Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Simon Duckworth, Marianne Fredericks, Alderman Alastair King and Ian Seaton.

The Deputy Chairman and Jamie Ingham Clark declared an interest by virtue of being members of the Clothworkers Company.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council on 19 April 2018.

The Committee received an Order of the Court of Common Council of 19 April 2018 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 Alderman Alison Gowman, being the only Member who expressed her 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 Dhruv Patel, being the only Member who expressed his willingness to serve, was duly elected as Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing year.

The Chairman welcomed charities in attendance and members of the public to the meeting, before congratulating re-appointed Members and welcoming new Member Deputy Jamie Ingham Clark to the meeting. The Chairman then welcomed Dominic Phinn, representative from ClientEarth (sic), to the meeting.

The Committee was advised that the work of the charity was to enforce environmental regulations and work with business to inform future regulations and encourage them to support and advocate for environmental responsibility. The organisation had built up their network and built good relationships with business, and had hosted events attended by a number of major international companies. It was key to gauge the opinion of businesses on what policies they felt were needed to reduce environmental impact, and what policies businesses would support.

For the next year, the focus was to be on mobilising businesses to advocate for environmental responsibility, continuing to search for potential partners, conducting a business survey and consultations, and increasing media visibility. ClientEarth wanted to see an expanded Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) for London and were making a case for strong fiscal incentives for cleaner transport. They wanted businesses to take action and be leaders and feel supported in doing so.

In response to a query from a Member, the Committee was informed that the biggest barrier to business engagement was that it was sometimes hard to make the business case for more environmentally-friendly practices, as it could be very expensive. There was an appetite to do more amongst business, so success for ClientEarth was to remove any barriers to action that they could, and they felt that they were making progress in doing so.

The Committee thanked Dominic Phinn for attending and for his presentation to Members.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 14 March 2018.

The Committee noted an error on pages 10 and 11, a correction for which had been circulated to Members.

The Committee also noted an error in the attendance wherein an officer who had not attended the meeting was listed as in attendance.

RESOLVED – That, pending the above corrections, the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk

RESOLVED – That Alderman Alison Gowman, as Chairman, and Dhruv Patel be appointed as the City Bridge Trust’s Committee’s appointments to the Social Investment Board.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a list of outstanding actions. The Chairman noted that there were individual skills audits from Members outstanding and urged Members to submit them if they had not already done so. The Committee noted that other outstanding actions were in progress or on the agenda.

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions update be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (CGO) and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee received the regular progress report of the Chief Grants Officer (CGO) and Director of City Bridge Trust, and discussed the updates provided.

Bridging Divides

Bridging Divides had been launched in operational form and was live on the City Bridge Trust website. Officers were on top of any improvements that had been suggested and there had been some good communications work around the launch. Learning partner Renaisi had been engaged and had started work with a productive first session.

Central Grants Programme (CGP)

The Committee noted that the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee and Policy & Resources Committee had agreed to support the implementation of the CGP on a permanent basis from 1 April 2018, following the successful pilot of the programme. This was felt to be a good reflection on City Bridge Trust.

Wembley National Stadium Trust

The Committee noted that the possible sale of Wembley Stadium by the FA had been in the news. Whilst there was nothing to report at this stage, the Trust would have options in the event of a sale.

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)

The CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust informed the Committee that he had met with Centre for Social Justice representatives about the work of the City Bridge Trust and shared ideas and opportunities. The CSJ was doing work that may be eligible for funding under the Bridging Divides strategy.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain and the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain and the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust presenting the current draft of ‘Towards a Sustainable Future: The City of London Corporation’s Responsible Business Strategy, 2018-2023’. The strategy presented an opportunity to build on and find new areas of work and to improve the City of London Corporation’s impact across all its activities, particularly through business and work with others. The strategy was part of the Corporate Plan for the next five years and would be presented to several Committees for feedback before a final version would seek approval from the Policy & Resources Committee in July 2018.

Members suggested that the strategy could do more to bring out the good work on air quality that had already been done, and be clear about how different strategies could be brought together and interact as part of the wider Corporate Plan. The Committee was informed that the Corporate Strategy and Performance team were developing a pipeline to track existing and emerging strategies. Members were welcome to communicate any further feedback after the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee note the current draft version of ‘Towards a Sustainable Future: The City of London Corporation’s Responsible Business Strategy, 2018-2023’ and give their feedback, as above, for officers to incorporate into the final version to be presented to the Policy & Resources Committee.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust, providing the draft Philanthropy Strategy for the Committee’s consideration and approval, together with the underpinning rationale and details of proposed next steps. The strategy would speak to both the City of London Corporation as an organisation and the Corporation as trustee of Bridge House Estates, as whilst they would be appropriately divided with regards to governance the aim was for operational alignment.

