Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the Right Hon. The Lord Mayor Alderman Alan Yarrow, Deputy the Revd. Stephen Haines and Simon Duckworth.

Ian Seaton declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of London Youth, by virtue of his Livery Company supporting the organisation. The Deputy Chief Grants Officer declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 11ff, which, owing to additional information received, would be discussed in non-public session.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 27^th November 2014.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2014 be approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Sir Simon Milton Foundation

Members noted that officers had spoken with the Town Clerk and the organisation regarding the rejection of this application.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received the Outstanding Actions update, noting that officers would review how often the Risk Tracker was circulated to the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received the terms of reference for the City Bridge Trust Committee.

RESOLVED – That the terms of reference for the City Bridge Trust Committee be approved, subject to the following amendments as a result of subsequent legal advice:

Under 4(a), the addition of the following wording:

For other charitable purposes for the general benefit of the inhabitants of Greater London;

other than grants above a sum of £500,000 which decisions are reserved to the Court of Common Council upon this Committee’s recommendation.  

Under 4(b) (iii), the addition of the following footnote:

The City of London Corporation, acting through the Court of Common Council, is the sole Trustee of Bridge House Estates (‘the Trustee’).

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Town Clerk regarding the annual submission of the revenue budgets. Members noted that, overall, there was a decrease of £4.537m between the latest 2014/15 budget and the 2015/16 proposed budget largely due to the one-off additional grant initiative of £1m in 2014/15 for the Employability Partnership with Central London Forward and there being no carry forward from 2014/15.

Members queried the 2% allowance for potential pay and price rises and the £77,000 income, and the Chamberlain advised that this related to an increase in staffing and to the secondment of an officer to Wembley National Stadium Trust from whom costs were recovered in full.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  The provisional 2015/16 revenue budget be approved for submission to Finance Committee; and

(b)  The Chamberlain be authorised to revise these budgets to allow for any necessary realignment of funds resulting from corporate projects.

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. Members discussed a recent visit to Fareshare, and the Chief Grants Officer undertook to liaise with the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection regarding similar food sharing opportunities at Spitalfields Market.

With regard to the Stepping Stones Fund, officers advised that, as applications were due on 31^st January 2015, the Committee was being asked to delegate authority to the Chief Grants Officer, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to inform unsuccessful stage one applicants that they had been rejected. Members discussed the Fund and Social Investment in general, noting the work being done by the Social Investment Board.

Members discussed the suggested themes for future meetings, and asked for information regarding programmes with lower application numbers than expected to be prioritised for comment, alongside the larger programmes. The Chief Grants Officer advised he could address this through his regular Progress Report. Members also requested that the subject of Social Investment be added to the list.

Members discussed the 2014-2015 grants budget and the carry forward from the previous two years annual grants budgets of £3,539,000. In the discussion, Members considered the external funding environment;  plans for strategic grant-making to mark the CBT 20^th Anniversary;  and the amount of funds under consideration for grant allocation at this meeting and the March 2015 CBT committee meeting.

It was noted that, if the Committee approved all of the applications under consideration at this meeting and the anticipated applications at the March meeting, it was likely that all of the 2014-2015 annual grants budget and carry forward would have been committed in this financial year. 

It was also noted that there had been an intention to mark the CBT 20^th Anniversary with some

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.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (to follow).

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer regarding plans to mark the City Bridge Trust’s 20th Anniversary Year 2015-2016 (financial year). Members discussed the need for funders to work together more closely, as well as the need to help smaller charities join-up to reduce their overall overheads. In response to a Member’s query, Officers confirmed that the City Bridge Trust did not fund Local Authority statutory services, but advised that many discretionary services would be under pressure from funding cuts.

Members  considered the draft 20^th Anniversary Year Strapline and ‘elevator pitch’, and the Chief Grants Officer advised this was still being developed and recommendations would be made at the Committee’s next meeting in March 2015.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  The plans to mark the 20th Anniversary Year be approved; and

(b)  £57,000 be released from the Central Risk budget to support the 20th Anniversary Year, by way of Strategic Initiative comprising of:

                      i.        £24,000 towards project management;

                     ii.        £20,000 towards communications;

                    iii.        £4,000 for design (strap line and refreshed leaflets); and

                   iv.        £9,000 to develop a learning programme, including a 20th year review.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which gave a statistical analysis of the 148 applications submitted from September 2013 to July 2014 (10 months) under the Investing in Londoners programme, and the 61 grants awarded (totalling £4,256,606) from January to July 2014 (6 months). The report analysed application numbers; data on beneficiaries (including equalities data); as well as awards by individual grant programmes and by London boroughs. Members asked if this could be filtered to show in which boroughs funding was allocated to each programme.

RESOLVED – That consideration be given to analysing where, in London, funding was awarded for each programme; and the report be noted.

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

APPROVED - Funding of £36,040 over two years (£23,150; £14,890) to complete the funding package required to establish a London Fairness Commission.

APPROVED - £99,000 over three years (3 x £33,000) for the costs of delivering 360 hours per year of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes to Entry-level and Level-1 standard. Each year, the grant is to be apportioned as: Tutor & materials/set-up costs of £15,000; Crèche casts of £8,700; Accreditation costs of £1,800; Project management of £3,500; and Contribution to overheads of £4,000.

APPROVED - £67,400 over three years (£22,000, £22,500, £22,900) for two thirds of the salary costs of the Director. The grant in each of years 2 and 3 is conditional on it representing no more than 50% of the organisation's turnover.

APPROVED - £72,900 over three years (£24,500; £24,000; £24,400) towards a food growing, cookery and family well-being programme.

