Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Simon Duckworth and Vivienne Littlechild.

It was noted that many Members of the Committee had received a letter from the grant applicant Mousetrap Theatre Productions.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on Thursday, 6 June 2013.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the last meeting held on 6^th June 2013 be agreed as an accurate record.

Matters Arising

The Town Clerk informed the Committee that information under item 12 had been repeated in the minute under item 17 and would therefore be deleted from item 17.

Discussions ensued regarding the minutes under item 12, and Members noted that they did not capture the statement made at the previous meeting.

In consultation with the Members, the Town Clerk undertook to amend the minute under Item 12 to read as follows:

“The Chief Grants Officer informed the Committee that the refurbishment works including the installation of a disability lift at the Sir John Soane’s Museum had received an Award for Best Conservation Project from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The Award specifically mentioned the innovative design of the lift, which had been funded by The City Bridge Trust.”

In response to a query regarding item 6, Officers advised that a grant application had undergone an amended status from recommended for rejection, following the previous Committee.

The Town Clerk would amend the minutes under Item 6 - Grant Applications as follows:-

“Members noted that a total of thirty-seven applications would be dealt with at the meeting, of which ten were recommended for approval, eighteen were recommended for rejection, and three had been withdrawn.”

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk that identified items which required further action by officers.

Members noted an error in the progress date for the Outstanding Grant Conditions listed for Hackney Caribbean Elders and Merton Home Tutoring Service, and it was agreed progress should have been completed by the current Committee meeting date of 4 July as opposed to the stated date of 6 July.

In response to a query from Members, officers agreed to circulate a list of monitoring visits for expressions of interest to Members over the next several weeks following this Committee meeting.

Following the advice of the Comptroller and City Solicitor, the Chief Grants Officer informed the Committee that the delegated authority process, agreed by the Committee at the April 2012 meeting, had been amended with the assistance of the Town Clerk. This was to ensure the process was in accordance with Standing Orders. It was noted that applications up to £25,000 would be delegated to the Chief Grants Officer, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

RECEIVED.

To receive a progress report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received the regular progress report and events update of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Chief Grants Officer informed Members that following a meeting with the Steering Group of the Philanthropy Exhibition, Members would be sent an invitation to the opening of the Exhibition which was expected to occur in late October 2013. Members’ input would also be sought as to how portable elements of the Exhibition could be shared with a wider audience.

RECEIVED.

To receive an introductory report of the Chief Grants Officer relative to grant recommendations.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer, which dealt with recommendations relating to applications received on the current grants programme. Members noted that a total of 37 applications would be dealt with at the meeting, of which 1 was a Strategic Initiative, 14 were recommended for approval, 11 recommended for rejection, 7 had been withdrawn and 4 grants were noted as approved under delegated authority.

It was noted that £10,469,518 remained unspent on the Working with Londoners grants budget for 2013/14.

In response to a query from Members it was noted that the Quinquennial Review of The City Bridge Trust grants programme had generated additional work in the officer team, which had impacted on the capacity to review and process grant applications. The new Chief Grants Officer would be reviewing the general processes and capacity of the Trust as part of his induction.

RECEIVED.

To consider the Chief Grants Officer’s reports on grant recommendations, as follows (copies attached):-

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which recommended grants to various organisations.

In response to a query from Members as to why some grants were not recommended for the exact amount requested and rounded down rather than up, officers advised that rounded sums were utilised in part to enforce the separation between grants and awarded contracts. Members then agreed that where sums are to be rounded in future they should, where possible, be rounded up to the nearest hundred.

Members considered each application and the following observations were noted:

Annex C (Mousetrap Theatre Projects) – it was agreed that the recommendation not to fund discounted theatre tickets as part of the grant was due to the Committee’s stance on not subsidising commercial ventures, but which would be amended in this instance. Members felt that it was important to ensure that both the carers and children could partake in attending the theatre productions as part of the StageSeen initiative. As a result, the revised total grant recommendation would be £33,740 over 3 years (£10,930, £11,300, £11,510).

Members raised concerns over the level of expenditure on generating funds listed as £116,804, and it was explained this sum included the cost of a fundraising manager. The Chief Grants Officer agreed to advise the Committee at its next meeting on the general issue of fundraising costs as presented in applicant’s accounts.

Annex H (Age Concern Westminster) – it was noted that Age UK, the national body, was a large organisation with secure funding.  Officers reassured Members that the individual branches of Age UK, such as this one were separately constituted charities.

Annex L (Auditory Verbal Centre) – a Member raised concerns over the deficit listed for the financial statements in 2012 and the 2013/14 budget projections.

Officers explained that the

£50,000 towards access-related building costs.

£49,500 towards access-related external and internal building works.

