Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided Members with information regarding the current balance of the Finance Committee Contingency Funds for the current year.

The Chairman suggested that it may now be an appropriate time to increase the Emergency and Disasters Relief Contingency Fund by £25K (to £125K); Members decided to defer the option for now and asked officers to keep them updated about the status of the fund throughout the year. The Chamberlain confirmed that the Committee hadn’t exhausted the fund across any previous financial year, but it would be helpful to be able to access a discretional extra £25K from reserves in the unlikely event that the main fund was fully committed before 31^st March. Members were sympathetic to this proposal.

In response to a query, the Chairman clarified that officers from City Bridge Trust advise the Chairman and Deputy Chairman when emergency appeals are announced. Approvals are under delegated authority as this is the most expeditious way to ensure that, when crises occur, funds are deployed swiftly.  

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the report.