scheme should not have a total project cost exceeding €2million based on relevant exchange rates. 

Applicants cannot be awarded more than €1million, based on relevant exchange rates, in any calendar year during the scheme, including the accumulated values of multiple projects. 

Expression of Interest (EOI)
You can complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) if you want MMO to check if your initial project idea has the potential to be eligible for funding.
You don’t have to do this, if you prefer you can make a full application for funding without initial advice.
If you choose to complete an EOI the MMO will then assess your project and tell you if you can apply and how you should do so.
If the MMO invites you to complete a full application, this does not guarantee that you’ll get funding.
You must not start work on your project before you’ve applied for MFF funding and received an email from the MMO that confirms your application has been received and you may proceed at risk. Proceeding at risk carries the possibility that you will have to pay for your project yourself if, following assessment, your application is not approved.
If your application is successful, you will need to be able to pay for your entire project up front - you can then claim the costs back from MMO. 
If you start work before receiving your acknowledgement email from MMO, your project will be automatically ineligible for funding.
In exceptional circumstances, you can claim back costs of up to 10% of the total eligible project costs at the funding rate applied, for costs incurred prior to the date of the acknowledgement received from the MMO. These costs must be for activities that are directly related to the project and the provision of professional services that assist the application to proceed to application stage, for example architects plans. Any costs relating to completion of the application form or the collation of supporting documentation are not eligible. 
The MMO will decide if you’re eligible to reclaim these costs and their decision is final.

Apply online
You should apply online using the MFF E-System
You will need the following information to hand in order to complete the application:
•	The appropriate guide for completing your application form
•	Your business details such as your accounts, business registration number and VAT registration number

If you cannot use the E-System other forms of application are available on request from MMO.

Documents you need to send

As well as completing your application you will need to send any specific documents mentioned in this guidance. See below for details;

If your project has a total value of up to £24,999.99

You should provide a copy of your organisation’s accounts for the last three financial years to demonstrate that your organisation is financially sound.
These can be audited or non-audited.

If your organisation is currently loss making, this does not necessarily mean that your application cannot be considered. However, you will need to explain carefully in your business case or application form the steps you are taking to make your organisation financially viable, including the contribution you expect your project to make to this.

If you are an organisation that is one or two years old, you only need to provide the organisation’s accounts for the financial years that you have been in operation.

If your organisation is new, you should provide a cash flow forecast for a minimum of 5 years. For an example of a cash flow forecast for 12 months see further down this section. The pre-start column is for figures for items before your organisation started trading.

You must also tell us about any interest rates on start-up finance that is not clear from the Cash Flow Forecast.

If your project has a total value of between £25,000 - £99,999.99

A Business Case completed on the Business Case Template which can be found on the MMO website or you can contact MMO for a copy.

You should provide accounts or a Cash Flow Forecast if you are a new company, (see above section), and a Discounted Cash Flow.

For projects with a total project cost of up to £99,999.99 assessment will be made by the MMO Grants Team.

If your project has a total value of more than £100,000

A Business Case completed on the Business Case Template which can be found on the MMO website or you can contact MMO for a copy.

You should provide accounts or a Cash Flow Forecast if you are a new company, (see above section), and a Discounted Cash Flow. A full financial and economic appraisal will be conducted on your evidence and you may be asked for further information. If your total project cost is more than £100,000 it will be assessed by a specially selected panel of experts. More information on panels including deadlines and dates they will be held will be available on the MMO website. The Head of Grants at the MMO may decide that applications which would normally be considered by a Panel process can be managed through the Team Assessment process. 

