Agenda item

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 outside Bridge House Estates being funded from outside of Bridge House Estates, including officer time.