Agenda and minutes

The Chair opened the meeting by welcoming Members and officers, as well as any members of the public or stakeholders observing the meeting via YouTube.

There were no apologies.

Alderman & Sheriff Alison Gowman declared an interest in Item 13 by virtue of being a Trustee of Trust for London and advised that she would not speak and would abstain from voting on this item.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 6 December 2021.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 6 December 2021 be agreed as a correct record.

Matters Arising

The Committee gave thanks to Dhruv Patel for his service to the Committee, and to the former City Bridge Trust Committee which he had chaired, noting that since the previous meeting he had left the Court of Common Council and therefore the Bridge House Estates (BHE) Board and the Grants Committee of the BHE Board.

The Committee also recorded its congratulations to Jenny Field, former Deputy Director of CBT, on her award of an OBE.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Committee received a list of outstanding actions and noted the updates provided in respect of the items listed.

RESOLVED – That the outstanding actions list be noted.

Report of the Managing Director of Bridge House Estates (BHE)

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing an update on key areas of activity and outlining upcoming activities. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report, and the Committee discussed the updates provided.

Ukraine

The Managing Director of BHE advised that CBT was responding to the impact of the war in Ukraine, both independently and in conjunction with other funders, including through London Councils. The Committee noted CBT’s longstanding commitment to supporting refugees, with several live grants in this space.

Staffing

The Committee gave thanks to long-serving CBT officers Sandra Davidson and Kate Moralee on their last meeting of the Committee for their valuable contributions to CBT and to the work of the Committee, as well as the former CBT Committee.

Bridging Divides Strategy

The Managing Director of BHE drew the Committee’s attention to the recommendation to recommit to the Bridging Divides Strategy for a further five years from 2023. If agreed, the proposal would be taken forward to the BHE Board and then the Court of Common Council for formal approval.

Development Grants

The Committee noted the recommendation in respect of development grants of up to £50,000 to organisations participating in the design of the Anchor programme. The Managing Director of BHE outlined the proposal, advising that whilst this could be implemented under the existing delegated authority thresholds, it was put to the Committee for consultation.

Learning Reports

The Committee noted the learning case study on Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) appended to the report. In response to a question from a Member, the Managing Director of BHE advised that the Impact & Learning team would commit the learning from organisations to consider CBT’s ways of working and what could be offered.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board:

       a) Note the

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE presenting the 2022-23 CBT high-level Business Plan for approval. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the key points. A Member commented that it was positive to see risk issues given appropriate weight within the Business Plan.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board approve the CBT high-level Business Plan for 2022-23.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

To be considered in conjunction with the non-public appendix at Item 19.

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing the Grants Committee with an update on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work being undertaken by the CBT team, and an overview of the DEI grants awarded over the past 5 years, with a recent CBT workforce profile. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and outlined the key features and ongoing workstreams for Members.

In response to a question from the Chair regarding data collection, the Managing Director of BHE advised that the collation of data would be reviewed, given the potential issues with methods such as key word searches.

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

Report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director, representing the Chamberlain

The Committee received a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing a year to date (April 2021 to January 2022) financial position of CBT and an updated forecast for the financial year ending 31 March 2022. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and outlined the key features for the Committee.

In response to a question from a Member regarding the distribution of grant underspend, the Managing Director of BHE advised that the amount anticipated had been estimated during the pandemic, during which spending was more difficult to predict. The Managing Director of BHE added that the focus had been on spreading the spend as far as possible, and forecast the remaining spend across the upcoming years. Consequently this could be considered a deferred spend rather than underspend, with a view to releasing the funding into the sector in a more sustainable way.

The Deputy Chair queried whether there would be a substantive review of the CBT and wider BHE response to Covid-19, either individually or as part of a wider government review. The Managing Director of BHE advised that this had been part of CBT’s group learning, some of which was informing current work such as the Collaborative Action for Recovery (CAR). Further to this, learning was being taken from responses to Covid-19 elsewhere. The Covid-19 response had also been incorporated into the Interim Review of Bridging Divides. The Deputy Chair suggested that the various strands eventually be pulled into one document for future reference.

The Committee then noted that actual spend set against the budget, as well as the assessment pipeline and forecasted grants.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To note a summary of the Bridging Divides programme.

The Committee noted a summary of the Bridging Divides programme.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE setting out a request from London Youth for £500,000 support from City Bridge Trust given income lost due to Covid-lockdowns and the ongoing value of a strong youth sector in the capital, for recommendation to the BHE Board. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the application and drew Members’ attention to the key points.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board endorse a grant of £500,000 over five months as a one-off grant to underpin London Youth’s core costs and enable its work to benefit the capital’s youth organisations, for onward approval by the Bridge House Estates Board.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE requesting funding from CBT of £1,020,000 (representing £1m for grants expenditure and £20,000 for operational costs) towards a partnership with John Lyon’s Charity, seeking to support organisations working with children and young people in west and north-west London. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the application and drew Members’ attention to the key points. The Chair commented that this was an exciting proposal which demonstrated the leverage and benefit of Alliance partnerships.

