Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations of the Community and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Panel with respect to the payment of grants in 2019/20.

RecommendED:

(a)       That the community grant awards as set out in paragraph 4.1 to Report Item 6 to the Cabinet, and in more detail in Appendix 1 to that report, be approved for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Plan;

(b)       That Citizens’ Advice New Forest (CANF) be awarded a revenue grant of £229,500 in 2019/20; and

(c)       That, in future, grant awardees be invited to a second interview in July to update the Council on progress with their projects and also to be advised of alternative sources of funding should they be considering further grant applications to the Council.

Members considered the recommendations of the Community and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Panel in respect of the applications that had been received for grant aid in 2019/20.  All applications for community grants had been considered by the Community Grants Task and Finish Group, while the Citizens Advice Bureau (CANF) had held separate discussions with the CANF Task and Finish Group.

With respect to CANF it was proposed to enter into a 3 year rolling funding arrangement starting on 1 April 2019.  Although the funding available was being reduced, to reflect the financial constraints that applied to this Council, CANF would in future benefit from much greater financial certainty, allowing them to plan on a sounder basis.  The proposed 3 year schedule of payments was set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

For the first time a budget had been set for the payment of grants at £100,000 for capital grants and £350,000 for revenue grants.  In recognition of the difficulties that 2 of the applicants would face following the expiration of Service Level Agreements with this Council, some additional funding had however been made available to allow a transitional period for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the New Forest Centre.  The recommended payments were set out in paragraph 4.1 of Report Item 6 to the Cabinet, with further information, including the reasons for each recommendation, set out in Appendix 1.

The Cabinet welcomed the careful consideration that had been given to each application and the greater transparency that the newly introduced processes provided.  Members thanked the Task and Finish Group for their hard work to develop the recommendations that allowed support to continue to be given to various organisations that contributed so significantly to the quality of life of local residents.

RecommendED:

(a)       That the community grant awards as set out in paragraph 4.1 to Report Item 6 to the Cabinet, and in more detail in Appendix 1 to that report, be approved for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Plan;

(b)       That Citizens’ Advice New Forest (CANF) be awarded a revenue grant of £229,500 in 2019/20; and

(c)       That, in future, grant awardees be invited to a second interview with the Community Grants Task and Finish Group in July to update the Council on progress with their projects and also to be advised of alternative sources of funding should they be considering further grant applications to the Council.