Agenda and minutes

The Board received presentations from Leigh Wallbank, Head of Services for SANE, and Fred Crossman, Young Person’s Mental Health Co-Ordinator at Metro Centre Limited, after which Members of the Committee had the opportunity to ask questions.

Ms Wallbank advised the Committee that SANE was a national mental health charity and was celebrating its 30th anniversary. Members noted SANE had three main aims: to provide help, tackle stigma/discrimination, and research the causes of mental illness. Ms Wallbank detailed why mental illness was such an important issue, providing statistics for the UK and specifically for London. The Committee were informed that approximately £7.5 billion was spent annually to address mental ill health in London, which, Ms Wallbank argued, was proportionately low as these costs were only part of the total £26 billion lost to London each year through such issues as reduced quality of life and productivity.

Mr Crossman built on Ms Wallbank’s presentation, speaking specifically about the project funded by the Committee to enable other organisations to work in an inclusive way, and about the challenges faced by young LGBTQ+ people. The Committee were advised of a survey of 7,000 young people in the UK (the largest survey of its type) which showed that a significantly higher proportion of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning (LGBTQ) (rather than heterosexual) young people sought medical help for mental health, were self-harming, or were having suicidal thoughts. Mr Crossman shared anonymised stories from young people with whom Metro Centre Limited had engaged and advised that, through this current project and others like it, the needs represented by these stories and figures could be addressed.

In response to Members’ queries, Mr Crossman advised that pansexuality was sexual or emotional attraction towards people of any sex or gender identity. Polysexuality was the attraction to multiple genders and/or sexes (but not all).

Apologies were received from the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor Alderman Alan Yarrow, Simon Duckworth, and the Chief Commoner, Deputy Billy Dove.

The Deputy Chief Grants Officer declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 9d as a Trustee of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and the Principal Grants & Social Investment Officer declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 8b as a Trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13^th May 2015.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members noted that Heart of the City had agreed to invite the Chairman of the City Bridge Trust Committee, or their representative, to join its Council. 

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions update be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Town Clerk which provided information about the cross-cutting review of the grant giving activities of the City of London Corporation, as part of the Service Based Review programme. The objectives of the review were to identify the grants programmes offered by the City of London Corporation, to suggest how to improve value for money, and increase impact. The Committee also received resolutions from the Policy and Resources Committee on 28 May 2015, the Open Spaces Committee on 8 June 2015, and the Finance Committee on 9 June 2015, setting out the discussion of the report at those Committees.

Members noted that, although this review would not affect the remit of the Committee, it had implications for the work of City Bridge Trust officers. If the administrative management of the City Corporation’s various programmes were consolidated under the Chief Grants Officer, it could directly affect the resources available to support the business of this Committee.

The Chief Grants Officer advised that he and his team had been involved with the review; they recognised its strategic importance and the potential benefits in terms of co-ordination and impact. He emphasised that appropriate resources should be agreed, as the additional work must not detract from City Bridge Trust business. The Committee agreed and stressed that any resources used for grant-making from outside Bridge House Estates must be funded from outside of Bridge House Estates, including officer time.

RESOLVED – That the administrative management of the City Corporation’s various programmes be consolidated under the Chief Grants Officer to improve consistency of approach, drive economies of scale, and promote best practice.

This was conditional upon:

(a)  continuing reassurance that officer support for City Bridge Trust grant-giving would not be diminished; and

(b)  any resources used for grant-making from

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received the progress report of the Chief Grants Officer and the grant application statistics. The Chief Grants Officer presented the report; Members noted the potential risk as a result of a lack of support for the software underpinning the website.  The Committee asked that IS provide reassurance that the City Bridge Trust officers’ ability to deliver their service wouldn’t be undermined.

Members discussed the success of the Stepping Stones Fund, noting £298,400 of the £1m allocated remained, with the proposal that a further £400,000 be ring-fenced from the grants budget for a new application round in autumn. This would equate to a ring-fenced sum of £700,000 from the grants budget for 2015-16, which officers hoped could be match-funded or supplemented by other funders. In response to a Member’s query, the Principal Grants & Social Investment Officer confirmed there was capacity to find applicants for the second round of Stepping Stones funding, owing to the partnership of skills from corporate volunteers from UBS and consultant Eva Varga.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  a further £400,000 from the 2015-16 grants budget be ring-fenced for a new  application round of the Stepping Stones Fund, to launch before early October;

(b)  the clarification of the policy concerning funding to individuals, as outlined at paragraphs 42 – 47 of the report, be noted; and

(c)  funding for activities or projects which incorporate an overnight stay, as outlined at paragraphs 48 – 49 of the report, be excluded.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

APPROVED - A grant of £190,000 over three years (£55,000; £69,000; £66,000) to “Re-imagine” CIC to deliver the “Re-imagine” project to improve access to the arts, galleries and museums for adult Londoners with learning disabilities.