Quotes

For all goods and services that you intend to apply for as part of your project you must provide quotes to verify the costs. The quotes will all be used to show that you’re getting the best value for money in your project.
Quotes supplied must include:
•	a detailed and itemised breakdown of costs
•	the supplier’s address, phone number and a contact name
•	the supplier’s VAT number, if they’re VAT registered and they have included VAT on the quote
•	the supplier’s company registration number, if they’re a limited company

You need to send either:

•	The original signed quote by post
•	Email quotes can be accepted but they must show the email trail from the supplier to the applicant
•	Photocopies or print-outs of catalogue or website listings for products. The photocopies or print-outs must contain the specification of the item. They must contain a price and all should either be inclusive or exclusive of VAT as applicable. The photocopies or print-outs must be from accessible catalogues or websites that can be easily verified.
•	Documents that prove you’ve issued a formal tender, scoring and decision making details.
Quotes that don't meet the requirements set out will be rejected by MMO. The quotes and tenders you send must:
•	come from suppliers that trade independently of each other and don’t share any ownership
•	be from the last 3 months and be valid
•	be comparable in terms of the quality, size, quantity, and type of product, if you’re using multiple quotes to show you’ll get value for money when buying a product

Don’t send quotes or tenders that come from suppliers you’re related to or that your business is linked to.
Applicants must ensure that the companies requested to quote for items or services for their project know that their quote is being submitted as part of an application of funding to the MFF scheme and MMO.
In some cases a declaration completed by the supplier providing quotes must be obtained by you. If your application is selected for this additional check then you must ask your suppliers to complete a declaration to confirm that the quote is accurate and that they understand that you are applying for MFF funding.
All quotes provided must come from independent companies and will be verified by MMO. MMO reserves the right to seek independent advice on the validity and value for money of quotes and tenders supplied. MMO may contact your suppliers directly.

The number of quotes you need to send depends on the value of the product or service as per the tables below.

Private Applicants

Individual items with a value (excluding VAT) of:	Number of Quotes or Tenders	
over £0 and up to £1,500	At least One quote	

£1,500.01 and up to
£5,000	At least two quotes must be provided. If at least two quotes have not been provided, then an explanation why must be provided	

£5,000.01 and up to
£60,000	At least three quotes must be provided.  If at least two quotes have not been provided, then an explanation why must be provided	

equal to or over
£60,000.01	You cannot provide photocopies or print-outs for items over £60,000.01, for these items a minimum of 3 quotes or evidence of tender must be provided including;
1) A detailed specification of the works to be undertaken

2) Evidence of the scoring used to select the company

3) A suitable rationale for the decision to select the chosen company

	

In exceptional circumstances we may consider accepting fewer quotes than the minimum numbers. For example it may not be possible to obtain three quotes for specialist equipment. If you are unable to provide the minimum number of quotes or tenders required, you should speak to MMO for advice and your application should explain why this has not been possible.

Calculating Staff Costs
Staff costs can be eligible for MFF but only in certain circumstances.  For capital or revenue projects staff costs are deemed as running costs and are not eligible. For projects with a common interest like research or studies where the findings are made public the staff time can only be reimbursed where the work on the project is not part of an employee’s regular job role.
Staff costs where a member of staff is working directly on your project can be included in your project costs.

If your project includes staff costs you must provide:

•	a Staff hourly rates calculator
•	a job description of the staff member
•	payslip or proof of salary
•	information on contracted hours in current job role and;
•	the role in the project

You can only include the hours they spend exclusively on your project. All costs must be supported with payslips or PAYE reports to confirm the salary costs have been calculated using the correct rates. Please note all claims for staff costs must be accompanied by signed timesheets and evidence of payment when submitting your claim.

If your project includes salary costs and you anticipate that there will be pay rises within the lifetime of the project, these will be scrutinised by the MMO. You will need to provide a detailed rationale for any pay rises proposed with justification for the rise applied. Pay rises funded through MFF are not guaranteed. If this applies to your project speak to the MMO before applying.

Travel and Subsistence (T&S)
If you applying for Travel and subsistence (T&S) costs as part of your project they must be in line with MMO rules. The rules are available on the MMO website or contact MMO for more details.

Quotes in Foreign Currencies
When you submit a quote which is in a foreign currency you must calculate the exchange rate at the time the application is submitted. You can use this website to convert your amounts; http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/infore uro_en.cfm
You must tell us the exchange rate you have used and the pound sterling amount you have calculated.
You must do this for each quote you send us in any foreign currency.