To reinforce the alignment point, the Head of Philanthropy Strategy had worked with the Corporate Strategy team as part of the Bridge House Estates task and finish group, and had been involved in the work on other strategies. The Philanthropy Strategy would help guide volunteers and grantees as well as City Bridge Trust and the Corporation. City Bridge Trust had been a leader in the field and had done a lot of great work, and through the strategy could demonstrate its good practice and help to lead in driving up standards. One of the key messages from background scoping and consultation was that the Corporation and City Bridge Trust should make sure they were harnessing their unique position and roots in sectors to maximum effect.

The three key pillars of the strategy were role-modelling, collaboration and awareness-raising, with a philanthropic focus on reducing inequality and increasing social mobility. City Bridge Trust would also monitor what others were doing to facilitate collaboration and ensure they could drawdown on global good practice. An implementation plan for the strategy would be brought back to the Committee in the autumn.

Members agreed with the direction of travel and gave their feedback. Members suggested that the strategy do more to bring out the work that the Corporation did in the volunteering sector, and that the strategy could also make

Report of the Chamberlain and the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain and the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust, providing the Committee’s section of the key risks register for Bridge House Estates (BHE) for review. The Committee noted that the risks relating to Bridge House Estates were split between the six Committees which managed elements of it, and the risk register for City Bridge Trust contained the risks relating to the element overseen by the City Bridge Trust Committee.

A new risk had been introduced, the risk of grants not being used for its intended purpose. This would be mitigated through the evaluation process and rigorous grants management and monitoring systems in place. Safeguarding breaches at funded organisations carried a reputational risk, and to mitigate this City Bridge Trust had brought an updated safeguarding policy to the Committee for approval.

In response to a query from a Member, the Committee was advised that it was planned to transfer the risk register onto the Corporate template for risk registers. A Member raised a query that the Committee agreed to discuss in the non-public section of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee:

a)            Review the four risks currently on the register for this Committee and confirm that appropriate control measures are in place; and

b)            Confirm that there are no other risks relating to the services overseen by the City Bridge Trust Committee which should be added to the Bridge House Estates risk register.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust setting out the Charity Commission’s guidance on safeguarding for charities and funders. The report followed on from discussions at a previous meeting. A review of the Trust’s policy was timely as the issue had been in the media and there was new and repeated advice and guidance from the Charity Commission to incorporate into practices. The report sought approval to implement improvements to current policy.

All organisations are required to have a policy and practice relating to safeguarding, not only organisations in the children and young people sector, and the Trust had a responsibility as a funder to check that the organisations it worked with were compliant. Other funders were also looking at this and City Bridge Trust wanted to be part of a co-ordinated approach to a coherent and constructive process. There was a requirement for Member training that officers would try to incorporate into the Committee’s strategic away half-day in October.

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee:

a)            Note the report;

b)            Agree the processes as outlined in paragraphs 10-15 of the report;

c)            Instruct officers to arrange appropriate training for staff and Members to take place within the next six months; and

d)            Continue to work closely with other funders to ensure that the Trust’s approach to this issue is consistent, compliant and supportive of the sector’s needs.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust proposing some amendments to the existing partnership scheme with London Youth which provided support to those youth organisations achieving the London Youth Quality Mark.

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee:

a)    Note the report;

b)    Agree the amendments to the London Youth Quality Mark Awards scheme as outlined in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 and summarised in Table 2 of the report; and

c)    Instruct officers to bring a report to the Committee later in the year when the funds currently available for the scheme have fallen to c.£30,000 and which considers the scheme’s longer-term future.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust summarising grant applications recommended for decision at the meeting, and those that have been considered since the last meeting under the schemes of delegation.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust providing an update on progress against the 2018/19 grants budgets and summarising grants awarded and in management. The Committee noted that officers were looking at possible other ways of presenting the data and were always looking to improve in this area.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

APPROVED £87,360 over three years (£28,740; £29,190; £29,430) towards 50% cost of provision of the English for All programme, including a contribution towards a FTE Project Manager, PT Tutor, running costs and indirect costs but excluding the costs of IT equipment and maintenance, materials, and registration as an accredited provider. The grant offer is subject to securing additional funding to make the project viable.