RESOLVED – That this application be deferred to the next meeting, with a stronger strategic focus on the philanthropy initiatives of the City Bridge Trust. It was agreed that, for the Committee, the Deputy Chairman would lead on this review, and other Members’ comments would be welcome.

APPROVED - Agrant of£208,000over three years (£67,000; £69,000; £72,000) to fundone full-time equivalent ‘spoke’ withinBarnardo’s,as part of a wider initiative which aims to addresschild sexualexploitation,oncondition thatthebalance of funds required canbe raised.

APPROVED – A grantof£330,000tocontinuePrisonersAbroad’s administrationofa hardshipfund,in partnershipwithCityBridgeTrustfor destituteBritishcitizens returningto London after imprisonment overseas.

APPROVED - £100,000 towards the costs of building a second Learning Studio.

APPROVED - £76,800 over two years (£39,300; £37,500) for the salary of a part-time Project Officer (2 days per week), plus admin support and associated running costs.

APPROVED - £150,000 over three years (£52,000; £49,000; £49,000) for the salary of two part-time posts - Project Manager (4 days per week) and Project Coordinator (1 day per week), plus related costs of the Tidal Thames Conservation Project.

APPROVED - £103,000 over three years (£33,000; £34,000; £36,000) for the salary and on costs of a full-time Bereavement Support Team Lead in Newham.

APPROVED - £100,000 over two years (2 x £50,000) for the salary costs of a part-time (20 hours per week) Project Leader and two Lifeskills Workers (10 hours per week), plus associated costs for the Healthy Minds project.

APPROVED - £61,820 (£20,000; £20,600; £21,220) towards a part-time (28 hours per week) Coordinator and running costs to provide a counselling service to improve young people's mental health.

Members discussed the current reporting process and format of charities’ costs for generating funds, and asked officers to ensure there was greater consistency in capturing, interrogating, and reporting this in future.

APPROVED - £113,000 over three years (£41,500; £34,500; £37,000) towards the salary costs of a Project Lead Officer and running costs for delivering the Trailblazers work-experience project for Londoners.

APPROVED - £90,000 over three years (3 x £30,000) towards the costs of a full-time Let's Get Moving Project Manager and related running costs.

APPROVED - £48,000 over two years (£24,400; £23,600) towards the salary of a part-time (3 days per week) Project Officer, project costs, and overheads.

APPROVED - £99,200 over three years (£32,400; £33,100; £33,700) for a Disability and Social Care Advisor (4 days per week) and costs for trained volunteers to provide advice to disabled people in Wandsworth.

APPROVED - £146,900 over 3 years (£49,200, £48,300, £49,400) towards a full-time caseworker to manage the project and project costs to provide debt and welfare rights advice in Newham.

The Chairman asked officers to ensure that the organisation knew that the Trust did not support political campaigning.

APPROVED - £94,900 over 3 years (£28,380 £32,880; £33,640) for 1.5 days per week of the Director's salary; for a part-time (2.5 days per week) Advice Worker's salary; and to meet the costs of external, expert, legal support to triage complex advice cases.

APPROVED - £158,000 over three years (£51,000, £53,000, £54,000) towards the full-time salary and associated running costs of Southwark Law Centre's Immigration Solicitor.

APPROVED - £90,000 over three years (3 x £30,000) towards Trust Thamesmead's Positive Steps Thamesmead initiative providing advice services, debt counselling, and support for disabled people.

APPROVED - £150,000 over three years (3 x £50,000) towards the costs of a full-time “Through the Gate” Worker, plus running costs for work with participants of the “Building Futures” programme for prisoners on release from HMP Holloway. The award is conditional on receipt of a satisfactory monitoring framework.

APPROVED - £100,000 over two further and final years (2 x £50,000) for the full-time Volunteer Centre Manager post, and a contribution to management and running costs of the Volunteer Centre in Haringey.

APPROVED - £148,100 over 3 years (£49,400, £48,700, £50,000) for a London Development Officer (0.7 full time equivalent), Research Officer (0.2 full time equivalent), Policy Officer (0.1 full time equivalent), associated running costs, and the costs of events and training sessions.

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

RESOLVED – That the eighteen grant applications and thirteen Stepping Stones applications detailed in the schedule attached to the report be rejected.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of twenty six applications, totalling £722,785, which had been presented for approval under delegated authority to the Chief Grants Officer in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. This included seventeen from the Stepping Stones programme.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer, which provided details of seventeen 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 about two visits that had taken place.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

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. In response to a Member’s question, officers confirmed that the list of visits to organisations would be circulated within the next month for Members to confirm attendance.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There were no items of 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

14 - 15                                                                         3

16                                                                                -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13^th May 2015.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 be approved as a correct record.

There was one question.

There was no other business.