In response to a question from a Member, the Managing Director of BHE advised that the amount recommended had been assessed in conjunction with the relevant organisations, with a view to providing as much funding as possible whilst still distributing the funding in a sustainable way. The Chair commented that the project could be reviewed for further funding opportunities after a year or so.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board endorse a grant of £1,020,000, as an Alliance Partnership, for onward approval by the Bridge House Estates Board, to John Lyon’s Charity, registered charity no: 237725, towards its Recovery Fund, providing grants to strengthen children & young people’s organisations. £1m of the award is to supplement JLC’s grant-making, with the additional £20,000 as a contribution towards its costs of administering these funds. The funding is to be restricted to support organisations benefitting Londoners.

A payment schedule will be drawn up, allowing the funds to be paid to JLC in instalments, enabling payments to be received prior to onward grants being committed/paid.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE requesting funding from CBT of £500,000 towards a partnership with the United St Saviour’s Charity, seeking to support organisations working with disadvantaged communities in the London Borough of Southwark, as part of the Alliance Partnerships initiative. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the application and outlined the key points for Members.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board endorse a grant of £500,000, as an Alliance Partnership, for onward approval by the Bridge House Estates Board, to the United St Saviour’s Charity (USSC), registered charity no: 1103731, towards its work supporting disadvantaged communities in London Borough of Southwark.

The funding is to be restricted to support organisations benefitting Londoners. A payment schedule will be drawn up, allowing the funds to be paid to USSC in instalments, enabling payments to be received prior to onward grants being committed/paid.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE requesting funding of £3.5m to be awarded to Trust for London (TFL) for use toward onward grants and funder plus1 support within two new funds: a Racial Justice Fund (RJF) [19207] (accounting for £2m of the award) and a Disability Justice Fund (DJF) [19208] (accounting for £1.5m of the award). The Managing Director of BHE introduced the application and drew Members’ attention to the key points.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board endorse a grant of £3.5m, as an Alliance Partnership, for onward approval by the Bridge House Estates Board, to Trust for London [charity no: 20529] for onward grantmaking as part of two funds:

1. £2m for the Racial Justice Fund which will directly resource Black and minority-led organizations working at the intersections of racial and economic justice to address systemic policies and inequities. The funding is to be restricted to support organisations benefitting Londoners.
2. £1.5m for the Disability Justice Fund, providing grants to strengthen the disability movement in London by supporting organisations led by Deaf and Disabled people to grow in effectiveness, power, and influence. The funding is to be restricted to support organisations benefitting Londoners.

A payment schedule will be drawn up, allowing the funds to be paid to TFL in instalments over the course of the grant commitment period and to be received prior to onward grants being committed/paid.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing details of funds approved under delegated authority since the last meeting of the BHE Grants Committee in December 2021 through to 24 February 2022; any grant variations that have been approved under delegated authority; and seeking the Committee’s approval for six grant applications above the delegated authority threshold and 10 grant application rejections. The Managing Director of BHE introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the key points, also giving further context to the Cornerstone Fund applications. In response to a question from a Member, the Managing Director of BHE confirmed that a further application from London Funders may be necessary.

RESOLVED – That the Grants Committee of the BHE Board:

a)    Receive this report and note its contents;

b)    Approve the grants as recommended in appendix 3; and,

c)    Approve the rejection of 10 grant applications listed in appendix 4.

There was no other business.

MOTION – With the Court of Common Council for the City Corporation as Trustee

of Bridge House Estates (Charity No. 1035628) having decided to treat these meetings as though Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 applied to them, it now be moved that the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that their consideration will in each case disclose exempt information of the description in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A, being information relating to the financial and business affairs of any person (including the City Corporation as Trustee of the charity) which it would not be in the charity’s best interests to disclose.

RESOLVED – That with the Court of Common Council for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (Charity No. 1035628) having decided to treat these meetings as though Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 applied to them, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that their consideration will in each case disclose exempt information of the description in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A, being information relating to the financial and business affairs of any person (including the City Corporation as Trustee of the charity) which it would not be in the charity’s best interests to disclose.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2021.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on Monday 6 December 2021 be agreed as a correct record.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

To be considered in conjunction with the report at Item 7.

The Committee received non-public appendices in respect of Item 7.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee received a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Committee received a report of the Managing Director of BHE.

There were three items of other business.