APPROVED £123,000 over three years (3 x £41,000) to contribute to the core costs to ensure the charity can continue to provide specialist therapeutic mental health interventions for young asylum seekers and refugees in London.

The Committee noted that the revised application had extended the programme from two to three years, and that conditions had been added due to the organisation’s financial position.

APPROVED £93,100 over three years (£28,700; £29,900; £34,500) towards the costs of a full-time Programme Co-ordinator and evaluation costs in year three, with the funding being released on receipt of revised agreements between BY and each of its two lenders (CAN, CAF Bank). Release of years 2 and 3 of the grant is subject to a review of the organisation’s latest independently examined accounts.

APPROVED £102,000 over three years (£35,000; £34,000; £33,000) towards the salary and on-costs of the full-time Participation and Development Coordinator.

The Committee noted that the reserves listed in the organisation’s application were mostly held against fixed assets, which were usually removed from calculations.

APPROVED £100,000 for disabled access works at Polka Children’s Theatre.

APPROVED £100,000 for access and improvement works at Hocking Hall, Whittington Park.

The Committee noted that the grant was conditional on later years funding.

APPROVED £126,460 over three years (£42,380; £41,850; £42,230) to fund 50% of 2 FTE Care Navigator posts for Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham and associated project costs, conditional on sufficient funds being raised for years 2 and 3.

APPROVED £144,700 over three years (£46,200; £49,000; £49,500) towards the costs of a FTE Side by Side Co-ordinator and associated running costs.

The Committee noted the amount recommended was a significant reduction from the amount requested. This was a continuation of the initial level of funding, as was usual City Bridge Trust practice.

APPROVED £48,000 over two years (2 x £24,000) for the costs of creating biographical films for 32 people with dementia in London (16 films each year) and a contribution to core costs.

APPROVED £94,500 over three years (£30,500; £31,500; £32,500) contributing to 0.5 FTE post of Senior Caseworker, contribution to Legal Administrator and Supervising Solicitor salaries, and associated running costs.

APPROVED £142,400 over three years (£47,500; £48,500; £46,400) for the 0.8 Outreach Project Officer’s salary, 0.2 existing staff time and towards project costs of the GP referral project.

APPROVED £136,000 over three years (£43,500; £45,500; £47,000) for the salary of a 0.8 FTE Advice Worker, on-costs; and costs associated with supervision of the post.

APPROVED £150,000 over three years (£75,000; £50,000; £25,000) towards core costs of Tower Hamlets Law Centre as contribution towards staffing, overheads, acquisition of new case management software; and for the establishment of a supporters’ network individual giving scheme and the implementation of a corporate sponsorship scheme.

APPROVED £110,000 over two years (2 x £55,000) for the “BAME Connectivity Programme” with funding to cover the costs of a part-time (0.7 FTE) project manager and support costs.

The Committee noted the revision to the amount requested.

APPROVED £119,300 over three years (£41,800; £38,800; £38,700) for a Community Connect Coordinator (32 hours per week); production of Good Practice Guidance; and association project and organisational costs.

APPROVED £90,000 over three years (3 x £30,000) towards the salaries of a Partnerships Manager (17.5 hrs) and Data and Systems Manager (17.5 hrs).

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust detailing 10 grant applications or Eco-Audit requests that were recommended for rejection.

RESOLVED – That the Committee reject the grant applications detailed in the accompanying schedule.

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust which advised Members of four expenditure items, totalling £7,966, which had been presented for approval under delegated authority to the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents noted.

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust which provided details of five applications which had been withdrawn or had lapsed.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents noted.

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust which advised Members of a variation to twogrants 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. The Chairman reminded Members that they were welcome to attend learning visits and to get in touch with officers if they were interested in attending any of the upcoming visits.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents noted.

The Committee received a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust updating on the communications work of the City Bridge Trust. The Committee noted that there was lots going on due to the launch of Bridging Divides, and continued good levels of engagement.

The Committee was advised that the Chairman had appeared before the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for London. Four organisations would be working together to produce a report on the role of the Charitable and Social Enterprise Sectors in London that would be published through the APPG. The CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust informed the Committee that he had attended the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and had been able to speak to a number of leaders about the work of the Trust, as well as Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

RESOLVED – That the report be received, and its contents 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

22 - 26                                                             3

27 - 29                                                             -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director City Bridge Trust.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust.

Report of the CGO and Director of City Bridge Trust

The item was withdrawn.

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018.

RESOLVED - That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 be agreed as a correct record.