Members discussed the application, and asked for officers to bring back further information regarding individual giving to the charity and its fundraising strategy in general.

RESOLVED – That the application be deferred.

APPROVED - £50,000 over two years (2 x £25,000) for the salary costs of a part-time (0.4 Full Time Equivalent) Project Worker and associated running costs.

APPROVED - £66,600 over 18 months (£43,600; £23,000) towards several staff salaries (in total, 0.55 Full Time Equivalent) and related running costs of a project aiming to improve the local environment in six communities across London.

APPROVED - £32,600 for a third year's funding of a full-time Project Worker, plus related running costs of the Drop-in service.

APPROVED - £150,000 over three years (3 x £50,000) towards the salary and related costs of the organisation's Head of Therapies post.

APPROVED - £28,800 over three years (£10,100; £9,500; £9,200) towards a part-time Outreach Worker (6 hours per week) and a part-time Counsellor (8 hours per week), together with associated running costs.

APPROVED - £99,000 over three years (3 x £33,000) towards the salary and related costs of the full-time Director of Services post.

APPROVED - £98,700 over two years (£50,300; £48,400) for a full-time Well-being Manager plus running costs to establish a mental health support service for homeless people living at the South London YMCA.

APPROVED - £90,500 over three years (£29,220; £30,360; £30,920) for the salary of a part-time (2 days per week) Bilingual Counsellor, plus admin support and associated running costs.

APPROVED - £90,000 over three years (3 x £30,000) for the salary of a full-time Youth Worker (Independence Programme) plus a contribution to its operational costs.

APPROVED - £100,000 towards the costs of disabled access provision at Monarch Court.

APPROVED - £46,500 over two years (£23,500; £23,000) towards the cost of Life Control project for deaf young people living in London.

APPROVED - £138,650 over three years (£43,300; £47,400; £47,950) towards 0.5 Full Time Equivalent of the full-time salary costs of the Training and Learning Manager and associated programme costs of the Young Artistic Advisors, outreach and School Residencies programme.

APPROVED - £147,000 over three years (£69,000; £39,000; £39,000) towards salary and project costs of the Enablement and Healthy Living Project for disabled people.

APPROVED - £100,000 for the costs of access Improvements at TAT's Gasworks site. These works will include the installation of a platform lift, three accessible WCs, and an enhanced building entry system.

APPROVED - £182,000 over three years (£58,000; £58,000; £66,000) for a full-time Caseworker, with related costs, to provide specialist one-to-one advice, and support to London-based migrant and refugee women clients who have survived trafficking and/or gender-based violence.

Members discussed the details of the application, noting the auditor’s concerns regarding the deficit in the charity’s free reserves and the money held in fixed assets.

APPROVED - £48,000 for the costs of the Inspired Caring' project for older carers and the people with dementia that they care for, with the funding being released on receipt of satisfactory quarterly management accounts.

APPROVED - £87,600 over three years (£39,200; £24,200; £24,200) towards the costs of three posts (Education Officer, Community Development Officer and Volunteer Co­ordinator), together with development costs to increase the number of older people engaged with the Museum.

APPROVED - £114,000 over three years (£36,600; £37,900; £39,500) for the salary of a part-time Project Co-ordinator (3 days per week), a part-time Project Support Worker (1.5 days per week) and related overheads and associated project costs.

APPROVED - £138,000 over three years (£45,000; £46,000; £47,000) towards the salary and associated running costs of a full-time Advice Manager.

APPROVED - £104,000 over two years (£51,000; £53,000) towards a part-time Membership Officer (2 days per week) and a part-time Research and Learning Officer (4 days per week), together with associated running costs, to enable the 4 In 10 network to develop its work tackling child poverty in London.

APPROVED - £59,000 over three years (£17,500; £20,000; £21,500) towards the costs of a Kitchen/Garden Manager (21 hours per week) and running costs. The funding is conditional on NLAH obtaining the balance of funding from other sources.

APPROVED - £150,000 over three years (£51,000; £49,000; £50,000) for an Ealing-based debt and money advice service with funding to cover a full-time Debt Advice Caseworker and associated project running costs. The second and third year of funding to be contingent on evidence of the charity meeting its targets for the service.

APPROVED - £179,000 over three years (£59,000; £59,000; £61,000) towards the salary, and related costs, of a full-time Senior Advice and Guidance Worker in Hackney.

APPROVED - £130,000 over two years (£68,000; £62,000) towards an advice service for Wandsworth Foodbank users.

APPROVED - £107,300 over three years (£35,900, £35,400, £36,000) for 21 hours per week of the debt advisor, 3/5 of the financial workshops and associated running costs.

APPROVED - £122,000 over three years (£42,000; £40,000; £40,000) towards a part-time (21 hours per week) Community Support Manager, together with associated running costs, towards a specialist mentoring programme supporting women in London-based prisons.

This item was considered in non-public session.  

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer which recommended that fourteen grant applications be rejected for the reasons identified in the schedule attached to the report. Members requested that more information be sought regarding the application from Brook Young People.

RESOLVED – That thirteen grant applications detailed in the schedule attached to the report be rejected, and one deferred.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer providing details of eleven applications which had been withdrawn or which had lapsed.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer which advised Members of nine expenditure items, totalling £52,000, which had been presented for approval under delegated authority to the Chief Grants Officer, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer about two visits that had taken place.

RESOLVED – That the report be received.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

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

11ff, 16                                                                                   3

17-18                                                                                      -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27^th November 2014.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27 November 2014 be approved as a correct record.

There were no questions.

There were three items of other business.