£33,740 over 3 years (£10,930, £11,300, £11,510) towards the costs of StageSeen, subject to receipt of a satisfactory budget for 2013/14, and on additional funds being raised to make the project viable.

£11,000 over three years (£30,000; £40,00; £40,000) towards the salary costs of the CitySafe Co-ordinators.

£98,600 over two years (2 x £49,300) for the salary of a Project Officer and running costs of the Youth in Sight project.

£40,000 over two years (2 x £20,000) towards the costs of the Us LOT leadership programme, to directly benefit not less than 20 young adults per annum, The grant is conditional on receipt of a satisfactory budget for 2013/14.

£97,500 over three years (3 x £32,500) for the salary costs of a full time Lifestyle Architect providing tailored support to Anchor House residents with mental health issues.

£110,500 over 3 years (£36,700; £37,800; £36,000) towards the full-time salary of a Volunteer Co-ordinator, plus associated running costs, of a volunteering project benefitting older people.

£120,000 over three years (£40,000; £40,000; £40,000) towards the following posts: Dementia Project Manager (2.5 dpw); Volunteer Coordinator (1 dpw); and a freelance Project Worker (at the equivalent rate of 6 hpw) within a project to improve the services offered to people with dementia and their carers. The grant is subject to receipt of satisfactory audited accounts for the first year of the newly merged charity to 31^st March 2013.

£86,000 over three years (£27,800; £28,700; £29,500) for the salary of a p/t (2.5dpw) Volunteer Development Manager plus associated running costs for the volunteering programme.

£61,200 over three years (£16,000; £23,000 £22,200) towards the salary and running costs of twenty Get Together groups.

£60,000 over two years (2 x £30,000) towards the staffing costs of AVUK’s London centre, subject to receipt of quarterly management accounts.

£99,500 over two years (£53,800; £45,700) towards the costs of establishing an online support service for voluntary sector advice agencies across London on welfare reform and the localisation of the welfare state.

£78,00 over 2 years (£34,000; £43,500) towards a sub-regional consortium of volunteer centres (comprising Merton, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton) delivering a programme of accredited and non-accredited training to volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations, conditional on a satisfactory monitoring report on the previous grant being provided and signed audited accounts for Volunteer Centre Merton for 2012/13.

To consider a report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which recommended that the Committee commission the Coalition for Efficiency to develop a web-based database and widget to bring together the various volunteer intermediary bodies and lead to greater collaboration. 

Members requested that a timescale for this project be confirmed and that the database, once in place, be promoted widely and highlight the role of the Trust in supporting it.

RESOLVED: That Members agree the Coalition for Efficiency be commissioned to develop a web-based database at a cost of £6,000 to be charged against the City Bridge Trust Strategic Initiatives allocation for 2013/14.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which presented two further Local Authority applications – London Boroughs of Bromley and Redbridge.

The Chief Grants Officer updated Members that negotiations for an end date to the initiative were underway.

RESOLVED – That the recommendations for grant as detailed in the report be approved.

To consider a report of the Chief Grant’s Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which updated Members on the Islington Giving initiative and advised Members to consider research into the feasibility of replicating the model in other London boroughs in partnership with Cripplegate Foundation.

It was noted that in line three of the introduction of Annex A on page 185, the omission of the word NEET had occurred and should read “young people whose status is NEET or ‘not Known’.

RESOLVED – That officers explore further the desirability of a feasibility study into replicating Islington Giving in partnership with the Cripplegate Foundation.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which recommended that 11 grant applications in the Working with Londoners programme be rejected for the reasons identified in the schedule attached to the report.

Discussions ensued regarding Northwood Live at Home Scheme and Members said detailed assurances were required explaining why the grant had been rejected as it could seem that other applicants with similar schemes are accepted. Officers informed the Committee that this organisation held a very high level of free reserves and under the existing City Bridge Trust grants policy large housing providers were typically not funded to provide services for their own residents.

RESOLVED: That the grant 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 the following three grants, totalling £21,600 which had been approved under delegated authority.

·         Contemporary Dance Trust - £3,600 towards the cost of an access audit.

·         Holy Trinity Church Tooting - £15,000 for access works subject to confirmation that a faculty has been granted.

·         Oxford House in Bethnal Green - £3,000 for an access audit of Oxford House.

It was noted that cost of an eco-audit for the Old Vic Theatre Trust (£3,980) had not been included in the report, which was approved. This addition brought the total number of grants approved under delegated authority to four, totalling £25,580.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which provided details of seven applications which had been withdrawn.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of a variation to one grant agreed since the last meeting of the Committee.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer relative to two visits that had been undertaken.

RECEIVED.

There were no questions.

There were no other urgent items.

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.

MOTION – 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

15                                                                    3

16                                                                    3

17                                                                    3

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 6 June 2013.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2013 were considered.

There were no questions.

There was one item considered under urgent items of business.