Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor Alderman Alan Yarrow and Deputy Stanley Ginsburg.

Ian Seaton declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of London Youth, by virtue of his Livery Company supporting the organisation. Jeremy Mayhew declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of London Youth, by virtue of receiving hospitality from the organisation.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council, 23 April 2015.

The Committee received an Order of the Court of Common Council of 23 April 2015 appointing the Committee and approving its Terms of Reference.

To elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 29.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No.29. The Town Clerk read a list of Members eligible to stand and Jeremy Mayhew, being the only Member who expressed his willingness to serve, was duly elected as Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing year.

To elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 30.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No.30. The Town Clerk read a list of Members eligible to stand and Alderman Alison Gowman, being the only Member who expressed her willingness to serve, was duly elected as Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing year.

The Chairman welcomed Alderman Vincent Keaveny and Karina Dostalova as new Members of the Committee, and advised that he would write to outgoing Members, Ken Ayers and Alderman Matthew Richardson, to thank them for their service on the Committee. The Chairman also welcomed Alex Hendra, Business Manager at Inclusion London, and James Lee, Trailblazers Campaigns Officer at Muscular Dystrophy UK, to the meeting.

The Board received presentations from Alex Hendra, Business Manager at Inclusion London, and James Lee, Trailblazers Campaigns Officer at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, after which Members of the Committee had the opportunity to ask questions.

Ms Hendra advised the Committee that Inclusion London worked to support Deaf and Disabled People’s organisations (DDPOs) in London and improve their business skills through coaching, support and training. They also brought organisations together into consortia in order to improve their joint offer to attract funding. Ms Hendra advised that national programmes had a low percentage rate of successfully getting people into employment and, although there was a push to change the format of these programmes, they continued to be funded by results and consequently had little incentive to target those furthest away from being workplace-ready, and therefore those most in need of support. There were numerous barriers preventing Deaf and disabled people from employment, from a lack of part-time or flexible working arrangements to the physical access to transport or access to appropriate technology. DDPOs had a higher success rate of finding employment for Deaf and disabled people owing to their personalised, holistic approach. Unfortunately, the small size of DDPOs that enabled this approach also resulted in an inability to fit existing funding models and, without funding, DDPOs were therefore unable to scale-up and help more people.

Mr Lee built on Ms Hendra’s presentation, speaking specifically about the work Trailblazers was undertaking to help London’s young disabled. A big concern of this population was the difficulty gaining employment and securing financial and personal independence. Mr Lee detailed his organisation’s multi-team work experience programme to equip young people with the skills needed for employment, and referred to workshops run with external organisations to give young people tailored CV advice, practice interviews, and career advice.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members noted that the composition of the Social Investment Board included the Chairman of the City Bridge Trust Committee, for the time being, or his/her nominee.The Chairman confirmed the he would be taking up the appointment.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 12 March 2015.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 12 March 2015 be agreed as an accurate record,

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members noted that Heart of the City had confirmed they would be amenable to inviting a representative of the City Bridge Trust Committee to join its Board, and were taking the decision formally at their next meeting in July. Members discussed whether this should be a Member or officer post and agreed that the decision should be deferred until after the formal invitation was issued.

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions update be noted.

To receive a progress report of the Chief Grants Officer.

TheCommitteereceivedtheprogressreport ofthe ChiefGrants Officer and the grant application statistics.  Members discussed the volume of applications and noted that, with six Committee meetings scheduled for the year, average spend per meeting should be around 17% of the total budget (£14.95m). Officers confirmed that, should all applications be agreed at this meeting, the budget spend total would be £2,735,225, 18% of the grants budget.

Members discussed meeting length and format, and agreed that all grants between £25k and £50k should be considered using existing delegation arrangements rather than by exception, as was the case at present. This would result in fewer grant applications being brought to Committee meetings, allowing more time for strategic discussions.

RESOLVED – That all grants between £25k and £50k should be considered using existing delegation arrangements, and the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (TO FOLLOW).

Members considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer regarding the proposed activities due to take place during 2015/16 to make the Trust’s 20^th Anniversary.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  The report be received and noted;

(b)  Funding of £55,125 be approved to enable the Media Trust to work with a cohort of grantees on a “Telling Your Stories”/ambassadorial project;

(c)  A budget of £35,000 be approved to commission research into a potential small grants programme; and

(d)  Funding of up to £40,000 be approved for the Trust to work in partnership with up to three London-based disability arts/sports organisations and participate in the Lord Mayor’s Show 2015.

Joint report of the Town Clerk, Chamberlain, City Surveyor and the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries.

Members received a joint report of the Town Clerk, Chamberlain, City Surveyor and the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries regarding the key risks register for Bridge House Estates. With regard to the risks to be considered by the City Bridge Trust Committee, Members noted that recruitment of a monitoring officer had been postponed until after the outcome of an ongoing review, and that the communications plan had been circulated to Members in April.

