Agenda item

Members discussed the application, asking for and receiving further assurance from the Comptroller & City Solicitor that this application was not seeking to substitute existing funding from elsewhere in the City of London Corporation. Heart of the City was eligible to secure funding from the City Bridge Trust under existing policies, and the City Corporation’s role in the Heart of the City charity did not give rise to a conflict of interest.

In response to a Member’s concern, officers advised that Heart of the City would not duplicate work being done by other charities, and confirmed that this application had been subject to the same due diligence as all other applications. Members requested that the charity be requested to consider inviting a representative from the City Bridge Trust to join its Board.

RESOLVED – That:

(a)  A grant of £278,328 over three years (£118,820; £102,008; £57,500) to Heart of the City be approved, to roll out its Corporate Social Responsibility Newcomer programme across Greater London and to deepen the connections between the London business sector and the voluntary and community sector, building on the combined networks of the charity and City Bridge Trust; and

(b)  The Heart of the City be requested to consider inviting a representative from the City Bridge Trust to join its Board.