Where there are exchange rate fluctuations between submitting an application for funding and an offer of funding being made the MMO will use the most favourable exchange rate for you. When you claim your funding you will be reimbursed for the actual amount you have paid based on the exchange rate at that time. The foreign currency costs should not exceed the amounts stated on the original quote.

Leasing of items or equipment
In certain circumstances the cost of leasing items may make more sense in terms of value for money so can be included as part of the project costs. Items obtained through MFF Funding must be retained and not modified for a minimum of 5 years after acceptance of offer (Durability of Operations). Items can include, but is not limited to, plant for site works; porta-cabins for temporary work spaces and other equipment only needed for a limited time but is required for the delivery of the project.
Where leases are part of your project appropriate numbers of quotes must be supplied to ensure value for money is considered. You must also
provide a rationale with your application explaining why the use of leased items is better value for money than purchase.
Leases on land or buildings. If you have leased land or buildings within your project for example; if your project is the fitting out of a leased building into a processing unit. The land or building must have a lease remaining of at least 10 years from the time you apply for funding. If your land or building does not have at least 10 years lease remaining at the time of applying the project will not be eligible for funding.

Targets and Benefits
Your project must have Targets and Benefits that can be achieved directly by the project. Further details of the types of Targets and Benefits you should consider can be found in the individual guidance notes depending on the type of project you are applying for.
Targets and Benefits help you and MMO measure the success of your project so they should be specific to your project, measurable, achievable, realistic and have timescales or deadlines.
If you do not meet the Targets and Benefits originally agreed and set out in the Offer Letter issued to you by MMO then the level of achievement of the Targets and Benefits will be considered. The MMO will take a proportionate approach to this consideration and where possible work with you to address the issues identified. The MMO must protect the public funding elements of the MFF scheme and any match funding wherever possible. Because of this, recovery of funding paid to you, or the withholding of any funding outstanding may occur if it is considered necessary.

Permissions, Planning consents and licences
If your project needs specific permissions, consents and licences to go ahead, you must send proof that you have them to MMO when you apply. You should talk to the relevant authority to find out if you need any consents including Marine Licences.
If your planning consents and/or licences are not in place when you apply to MMO for funding you should supply details of when these are expected and forward to MMO as soon as they have been received. An offer of funding cannot be issued without the required planning consents and/or licences being in place. It is possible you can receive an offer in principle if the project is eligible and meets the requirements of the scheme while the planning consents and/or licences are being obtained. An offer in principle is not an offer of funding and you cannot claim funds until you receive a full offer of funding.

Cash Flow Forecast - 12 Months

Month:

Pre-Start

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Totals

Cashflow  Surplus/Deficit (-)

£0.00	£8,792.00	£3,596.00	£7,821.00    £18,712.00    £10,018.00     £13,081.00    £24,374.00    £19,531.00    £21,682.00    £33,526.00    £27,578.00

£30,931.00

£219,642.00

Opening Cash Balance

£0.00

£0.00	£8,792.00    £12,388.00    £20,209.00     £38,921.00    £48,939.00     £62,020.00    £86,394.00  £105,925.00  £127,607.00  £161,133.00

£188,711.00

£861,039.00

Closing Cash Balance

£0.00	£8,792.00    £12,388.00    £20,209.00     £38,921.00    £48,939.00    £62,020.00    £86,394.00  £105,925.00  £127,607.00  £161,133.00  £188,711.00