RESOLVED – That the Risk Register be confirmed with regards to risks 25, 26 and 27.

To consider the Chief Grants Officer’s reports on grant recommendations as follows:-

APPROVED - £172,500over 3 years (£57,000,£57,500,£58,000)to East End CommunityFoundationas a Strategic Initiativeto develop Hackney, NewhamandTower HamletsGiving.

APPROVED - £89,100 over three years (£29,130; £29,700; £30,270) for the salary of the full-­time Kitchen Gardener and associated project costs.

APPROVED - £75,000 over 3 years towards the costs of therapeutic and other support to young people in London, with the annual sum determined by the Chief Grants Officer in consultation with the organisation.

APPROVED - £90,900 over three years (3 x £30,300) towards the costs of the 'Whatever Youth Theatre' arts programme for young people.

APPROVED - £83,000 over three years towards the costs of a project to assist migrant and black and minority ethnic communities in London to engage more fully with mental health services. Weighting of the grant across each of the three years will be determined in due course by the Chief Grants Officer in consultation with the charity.

Members requested that an interim evaluation be carried out, and officers confirmed this would be done as per the standard monitoring processes.

APPROVED - £122,900 over three years (£41,000; £39,300; £42,600) for the costs of a Project Co-ordinator (21 hours per week); 2 part-time mental health advocates (7 hours per week each); and related running costs for a mental health advocacy service.

APPROVED - £98,200 over two years (£49,100 x 2) towards the salary and associated running costs of a full-time Children and Family Support Services Manager working with children and young people affected by domestic violence.

APPROVED - £113,000 over three years (£37,500; £37,500; £38,000) for the salary of a part-­time Sports Participation Officer (3 days per week) and related project costs.

APPROVED - £100,000 towards stage two refurbishment on condition that all required funds are raised and planning consent is secured.

APPROVED - £72,500 over three years (£24,300; £23,900; £24,300) towards the salary and associated running costs of a part-time (22.5 hours per week) Advice on the Road Information & Advice Project Manager and associated running costs.

APPROVED - £95,400 over 3 years (£31,200; £31,800; £32,400) for a part-time (2 days per week) Advice/Advocacy Worker; a part-time (7 hours per week) Physical Activity Organiser; and associated running costs for a project working with women aged 75+.

APPROVED - £73,000 (£24,500; £24,000; £24,500) over three years towards the salary of a part time (21 hours per week) Volunteer Co-ordinator and associated running costs for a project targeting those aged 75 or over and carers aged 65+.

APPROVED - £117,600 over three years (£38,400; £39,200; £40,000) towards the salary and running costs of expanding the Advice and Support Service.

APPROVED - £138,000 over three years (3 x £46,000) for a full-time Debt Programme Manager and related costs to promote access to debt advice and to provide specialist casework to indebted Lambeth residents.

Members noted that in 2013-14 Foodbanks fed 913,138 people across the UK, including 330,205 children, and that, betweenAugust 2013and August2014, 2,588people hadused theKingdom Storehouse Foodbank.

APPROVED - £56,900 over three years (£18,600; £19,000; £19,300) for 61% of the salary costs of the Development Manager.

APPROVED - £60,000 for one year towards the costs of the Money Works programme specifically for young care leavers. The sum includes a 15% contribution to core costs. The final quarterly payment is contingent on the charity securing appropriate accreditation for advice work.

APPROVED - £125,000 over three years (£41,000; £43,350; £40,650) for a part-time (17.5 hours per week) Resettlement Worker plus a contribution to the running costs of "Inside Out".

APPROVED - £103,000 over two years (£51,000; £52,000) for the salary and support costs of a project to develop the capacity of London's voluntary youth sector to evidence and advocate the value of its work.

Members requested that this be included in the cohort of grantees used in the Media Trust’s “Telling Your Stories” ambassadorial project.

APPROVED - £27,000 over three years (£8,730, £9,000, £9,270) towards the cost of providing a range of training courses and workshops for London based charities.

APPROVED - £120,000 over two years (2 x £60,000) towards the salaries of the Chief Executive and the Head of Policy and Support.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which recommended that eleven grant applications be rejected for the reasons identified in the schedule attached to the report.

RESOLVED – That the eleven grant applications detailed in the schedule attached to the report be rejected.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which provided details of seven applications which had been withdrawn or had lapsed.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of a variation to four grants agreed by the Chief Grants Officer since the last meeting.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of three expenditure items, totalling £5,500, which had been presented for approval under delegated authority to the Chief Grants Officer in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer about two visits that had taken place.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee noted a report of the Chief Grants Officer regarding the key meetings and events attended by Members and officers since the last meeting.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

MOTION – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item No.                                                                      Exempt Paragraphs

18 - 20                                                                                     3

21 – 22                                                                                    -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2015.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2015 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer.

Joint report of the Chief Grants Officer and the Chamberlain (TO FOLLOW).

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.