greenwood

1.1 The Grants Task Group has concluded their work of reviewing the Central Grant Funding procedures of the Council and this report presents their findings to this, their parent committee.

2.1 Members will recall that the Task Group’s remit is to devise a system for the effective, fair, and open administration of grant applications to the Council. There are a number of issues to be resolved within this aim, including those of identifying a budget, disseminating information across the organisation, creating application conditions & evaluation criteria and of establishing and administrating a clear and equitable process.

3.1 As has been reported to members previously, the central grants budget is currently fully allocated to a few organisations via service level agreements, leaving no sums disposable for any central grant funding applications. The Grants Task Group has been carrying out substantial work researching all of the grants currently made by the council and investigating with relevant officers those that might be surrendered and transferred to a new central grants budget with effect from 1^st April, 2003, along with the administration involved with those organisations currently in receipt. The assembled budget for 2003/04 is set out overleaf and has been agreed by Heads of Service:

Directorate	Description	Budget	Notes
Corporate & Environment Services	Solent Protection Society	£10	Contact: Andrew Ashcroft.
	Ryde Lifeguards	£250	Annual sum for ground rent on premises and slipway. Rolling annual payment. Inherited from Medina BC on reorganisation. Contact: Trish Stillman.
	Vernon Square Preservation Society	£1,400	For maintenance of Vernon Square (the gardens in the square itself). Rolling annual sum. Inherited from Medina BC on reorganisation. Contact: Chris Hougham.
	Solent Sea Rescue Organisation	£4,914	Coastal sea rescue scheme (small craft) inherited from Medina BC on reorganisation. Granted annually on rolling basis. Contact: Andrew Ashcroft.
Education & Community Development	IW Symphony Orchestra	£3,500	Historical unregulated arrangement from IWCC pre re-organisation. Rolling annual grant. Contact: John Metcalfe (Maria Wilkinson).
Social Services & Housing	Samaritans	£512	Contact: Helen Betts.
	IW Tinnitus Group	£52	Contact: Helen Betts.
	National Asthma Society	£332	Contact: Helen Betts.
	Frontline (debt advice)	£1,088	SLA. Contact: Helen Betts.
TOTAL: £12,058

3.2 Although the initial amount is small, it will nevertheless allow for a proper process to be created and operated, enabling applicants to be subject to an open and fair evaluation process.

It is proposed that, upon approval and adoption of the application conditions and criteria, these organisations should be advised of the new procedure and asked to apply if they wish for funding for 2003/04. Any applications received as a result will be subject to the new framework alongside any other applicants for central grant aid. The budget will then be allocated until either it is exhausted or all applicants considered suitable are satisfied. Other organisations that apply for funding during the course of the financial year will either be taken through the process if some budget remains, or advised that the year’s budget is fully subscribed and invited to make application for the ensuing year if they wish.

4.1 The Task Group have considered how such a scheme might best be administered, and members will recall that at the meeting of this committee on 19^th June, it was agreed to recommend that the assessment and evaluation of central grant funding should be outsourced to the Rural Community Council (RCC) at a cost of £500 per annum. This can best be achieved by including the requisite conditions within the revised Service Level Agreement to be negotiated to take effect from 1^st April next.

5.1 It is the Task Group’s view that they should have an ongoing role encompassing two prime areas:

First, that it should oversee an annual review of the central grant fund provision, timed to coincide with the council’s budget round, and investigate with departments which further grants could be transferred to the central grant fund, together with their administration.

Second, that it should monitor the operation of the proposed central grant funding arrangements and, after an appropriate introductory period, review the system and recommend any changes that may refine or improve it.

6.1 The Task Group has worked together with the RCC to devise appropriate application criteria which can be found at Appendix B.

Members will note that there are two sets; one applying to applicant organisations, and another relating to individuals. Although the Task Group suggests that the first set should be recommended for approval, they felt that those conditions to applying to individuals would benefit from wider discussion within this committee.

7.1 There currently is no council-wide list or database of grants made by the council as a whole. We are therefore vulnerable to providing double funding, lack a widely accessible history of applicants performance with previously funded projects or services, and have no easily accessible overall perception of how council grant funding is balanced between, for example, cultural, sporting and community aims.

7.2 The Task Group therefore proposes that a corporate grants database is created, recording such information as how much is given to whom for what purpose, and who the lead officer may be. These lead officers would be obligated to maintain the details relating to the grant applications with which they deal. The database would be made available on the council’s Intranet for entry or maintenance of data, or simply for reference.

From this source, information could be readily gathered for inclusion in committee reports and to provide an additional perspective for the evaluation of applications.

8.1 There are no implications regarding the assembly of the central grants budget as these sums already lie within individual Directorates’ provisions.

RECOMMENDATION

That the following recommendations be made to the Executive*:

1. That the budget transfers set out in 3.1 be made to take effect from 1^st April, 2003.

2. That the Application Criteria for Central Grant Funding be adopted with effect from 1^st April, 2003.

3. That a Corporate Grants database be developed on the Council’s Intranet.

4. That the Grants Task Group adopts an oversight role in respect of central grant funding.

*These recommendations would be in addition to that already made at the 19^th June’s meeting of this committee, which was: “That the assessment and evaluation of central grant funding be outsourced to the RCC at the cost of £500 which would be incorporated in to the SLA for 2003/06.”