£219,642.00	£1,080,681.00

Table 1 Example Cash Flow Forecast for 12 Months

Receipts															
Cash sales	£0.00	£0.00	£10,020.00	£10,855.00	£12,525.00	£14,195.00	£15,865.00	£18,370.00	£21,710.00	£24,215.00	£26,406.00	£28,808.00	£33,066.00	£216,035.00	
Collections from credit sales	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£251.00	£418.00	£501.00	£501.00	£585.00	£752.00	£752.00	£1,002.00	£1,002.00	£1,166.00	£6,930.00	
Loans received	£0.00	£16,700.00	£0.00	£0.00	£8,350.00	£0.00	£0.00	£8,350.00	£0.00	£0.00	£8,350.00	£0.00	£0.00	£41,750.00	
Total Receipts	£0.00	£16,700.00	£10,020.00	£11,106.00	£21,293.00	£14,696.00	£16,366.00	£27,305.00	£22,462.00	£24,967.00	£35,758.00	£29,810.00	£34,232.00	£264,715.00	

Paym ents															
Cash purchases	£0.00	£401.00	£326.00	£166.00	£131.00	£237.00	£166.00	£149.00	£149.00	£166.00	£113.00	£113.00	£167.00	£2,284.00	
Payments to creditors	£0.00	£1,203.00	£978.00	£499.00	£392.00	£713.00	£499.00	£446.00	£446.00	£499.00	£339.00	£339.00	£503.00	£6,856.00	
Overheads	£0.00	£6,304.00	£5,120.00	£2,620.00	£2,058.00	£3,728.00	£2,620.00	£2,336.00	£2,336.00	£2,620.00	£1,780.00	£1,780.00	£2,631.00	£35,933.00	
Total Payments	£0.00	£7,908.00	£6,424.00	£3,285.00	£2,581.00	£4,678.00	£3,285.00	£2,931.00	£2,931.00	£3,285.00	£2,232.00	£2,232.00	£3,301.00	£45,073.00	

Last updated 09.09.2019

Private Match Funding
It is your responsibility to source and provide private match funding if this is required as part of the application for MFF funding. Typical sources of private match funding can include business loans or cash resources. The source of private match funding should be clearly stated when applying for funding. Before committing any private resources to the project we recommend you seek independent financial advice.
Cash, loans or grants from other sources being used for match funding must be in place before applying for MFF. You may be asked for proof this is in place before a decision is made.

Non-cash Match Funding
The value of land, buildings or assets cannot be used as match funding.
Future revenue from projects or other businesses cannot be used as match funding.
Items or services where there are no actual costs incurred cannot be used as match funding; this is In Kind funding, see below for details of this type of match funding.
In kind
In Kind costs are those where no actual costs have been incurred.

For example, an organisation allowing a member of staff to work on an MFF funded project for 1 day per week, but while paying the person is not an In Kind cost. Alternatively, the same person volunteering outside of work hours, for which they are not paid, is an In Kind Cost.

As no actual costs are being incurred, In Kind costs cannot receive a financial contribution from the MFF scheme. However, In Kind costs may be an important part of delivering a project.

When applying for funding, In Kind costs should not be included in the actual costs associated with the project but should be detailed within either the application form or the business case to explain why these are important.

In Kind costs should not exceed 10% of the total budget for a project.

Project Management
In general Project Management costs should not exceed 10% of the total project costs.
It is acknowledged that revenue projects can incur higher Project Management costs in some circumstances and that capital projects are normally expected to incur lower project management costs.
In either case if you wish to incur more than 10% Project Management costs on your project you must provide a detailed rationale of the need for the increased costs with your project application. Any requests for Project Management costs above 10% of the total project costs will be carefully assessed by MMO and therefore consideration should be given to ensuring that costs of this nature provide the best possible value for money for the public funding.

Phased Projects
Projects can be delivered in phases if there is a good reason to do so. Phases must be standalone and not dependent on other phases or projects. Each phase must have its own Targets and Benefits and must achieve them without depending on other phases or projects. Phases should be completed and all eligible costs claimed before the next phase is applied for. Applying for a phased project does not guarantee that funding will be approved or available for any subsequent phases, responsibility for funding future phases rests with you as the applicant.
Durability of Operations
To ensure the effectiveness, fairness and sustainable impact of the intervention of the MFF scheme, provisions guaranteeing that investments in businesses and infrastructures are long-lasting and prevent the funding from being used to undue advantage should be in place.

