Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor Alderman Fiona Woolf, Stuart Fraser, Deputy Stanley Ginsburg, and Wendy Mead.

There were no declarations.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 15 May 2014.

RESOLVED – That minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2014 be approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

The City Bridge Trust team capacity

The Chief Grants Officer reported that recruitment for a maternity cover post and a 3 year Grants Officer post had been completed, and that resources were in place for the Social Investment Advisor although recruitment details were still being established.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Communications

Members noted that a Member would be meeting with the Chief Grants Officer and PRO Officer in July to discuss the City Bridge Trust’s Communications Strategy. Members agreed that a report be brought to the Committee meeting in July on current communication arrangements, with a strategic paper coming to the Committee meeting in September. They also requested continuity in the person attending Committee from PRO.

Grants Statistical Analysis

Members requested that the final summary on the Working With Londoners programme be reported at the Committee meeting in July.

Sported Foundation

Members noted that details for the recommended rejection were outlined in the report for item 9A.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  A draft report be brought to the Committee meeting in July with proposals for the Trust’s  communications strategy;

(b)  Following comment by the Committee, a final version of the strategy will be brought to the Committee meeting in September;

(c)  There was  continuity in the PRO officer attending Committee; and

(d)  The final summary on the Working With Londoners programme be reported at the Committee meeting in July.

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. He reported that the Trust’s partnership with Buttle UK had been launched at a seminar at Mansion House on 6^th May 2014, which had received good feedback and helped facilitate connections between the organisations.

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Chief Grants Officer confirmed that the new grant programme referred to in his report, authorised during the most recent quinquennial review, would have three broad areas of activity: capacity building, seed finance, and funding to test different models of impact intervention. This was a strand of work funded by the City Bridge Trust to enable charities to diversify and apply for a grant via the £20million Social Investment Fund.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer, which outlined proposals after a review of current practices.

Members were informed that a company had been commissioned to undertake a benchmarking exercise; the full report would be presented at a future meeting, but the Chief Grants Officer advised that the Trust had compared favourably. Despite the high standard of work being carried out, Members noted that more time was needed for officers to keep up-to-date on the grant-giving context, to analyse and act on the lessons and trends from the grants portfolio, and to take a strategic view on the most effective grants spend and support activities.

As part of this, themed officer leads had been established and it was being proposed that the number of Committee meetings be reduced from ten to six, each receiving a focused update or updates on the programmatic areas from the Investing in Londoners grants programme, in addition to a strategic away half-day.

The Committee discussed the proposals, in particular the request to reduce the cycle of meetings. Members noted officers’ assurances that this would not affect the quantity of grants made and the 4 month target from application to decision would remain. A Member expressed his concern that the resulting increase in business for each meeting would make it difficult for Members to read and absorb the papers before the meeting; the Committee were mindful of this concern and asked for the impact of the recommendations to be reviewed  in October 2015.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  The current cycle of ten CBT Committee meetings per year be reduced to six;

(b)  One strategic away half-day meeting for Committee Members is added;

(c)  At each Committee meeting, a focused update or updates is provided on one or more of the programmatic areas from

To receive a report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer summarising applications received and action taken under the 2014/15 grants programmes. Members noted that, although it was still too early for any firm trends to emerge, Trust officers were encouraged by the good spread of applications, including those of a good quality received for the newer programmes. Members also noted that the number of applications remained steady, with a slight fluctuation correlating with the commonly-used end of the financial year.

In response to a Member’s question, the Chamberlain advised that the request to carry forward the unspent 2013/14 grant budget would be reported to the Chamberlain and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Resource Allocations Sub Committee at the end of June for their consideration. The Chamberlain also suggested that the £1million allocation from ‘the Employability Initiative’ should be reported, in future, as part of the overall grants budget.

In response to a Member’s question, Trust officers advised that equalities data was collected with regard to the beneficiaries of the charity, generally at the monitoring stage. This data was often of poor quality, but officers undertook to provide an update at the strategic away half-day in October 2014. 

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  The report be noted; and

(b)  Equalities data be considered at the strategic away half-day in October 2014. 

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

APPROVED - £94,000 over 3years (£30,750;£31,250; £32,000)towards thesalary costs ofa full-timeDevelopment Manager.

APPROVED - £85,000over threeyears (£27,500;£28,300;£29,200) for thecosts of increasing current nursing provisionby two daysper week plus a contributionto the HLP'srunning costs,including the provisionofalternative therapies.

