Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Michael Henderson-Begg and Deputy and Sheriff Wendy Mead.

Deputy Ken Ayers declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in respect of Item 7b Annex 25 as a Knight of the Order of St John and the former Chairman of the Order’s Investment Committee.

Stewart Goshawk informed Members that he was a Trustee of the Essex Wildlife Trust (Annex 4, Item 7b) and subsequently withdrew from the room at discussion of this item.

Whilst there were no pertinent items on this agenda, Joan Millbank took the opportunity to declare a standing declaration in matters affecting the London Borough of Lewisham, by virtue of being a councillor of the borough. Assurances were given that she would play no part in the assessment of any applications linked to the borough.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 July 2012 (copy attached).

The public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 July 2012 were approved.

MATTERS ARISING

(1) Lord Mayor’s Appeal (p6) – The Chairman advised Members that he had recently met with Alderman Woolf, who was the leading proponent of the Mayoralty Continuum strategy, of which the Lord Mayor’s Appeal plans were a part. Following satisfactory discussions, he was content that the Committee’s expectations were understood and was happy to progress the grant under delegated authority.

Report of the Town Clerk (copy attached).

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk identifying those items raised at meetings of the Committee that required further action by officers.

With regard to the Trust’s website, a Member highlighted an outdated reference to an event which should be removed, and added that there appeared to be an issue whereby some of the hyperlinks did not appear to be functioning correctly. The Chief Grants Officer apologised and undertook to look in to the issue and rectify it, venturing that it could be a glitch with the website which was responsible.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Chamberlain (copy attached).

The Committee received a joint report of the Town Clerk and Chamberlain relative to the revenue outturn for the year 2011/12.

Whilst it was of course pleasing to note that the underspend had been carried forward, a Member cautioned that it was important not to assume this would be the case each year and that it was clearly preferable to distribute the allocated grants budget entirely within each financial year.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

To receive a progress report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee received the regular progress report of the Chief Grants Officer which highlighted the various activities that were on-going or had recently concluded.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

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, introducing the grants programmes and stating that a total of ninety-one applications would be dealt with at the meeting, of which one was a strategic initiative, twenty-nine were recommended for grants and thirty-nine recommended for rejection, with nine having been withdrawn. Thirteen grants were also noted as having been approved under delegated authority.

A revised breakdown of grants distributed to date in the current financial year was circulated to replace that at page 32 in the papers.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer recommending grants to organisations.

During consideration of the applications before the Committee, the following comments were made by Members of the Committee and relevant officers:

·         In respect of Annex 1 (Tall Ships Youth Trust), the Chamberlain advised that the organisation’s current free reserves stood at negative £1.9million. However, whilst this might appear concerning at first glance, the applicant had plans to sell their remaining tall ship and replace it with smaller craft, which would both generate significant savings and increase revenues. Further, future projections had been provided based upon a new financial model which gave considerable cause for positivity as to the organisation’s future. Accordingly, the grant was approved with the condition that satisfactory quarterly reports be received to ensure that the new financial model was embedding successfully.

·         In response to a Member’s query at Annex 9 (Leaders in Community),theGrants Officer clarified that the organisation’s reserve policy had been somewhat vague but, following discussions, the applicant had undertaken to send a revised policy to Grants Officers for approval.

·         At Annex 17 (Thames Estuary Partnership), a Member raised a number of queries relating to the financial information provided by the organisation. The Grants Officer explained that the applicant had recently appointed a new Director who had discovered that the organisation had for the past few years been applying for grants of a level insufficient to cover the full costs of projects and, consequently, had been utilising unrestricted reserves to meet the shortfalls. A new operating model ensuring full cost recovery had now been implemented and, as a result, the organisation was now on course to record a £9,000 surplus for the financial year. The implementation of this new model was the reason behind the original application being revised to request

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer recommending thirty-two grant applications in the Working with Londoners programme be rejected for the reasons identified in the schedule attached to the report.

Alderman Alison Gowman, declaring a personal interest in the application from the Shakespeare Globe Trust as a friend of the organisation, asked for clarification as to the criteria for judging whether or not a project had sufficient “London-focus” to be accepted. At this point, Jeremy Mayhew declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the application as he had helped to facilitate the initial approach from the Chief Executive of the organisation, who was an acquaintance of his, to the Trust. The Grants Officer advised that, whilst the theatre was based in London, a large number of the visitors to the theatre were from outside London and no clear mention of any specific London benefit had been mentioned in the application process. Accordingly, the application had been recommended for rejection, but the Grants Officer advised that they would be happy to go back to the Shakespeare Globe Trust and provide further guidance to the applicant.