Therefore items purchased using public funding from the MFF Scheme must be owned and used for their original purpose for a minimum of five years from approval of the project, except where State Aid rules provide for a different period or the items are leased, see the Leasing of items or equipment section for more advice.
In the case of a project comprising investment in infrastructure or productive investment, and where the applicant is not a Micro, Small or Medium enterprise (SME), you will be required to repay the funding contribution from the MFF scheme if, within 10 years of the final payment to the project, the project or its activity is subject to relocation outside of England.
Some or all of the funding for projects that do not meet the Durability of Operations above will be recovered.

Research Projects
Results of research projects must be made public through appropriate means including publication and circulation in appropriate channels, and publication on websites.

State Aid

All projects must comply with all other eligibility rules of the scheme and State Aid rules to be deemed eligible for funding.

State Aid rules do not apply to the majority of projects which are eligible under the MFF scheme. However, projects that relate to the catching, production and/or processing of fisheries products. These are defined in:
The Common Fisheries Policy (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and The Grants for Fishing and Aquaculture Industries Regulations 2015 no. 1711.

If you feel that your project does not meet these criteria then you should contact the MMO to discuss your project before making an application for funding. This may result in the MMO obtaining advice from State Aid Experts.

Simplified costs

Simplified costs can be used by applicants for projects where evidencing the actual costs incurred is excessively time consuming or difficult. This does not apply to capital purchases and is limited to costs such as overheads or staff costs incurred as part of a wider project.

You can use simplified costs in certain circumstances. Applications for the use of simplified costs need to demonstrate sound levels of transparency and evidence to show that the costs are reasonable and based on a sound calculation/evidence methodology.

Simplified costs can be used when:

•	The real costs relating to a project are difficult to verify and to demonstrate for example many small items to verify with little or no impact on the project
•	There is reliable data on financial and quantitative implementation of previous costs which can be used to demonstrate the likely costs for the proposed project

The three options for calculating simplified costs are:

1.	Unit costs – may be used where it is possible to determine the standard scale of unit cost related to a specific activity (either process - or outcome- based) in advance. The calculation for the standard scale of unit cost must be fully evidenced in the application. The eligible cost of the activity in the operation will be calculated by multiplying the quantity of activity with the standard scale of unit cost you have provided.

Method of Calculation

The eligible activities required in order to complete the process/outcome must be listed in the application for funding.
The real cost of each activity must be based on statistical data or other objective information; verified historical data or the application of the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary and this evidence must be provided with the application

The above supplied information will be used by the MMO to establish the Unit cost which may be included in any Offer Letter.

2.	Lump sum award - in advance of issuing any Offer Letter, the amount of a lump sum to be included in any Offer Letter will be determined by the MMO based on predetermined terms of agreement on activity and/or output. This lump sum will only be paid if all these terms are completed and this will not be in the form of an advance payment before costs are incurred by you.

Method of Calculation

The desired activity/output of the project needs to be described in the application. As should the list of actions required in order to complete the activity/output. This information should be supported by evidence of statistical data or other objective information; verified historical data or the application of the usual cost accounting practices of the applicant (supported by internal guidance from the applicant’s organisation).

The above supplied information will be used by the MMO to establish the Lump sum award which may be included in any Offer Letter.

3.	Flat-rate financing – in advance of issuing any Offer Letter the amount of Flat-rate financing will be calculated by the MMO. This will based on categories of eligible costs as a percentage of specific and clearly identifiable categories of other associated and evidenced eligible costs. These costs need to be fixed before the application is made.

Method of Calculation

Option 1 – Flat Rate of up to 25% of Eligible Direct Costs
The costs within the application need to be clearly identified to allow the MMO to determine which Type category these costs fall into (see below).
The real costs within the application must be evidenced based on statistical data or other objective information; verified historical data or the application of the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary.
The MMO will determine the rate of finance to be used for indirect costs which may be included in the Offer Letter.

