Agenda item

Report of the Chief Grants Officer.

The Committee received the regular progress report of the Chief Grants Officer and discussed the updates provided.

Hate Crime/Social Cohesion

The Chief Grants Officer advised there had been a number of discussions regarding the impact of Brexit and the Trust remained in touch with the consultations and work being undertaken in City Hall and with umbrella bodies. Although there was no one-single initiative, the need for greater understanding of the emerging context would be crucial in the Strategic Review.

Association of Charitable Foundations

The Chief Grants Officer reported that, on 3 November, a number of officers and the Chairman had attended the ACF’s annual conference held at BMA House. Members queried the value of attendance and were assured of its importance and usefulness. Members therefore asked that early notice of, and invitations to, next year’s conference be sent to all Committee Members.

CBT Strategic Review

The Head of Strategic Review reported that the Project Steering Group had met twice and external-facing conversations were underway. She reported that she had met with the Chairman to discuss the best ways to ensure the engagement of Members throughout the process and advised that dedicated sessions would be held and updates regularly provided to ensure a two-way flow of information. She encouraged Members to contact her for further information or to feed-in at any stage of the process.

Communications

The Chief Grants Officer thanked Kristina Drake, new Media Officer for the Trust, who had secured media activity and a number of publications since starting.

Resources/Financial Resources

The Chief Grants Officer commended the work of Karen Atkinson since her appointment as Head of Charity and Social Investment Finance. He advised that very positive working arrangements had been established between the Chamberlain’s Department and CBT with a focus on improvements to due diligence and financial management information, and that a review of the Bridge House Estates accounts and revenue projections had been instigated. Members requested that an updated organisational chart be circulated.

Age UK

The Chief Grants Officer introduced the table of Age UK grants made by the Trust over the past five years. He advised that all Age UK branches were separately constituted and were independent charities in their own right. They were members of the Age England Association, and paid a subscription, but were under no obligation to be so. In response to Members’ questions, officers advised that the central AGE UK office would have no access to monies granted to one of the ‘satellite’ charities, and the Trust’s grants were funding projects local to those organisations.

Central Grants Programme

Although the Central Grants Programme was separate from the work of the Trust, the Chief Grants Officer advised that the Central Grants Unit was situated within the CBT team. As such, the resourcing of posts was important to ensure officer time would be charged to the relevant charities, and work was underway to confirm and clarify arrangements.

Grant Commitments Under Management

The Chief Grants Officer advised that the financial information provided to the Committee had been extended to include information on the proposed use of the remaining budget and, to complement this, introduced a new table which summarised full extent of grants currently under on-going management by Grants Officers.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.