APPROVED - £120,000over threeyears (£44,000;£40,000;£36,000) towardsthe salariesof a CommunityDevelopmentTherapist (15hrs/wk);Link Worker(17.5hrslwk) and Therapists (371.5hrs/yr)and running costs of theAffirm project to provide psychotherapeutic supportforwomen atrisk ofself-harm andsuicide.

Members discussed the free unrestricted reserves and noted that, as well as the expected uplift in the charity’s Art Council grant, income was expected to double once the building was refurbished.

APPROVED - £40,000for theprovisionofa platformpassenger liftto improve accessfor all usersof thetheatre.

Members discussed the application, noting that money received by the Trust in the past from the City Corporation had funded structural repairs to the Grade II listed building. Members spoke of the new Managing Director’s dedication and the strong role the Trust played in the local community.

APPROVED - £100,000towards the costsof disabledaccess works inPhase 2of thecapital project.

Members queried the request for core funding and were advised that, as the core mission of the organisation contributed to the Trust’s Safer London programme priorities, the grant was recommended for approval.

APPROVED - £127,500over three years (£41,500;£39,400; £46,600)towards core costs, including thesalaries of theDirector (7.2hrs rising to12hrs inyear 3); Deputy Director(s) (12 hours reducingto 5.4 hours in years 2 and 3);and two administration posts (13.5hrs), for AVA tosupport organisations and agencies inthe field ofdomestic andsexual violence inLondon. The grantin year3 is conditional upon sufficient funds being raised to make the work viable.

APPROVED - £60,000over threeyears (£20,000;£20,000; £20,000) towardsthe directrunning costs of Cookingfor LifeClasses, includingthe cookeryteacher.

APPROVED - £123,000over threeyears (£26,200;£48,200; £48,600)towards the salariesof a CommunityAccountant(20hrs)and Development andFunding Advice Manager (20hrs) and on-costs,to provide monitoringand evaluation and financial trainingsupporttovoluntary and community organisationsin Enfield.

In response to Members’ queries, officers advised that this was a fundraising platform that raised money before passing it on to other charities, which was reflected in the target income described in the report. Members were concerned at potential problems as a result of the rapid rate of growth of this platform, but were advised that the core operation had remained stable.

APPROVED - £79,450over three years(£27,500; £25,850; £26,100) towards apart-time (0.56 FTE)Volunteer Coordinator Manager, plus running costs, in orderto expand theGlobal Giving Time platform forLondon-focused charities.

Members discussed the application, noting that it addressed the Trust’s “Strengthening London’s Voluntary Sector” priority.

APPROVED - £55,000over one yeartowards the full-time salary andassociated running costs of a SpecialistProject Officer providing training, capacity building support,and advice andinformation on theEqualities Act2010.Release ofthe grant issubject toreceipt ofa satisfactory monitoring reportfor year 2of the currentgrant.

Members noted that, although this was a National charity, this grant would fund London-based work.

APPROVED - £60,000 as a third year's contributiontowards the full-time salary and associatedrunning costsof aproject developing modelsof collaborative and partnershipworking.

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

RESOLVED – That the nine 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 four expenditure items, totalling £40,380, which had been presented for approval under delegated authority to the Chief Grants Officer in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. Members noted the Grants Officer’s declaration by virtue of being a Trustee of London Funders.

Grants

·         Arts For All - £21,000 over three years (3 x £7,000) towards the salary and running costs of "The Rainbow Club".

·         KEEN London - £10,000 for a third and final year’s support towards the costs of expanding weekly activities to East London for young people with behavioural, physical, and learning disabilities.

·         Whittington Park Community Association - £4,380 for the costs of an access audit and disability awareness + safety training.

Strategic Initiative

·         London Funders - £5,000 towards the £15,000 costs of commissioning research into the current and future landscape of play and youth services for children and young people in London. The grant is payable to London Funders who will manage the project.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of variations to four grants agreed by the Chief Grants Officer since the last meeting.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee considered the format of monitoring reports and agreed that the current format and length would remain for the next few meetings, until a newer, more succinct version could be available when the new monitoring process was fully operational. Members discussed recent visits and the Chairman encouraged Members to go on these visits, wherever possible.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A Member queried whether sufficient checks were undertaken to ensure grant monies were being spent appropriately by charities. Officers responded that this was done during monitoring process; if no issues regarding compliance arose, no report would be made to the Committee.

RESOLVED – That, should any compliance issues occur between meetings, the Committee be notified accordingly.  

Members noted that the Guildhall was currently hosting a Global Conference on Dementia.

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

13                                                                               1,3

14-15                                                                          -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2014.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2014 be approved as a correct record.

There were no non-public questions.

There were no items of other business.