Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

NB: This report will also have been considered by your Resource Allocation Sub-Committee earlier this day.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Town Clerk concerning the implementation of the Grants Review.

The Chairman pointed out that the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee had also considered the report and had recommended approval subject to the Finance Committee Chairman’s Discretionary Fund of £10,000 being abolished.

Members questioned the ratio of the resources required to run the Central Grants Unit in comparison to the amount of funds it would dispense. The Chief Grants Officer undertook to look at the resourcing of the unit. In the meantime, it was suggested that the reference to the approval of any resources for the Unit be removed. 

A Member stated that, whilst he understood the journey of the review and the proposed themes, it did not cover the grant made to the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA) of £42,000 each year. He advised that he was appointed by the City Corporation to serve on that body and referred to the valuable contribution that Defence and the RFCA made to the Lord Mayor’s Show. He questioned whether there were any other grants of this nature that might have been overlooked and whether sufficient flexibility had been built into the new arrangements to deal with matters such as this. Members were advised that funding for the RFCA was classified as on-going spend and not a grant. It therefore needed to be recognised as such in a relevant budget. Consideration was currently being given to it becoming part of the Remembrancer’s local risk budget. The Member expressed concern that funding for the RFCA had now come to an end and suggested that until a relevant departmental budget was established, the £42,000 required to support the Association for this year be met from the underspend on the Policy Initiative Fund or Committee contingency. The Chairman suggested, that in order for the Committee to make an informed decision on the request, a paper be prepared on the matter.

After further discussion, the Committee agreed to support the request for RFCA to be funded for a further year.

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the following-

1.   the grant programmes identified as in scope for immediate centralised administration, those under review, and those not in scope be noted;

2.   the following be agreed:-

·     transfer of funding commitments from Finance Grants Sub-Committee to the relevant Committees for on-going administration and request that each commitment be reviewed and reported back to this Committee no later than December 2016, except in cases where a specific review date had already been agreed;

·     the grant programme arrangements are reviewed in 2017/18 to align with City Bridge Trust’s next quinquennial review;

·     the four overarching funding themes for the grant programme (for 2016-2018) i.e. Stronger Communities; Education and Employment Support; Enjoying Open Spaces and the Natural Environment; and Inspiring London through Culture; and

·     the allocation of funding across the four funding themes as set out in the report.

3.   the Finance Committee Chairman’s Discretionary Fund of £10,000 be abolished;

4.   the Deputy Town Clerk be requested to report back on the staffing resources required for the Central Grants Unit; and

5.   for 2016/17 a sum of £42,000 be allocated from carry forwards in support of the RFCA, subject to the approval of the Chairman of the Finance Committee and that the cost of any future on-going support to the RFCA be met from the Remembrancer’s budget.