Option 2 – Flat Rate of up to 15% of Direct Staff Costs

The costs within the application need to be clearly identified to allow the MMO to determine which Type each category of expenditure falls into (see below). The real costs within the application must be evidenced based on statistical data or other objective information; verified historical data or the application of the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary.
The MMO will determine the rate of finance to be used for indirect costs as a ratio of direct staff costs which may be included in the Offer Letter.

Flat Rate Financing Type Categories;

Type 1 – direct staff costs
Type 2 – indirect costs
Type 3 - direct costs other than staff costs

All projects, where there is a workforce of one or more persons
All projects, where there is a workforce of one or more persons, whether permanent or temporary, must comply with any sanitary rules appropriate to England. You must confirm in the relevant place on your application to indicate that you have considered the above.

6.	Next Steps
MMO will contact you within 5 working days of receiving your application to confirm that we have received it. The email will explain that you can proceed at your own risk. This means you go ahead and purchase or begin works on the project but it is entirely at your own risk. The items you purchase or work you begin must be in line with the information submitted in your application form. The item, supplier and cost must be the same and any deviation will mean the costs are ineligible.
The MMO will write to you within 8 weeks to tell you if your application has been successful or not, provided we don’t need any further information. If more information is needed the MMO will contact you to explain what is required and how long you have to provide it.
Your application will be assessed against approved selection criteria which can be found on the MMO website.

If your application is approved
If your project is approved, MMO will send you an Offer Letter which states the:
•	conditions you must follow when completing your project - if you don’t meet these MMO can withdraw or change the offer.
•	amount of money you’ve been awarded - in some cases you won’t be awarded the total amount you applied for.

How to respond to your Offer Letter
If you decide to accept the Offer Letter and its conditions you must sign the Acceptance of MFF Offer and send to MMO.
You should also make a copy of the Offer Letter and keep it for your records.
Publicity
The MMO will publish brief details of all successful projects, including but not limited to your name or your organisation’s name as applicable, a description of the project and broad details of any funding awarded; this is called the Transparency Initiative (TI).
In addition projects must acknowledge they have received MFF funding to the public. All approved projects must display;
(a)	The appropriate emblems - contact MMO for a details.
(b)	A reference to the Fund or Funds supporting the operation. This is most likely to be the MFF however it’s possible you have received funding from other Funds as well.
(c)	Providing on your website, where such a website exists, a short description of the project, proportionate to the level of support, including its aims and results, and highlighting the financial support from the MFF scheme;
(a)	
(d)	Placing, for projects not falling under point c above, at least one poster with information about the project (minimum size A3).  This should include details of financial support awarded through the MFF scheme.  The poster should be in a location readily visible to the public, such as the entrance area of a building.
And;
No later than three months after completion of the project, you must put up a permanent plaque or billboard of significant size at a location readily visible to the public if your project fulfils the following criteria:
(a)	The total public funding for the project exceeds £500 000;
(b)	The project consists of the purchase of a physical object, the financing of infrastructure or of a construction.
The plaque or billboard shall state the name and the main objective of the project as well as relevant logo’s, MMO logo and the phrase ‘Investing in sustainable fisheries’.
If you are required to put up a plaque or billboard as above and you do not comply you will be deemed to have not fulfilled the terms and conditions of any funding awarded to you and funding may be recovered.

If your application is declined
If MMO declines your application, we will send you a letter that explains why. You can appeal this decision through MMO if you think that:
•	it was based on a factual error
•	it was legally wrong
•	MMO made an error in processing your application
You have 28 days after the date of the letter to ask MMO to review its decision.

An Independent Appeal Officer will consider your application in full against the selection criteria. The appeal will either pass which means the original decision is overturned or fail and the original decision is upheld.
We will notify you of the outcome of your appeal within 6 weeks of receiving it.
If your appeal is successful and the original decision is overturned, you will be issued with either an Offer Letter or a partial Offer Letter.
If your appeal is unsuccessful the appeal decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into. However you can reapply and your new application will be considered without prejudice unless fraud has been committed.