With reference to the application from the Rugby Football Foundation, a Member recalled a number of previously approved applications where the organisation was the recipient of equally substantial funding from limited sources, and so queried why this particular application had been rejected. The Grants Officer clarified that the applicant had never satisfactorily explained why the project in question could not be funded from existing reserves and required funding from the Trust instead; however, he would be more than happy to go back to the applicant and discuss the issue further.

A Member sought further explanation as to the rejection of the application from CITY.COMM, noting that the Corporation and City Bridge Trust had

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer detailing eight applications that had been withdrawn.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer providing an update on the Growing Localities grants programme and detailing the criteria, eligibility and application process for a proposed City of London Growing Localities Awards scheme, seeking approval for a budget of £17,400 for this purpose. 

RESOLVED: That Members approve a budget of £17,400 for the City of London Growing Localities Awards, to be charged against the local risk budget of £100,000 for the 2012/13 running costs of the Growing Localities Grants Programme.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer recommending grants to organisations.

During consideration of the applications before the Committee, the following comments were made by Members of the Committee and relevant officers:

·         During consideration of Annex 1 (Tree Council), a Member commented on the large number of volunteers associated with the organisation and took the opportunity to ask whether or not the Trust kept records highlighting the total number of volunteers involved in all the charities supported by the Trust. The Chief Grants Officer advised that volunteer numbers were indeed collected as part of the grant application process, so officers could of course start to collate this information.

·         It was noted that the application from Hackney City Farm (Annex 3) had since been withdrawn, as the organisation had been successful in obtaining the funding required from other sources.

·         At Annex 4 (Poplar Housing & Regeneration Community Association) the Grants Officer advised that the asset position at year end on page 348 was incorrect and consequently circulated an updated version.  The Chamberlain explained that the net current assets position of £24,961,000 originally listed had been corrected on the revised statement to a less favourable net current Liabilities position of £1,257,000.

RESOLVED: That the following grants be approved:-

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer recommending seven grant applications in the Growing Localities programme be rejected for the reasons identified in the schedule attached to the report.

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 detailing one application from the Growing Localities programme that had been withdrawn.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer advising Members of thirteen grants, totalling £213,000, which had been approved under delegated authority since the last meeting of the Committee as follows:

·      One-To-One (Enfield)- £23,600 over two years (2 x £11,800) for the salary of a part-time (12hpw) Sports Development Worker plus other costs to provide support for people with learning disabilities to participate in integrated sports activities.

·      Training Ship Broadsword Sea Training Corps- £24,000 towards the costs of providing disabled access provision, subject to the balance of costs being raised from other sources and planning permission being obtained.

·      St John's Church Notting Hill- £25,000 towards access improvements at St John’s Notting Hill.

·      Rewrite- £24,360 over two years (2 x £12,180) towards the costs of delivering the REACT programme, subject to not being the organisation's largest single funder in year 2.

·      SSBA Community Trust - £18,380 towards English language and sewing classes twice a week for isolated women, for one year.

·      Fowler Newsam Hall Trust - £10,000 towards the capital costs of creating a dedicated project office and counselling/meeting space.

·      Otesha Project UK - £11,950 for a third and final year's support to continue and expand the Change Projects Programme working with young people, subject to receipt of a satisfactory monitoring report for Year 2 of the previous grant.

·      African Cultural Association (Barnet) - £24,000 over three years (3 x £8,000) towards the costs of healthy lifestyle sessions for older African and Caribbean people in Barnet, subject to not being the organisation's largest funder in Years 2 & 3.

·      Rosetta Life- £23,900 towards the provision of movement classes for stroke survivors within a community setting, for one year.

·      PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together) - £20,000 for one year towards the costs of a strategic

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer proposing a strategic literacy initiative in the form of a partnership between City Bridge Trust, Volunteer Reading Help, Islington Education Department, the Evening Standard, and a ‘flagship’ Islington primary school, aimed at measurably improving literacy results as part of the Evening Standard’s ‘Get London Reading’ campaign.

