Agenda item

Report of the Chief Funding Director

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Funding Director providing an update on key areas of activity and outlining upcoming activities. The Chief Funding Director introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the key points, also updating the Committee on a recent visit to Lincoln as part of the LocalMotion Programme.

End to End Review

The Chief Funding Director advised that a Project Manager had been appointed and that focus so far had been on defining the scope and parameters of the review. Terms of reference for the core and advisory group were being developed alongside a detailed project plan, with a further update to be brought to the September meeting of the Committee.

In response to a question from a Member, the Chief Funding Director advised that working with other funders on best practice was within the scope of the review, and that the use of the phrase ‘customer experience’ could be amended to refer specifically to grantees.

Anchor Programme

The Chief Funding Director advised the Committee that 173 applications had been received as part of the programme, with 15 to be taken forward, adding that the high volume of applications demonstrated the demand for this type of funding. The Chief Funding Director added that officers were assessing the work so far for learning points in respect of the programme. In response to a question from the Chair, officers advised that CBT currently had 787 active grantees, although this was unusually high owing to the additional programme funding uplifts to support over 350 grant-holders with increased demand and increased costs.

Learning Visits

The Deputy Chair spoke positively about a learning visit that she had attended the previous week and encouraged Members to attend when they could, adding that there had been great feedback for CBT and very positive recognition of their work. The Chair added that he hoped the number of learning visits per year could be increased.

The Committee was advised that the intention was for 50 learning visits to take place during this year, jointly between Members and Funding Managers, with it aimed to approach the programme as equitably as possible, noting the previous experiences of some organisations. It was hoped that each Member of the BHE Board and the Funding Committee could attend one visit per year, with some having been scheduled.

CBT Audit

In response to a question from a Member, officers advised that CBT functions were captured within Crowe’s audit of the whole of BHE, with planning work for the next audit of having started recently. CBT had also been audited by the City of London Corporation’s internal audit function in the past, with another internal audit expected in the near future.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.