Claiming your Funding
If your application is successful, you will be able to claim MFF funds via the E-system. Other claim form formats are available, contact MMO for details.
MMO will only pay you your funding in arrears meaning you will need to pay for your items before claiming from MMO - you need to prove you’ve spent your money on the item or service by submitting a completed claim form along with:
•	Original dated invoices which show the amount of money you paid for each product or service you’re claiming for.
•	Email invoices can be accepted but they must show the email trail from the supplier to the applicant
•	Proof of payment
•	A progress update on your project
MMO can decline to pay you part of the funding, or the whole funding, if they don’t think the information on your invoices is accurate, or the products or services you bought aren’t what were approved on your Offer letter.
The conditions in your Offer letter will explain about what you must do and the information you must send in to get your funding paid.

Your final claim date will be detailed in your Offer Letter and will be unique to your project. You must claim by this date. If you are unable to claim by the date detailed you must contact MMO as soon as possible to discuss options.
Reporting your progress
You must update the MMO on the progress of your project when you make a claim for payment or every 6 months, whichever is sooner, plus one performance report each year for the first 3 years. 
You should tell us the following information;

•	How is the delivery of your project going, what are the key milestones achieved to date?
•	Is the project delivering on time?

•	Have there been any problems or issues encountered?

•	Do you foresee anything changing on the project including delivery timescales, items, suppliers or costs? If you do then you must inform MMO as soon as possible by making an amendment to your project in the E-system

If you don’t carry out your project in accordance with the timetable in your Offer Letter, MMO will ask you to explain the delay and any impact on your targets and benefits. MMO could then cancel your funding offer or change it depending on the reasons you give. Should this be the case a full explanation will be provided.
MMO may also decide to reclaim any funds you have already been paid.
MMO can take criminal or civil action to reclaim any money we have paid you if we find you gave false information in your application, or if you do any of the following:
•	break the conditions in the Offer Letter
•	use the money for a different purpose to what you said you’d use it for when you applied
•	commit fraud

Inspections
You must let MMO officials visit your vessel or other sites related to your project to check your progress.

The following bodies can also inspect your project after you’ve been sent an Offer letter:
•	National Audit Office
•	Internal Audit
•	Any other agents deemed appropriate by the MMO
You will usually be given at least 48 hours’ notice, but this is not a requirement.

Reporting changes to your project
You need to apply to the MMO to change your project after you’ve signed and returned the offer letter, e.g. if you want to:
•	change the way your project is funded E.g. how you are paying for your part of the project
•	increase or decrease the total cost of your entire project
•	use different contractors or suppliers to the ones agreed in your offer letter
•	change the timetable of your project
•	sell or dispose of any item of infrastructure purchased as part of your project
•	stop any activity that’s part of your project
•	change the location of the activity
You need to justify any changes by telling the MMO in your MFF E-system account.
If you change your project without telling the MMO, we could cancel your funding award, change it or refuse to pay funding for costs associated with the changes.
Any conditions in your offer letter apply for 5 years from the date of the offer.

Retrospective amendments
Retrospective amendments cannot be considered. You must apply to MMO to change your project BEFORE making changes including additional costs. If you modify your project without approval from MMO the project or part of the project could be ineligible for payment.

Changing the cost of your project
If you increase the total cost of your project, the MMO will only award you more funding if we decide you couldn’t have predicted this increase when you were applying.
Amendments where costs decrease
If you are making changes to your project that decreases your project costs and the Targets and Benefits will be delivered as planned you do not have to tell MMO.
If you are making any changes to your project that decreases your project costs but the Targets and Benefits will not be delivered as planned you must inform MMO as soon as possible so that options can be discussed.
If the total eligible costs of your project decreases then so will the funding award.
Change of supplier

We understand that sometimes suppliers to your project have to change. The different types of changes and what you need to do are listed below;

•	If you have changed supplier, and the new supplier quoted on the original project and the costs do not increase i.e. - the new supplier will match the original chosen supplier quote- then you do not have to notify us.