RESOLVED: That Members approve a grant to Volunteer Reading Help of £72,300 over three years (£23,400; £24,100; £24,800) towards the costs of a strategic literacy initiative in Islington, to be charged against the Strategic Initiatives budget for 2012/13.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer of the City Bridge Trust concerning a proposed new initiative “Get Young People Working – The Youth Offer” to help tackle the growing problem of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

It was noted that the report had already been considered and approved by the Policy & Resources Committee.

The Chief Grants Officer took the opportunity to raise an urgent item for consideration at this point, concerning the proposal of a strategic initiative to create ten apprenticeships across the City of London Corporation, through a partnership with City Gateway, as part of the Evening Standard’s ‘Ladder for London’ campaign.

Given the strong parallels with the Committee’s interest in supporting young people into employment, as well as the Corporation’s own “Get Young People Working – The Youth Offer” programme, Members agreed that participation in the ‘Ladder for London’ scheme would be extremely beneficial and complement the existing work of the Trust.

The Chief Grants Officer advised that a sum of £140,000 to cover both the £110,000 direct cost of the scheme as well as a £30,000 provision for any associated costs accrued by individual departments, would be paid to the City Gateway charity and, in light of the publicity which would be involved, recommended that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee also be consulted. Accordingly, the Trust’s participation was approved in principle with authority delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the Policy & Resources and City Bridge Trust Committees, to sign off the final agreement.

RESOLVED: That:-

·      subject to the concurrence of the Finance Committee and the Court of Common Council, a budget of £3.28m be approved from income in Bridge House Estates for “Get Young People Working

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer concerning the governance and operating arrangements for the newly created social investment fund.

It was noted that the report had been approved by the Policy & Resources Committee, as well as by the Investment Committee under delegated authority.

The Chairman drew attention to paragraph 22 of the report, noting that the proposed membership of the new Board included the Chairman of the City Bridge Trust or their representative, and advised that he would be recommending that Deputy Ken Ayers sit as the representative of The City Bridge Trust Committee.

RESOLVED: That, subject to the approval of the Court of Common Council:-

·      approval be given to the  aims and objectives, outline investment strategy and governance arrangements (including altering the Terms of Reference of the Investment Committee) as set out in the report for the future management of the City of London Corporation’s Social Investment Fund activities;

·      the Post-Implementation Review Working Party be advised of the proposed governance arrangements in order to inform its work; and,

·      the Town Clerk be authorised to make any necessary adjustments to Standing Orders to reflect the arrangements recommended in this report.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer detailing the mission and vision underpinning the City Philanthropy – a Wealth of Opportunity initiative and the activities that are currently being undertaken in order to deliver this project, as well as setting out proposals for future activities to promote philanthropy in the City.

          In response to Members’ queries, the Chief Grants Officer advised that Alderman Roger Gifford would be participating in the judging of the Beacon Awards and also that she herself would be involved as a scrutineer.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

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

Some Members commented that they were yet to be advised of the dates of the monitoring visits they had volunteered to participate in; whilst it was appreciated that some of the visits could not take place for several months it was asked that officers look in to the possibility of setting dates anyway to ensure that there was availability in Members’ diaries.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer (copy attached).

The Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer providing Members with an update on progress made towards achieving the objectives set out in the City Bridge Trust business plan for 2012-13.

RESOLVED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Sports Funding

The Chairman commented that he was aware of a question which had been raised in advance of the meeting seeking details as to the Trust’s funding of organisations linked with sporting activities for disabled people, an issue of particular relevance in the wake of the London 2012 games.

A summary table providing information of those grants relating to disability sports activities which the Trust had awarded in the current financial year was circulated, evidencing over £500,000 of funding which had been distributed to a wide range of charitable sporting organisations. Further, the Chief Grants Officer advised that officers were currently looking into the possibility of rebranding the Disability Arts & Sports scheme as a Paralympic legacy initiative as part of a re-launch of the programme. A Member, also the Deputy Chairman of the 2012 Sub-Committee, cautioned that “Paralympic” was a protected term and so the legalities of any arrangement would need to be fully explored with the International Paralympic Committee. He further advised that any rebranding would need to be communicated very clearly, referencing an upcoming dinner which Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, would be attending and mentioning the possibility of announcing any planned initiative at such an event.

There were no 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 as follows:-

Item No                                                                                  Exempt Paragraphs

19                                                                                                        3

RESOLVED: - That under Section 100 A (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 as follows:-

Item No                                                                       Exempt Paragraphs

19                                                                                              3                   

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 18 July 2012 (copy attached).

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2012 were approved.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.