Agenda item

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26 September 2022.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 26 September 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

Matters Arising

The Committee noted that the application in respect of Do It Now Now CIC had received additional scrutiny at the BHE Board meeting on 15 November, with a Member commenting that they had raised points relating to the governance of and engagement with the organisation that should also have raised at the previous Committee meeting. The Chair noted that the Committee’s endorsement of the grant had been subject to conditions, and invited the Managing Director of BHE to comment.

The Managing Director of BHE assured the Committee that funding would not be released without certain criteria being satisfied, including that the CIC’s Board had a minimum of 3 appointed directors in accordance with CBT’s requirements for funding. The Managing Director of BHE added that legal advice had been sought from the Comptroller & City Solicitor’s Department, and reiterated that all relevant inquiries would be made and all funding requirements and conditions would need to be satisfied before the funding was released. The Comptroller & City Solicitor confirmed that they were satisfied that the proposed activities of the funded organisation fell within the applicant charity’s objects. The Chair thanked officers for their assurances, and asked that any relevant updates relating to the due diligence undertaken be reported to the Committee as appropriate.

The Chair then advised that the use of the term ‘historic underinvestment’ had been discussed at the BHE Board meeting, and that this would sometimes need to be evidenced and explained in a clearer way within reports, with officers to take this away for consideration going forward.