•	If you want to change supplier and they have not previously quoted even if the costs will remain the same you will need to tell MMO by making an amendment request and get it approved before the change is made.

A rationale for all requested changes should be included in your amendment request.
Where a project is under the panel threshold of
£100,000 and an amendment to the project costs takes it over £100,000

Projects with a total project cost of more than £100,000 will be considered by a panel of selected experts.  Those projects with a total project cost of under
£100,000 will be considered by the Grants Team.

Sometimes a project will be approved with a total project cost of under
£100,000 but an amendment to the costs will take it over £100,000, in this case the following rules apply;
Any project that has a cost increase of less than 10% of the total project cost can be assessed by the Grants Team at the MMO. Where a project was assessed by panel and the cost increase is greater than 10% of the total project cost, the amendment must be assessed by panel at the next meeting, or by written procedure if agreed. You will be informed by MMO if this applies to you, including the date of the panel where your project will be considered.
If a number of amendments are received that collectively exceed 10% of the total project cost MMO has the discretion to refer the requests to panel and to review the requests collectively. You will be informed if this decision is taken including the date of the panel where your project will be considered.
However please note the MMO has the discretion to send any project decision or amendment to panel, regardless of value if it is deemed necessary for reasons that can include but is not limited to complexity or risk to the fund.
Change to project manager within an organisation/project
If you have a change of project manager within your organisation you should inform the MMO in writing with the new contact details as soon as possible. If you don’t inform MMO then it could result in your new project manager being unable to access or discuss the project or make a claim for payment.
Change of Ownership
If you have had a project approved then you should not sell or dispose of any funded items of the project within 5 years of approval of the project.
Consumables are exempt from this.

If you sell or undertake any other action that changes the ownership of any funded item from the project within the 5 years Durability of Operations the MMO must be informed in writing by you. This includes indirect changes E.g. where a premises or vessel changes ownership or where the location of any funded items changes.
It is your responsibility as the original applicant to inform the new owners of the funding obligations attached to the item. The new owners will be required to take on the terms and conditions of the funding for the time remaining up to 5 years from the original offer of funding was accepted.
If the new owner of the item or items does not accept the terms and conditions of the funding attached then it is deemed that the item has not fulfilled its obligations to the scheme and therefore recovery proceedings may be started and funding recovered from you as the original applicant.

Moving your vessel outside England
You must not transfer a fishing vessel outside of England for at least 5 years after spending MFF funding on it - if you do this you must give back all or part of the MFF money you received.
The exact amount you have to pay back depends on when you transferred the vessel.

Declaring additional funding
If you apply for, or receive funding through another scheme, you must:
•	tell the organisation that runs the other scheme that you’ve been offered MFF funding
•	tell the MMO that you’ve been accepted for another type of funding
The MMO can decide that you’re no longer eligible for MFF funding if you get money from another scheme, based on:
•	the source of the money - you’ll be more likely to be ineligible for MFF funding if you’ve got funding from another funding scheme
•	the amount of money you got from the other scheme the conditions of the other funding

If you’re deemed ineligible, MMO can take action to get money back from you, or cancel any payments that were due.

Records you must keep
If your application is successful, you must keep all documents related to your project for 5 years from the date of your last MFF claim, including:
•	licences
•	consents
•	quotes
•	invoices
•	receipts or other documents which record your spending
•	all accounting documents related to your application
•	claim forms
You must give the MMO any information or documents that they ask for at any stage.
The MMO may give your name and address to an independent person they’ve hired to evaluate your project.
You should also keep your project documentation under a separate accounting system or accounting code to ensure it is easily differentiated from your businesses other accounts and transactions.

7.	Contact MMO

Write to;

Grants Team
Marine Management Organisation Lancaster House
Newcastle Business Park Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 7YH

Telephone;    020802 65539

Email;     MFF.queries@marinemanagement.org.uk