Issue - meetings

The following documents are attached:-

a)     Notices invoking the Call-ins

b)     Minutes of the Cabinet Meeting held on 7 April 2011

c)      Report submitted to the Cabinet Meeting held on 7 April 2011

The Chairman welcomed representatives of Harrow and Wealdstone Shopmobility and of Harrow Association of Disabled people (HAD), Harrow Mencap and Flash Musicals as the signatories to two call-in notices to the meeting.  He also welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Community and Culture, who was in attendance to respond to the call-in as part of a requirement of that process, the Corporate Director of Community and Environment and the Divisional Director of Community and Culture.  In accordance with Committee Rule 4.1.1, the Sub-Committee agreed that the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Business Transformation could speak at the meeting.

The Chairman, prior to the commencement of the consideration of the call-ins in relation to the decision made by Cabinet on 7 April 2011 on Grant Funding 2011/12, outlined the procedure to be followed at the meeting.  The call-in notice submitted by Harrow and Wealdstone Shopmobility contained 537 signatures and the notice submitted by HAD, Harrow Mencap, Flash Musicals and Harrow in Europe contained 421 signatures.  The representatives of the signatories to both notices confirmed that their call-in related to resolution (1) of the Cabinet decision.  The Chairman sought clarification as to the grounds for the call-ins and it was confirmed that Harrow and Wealdstone Shopmobility had cited 3 of the grounds set out in the Protocol (a, d and e) whilst the representatives of HAD, Harrow Mencap, Flash Musicals confirmed that 5 grounds (a,b,d,e and f) had been cited.

The Sub-Committee received the two notices that had invoked the call-in procedure, the report of the Corporate Director of Community and Environment submitted to Cabinet on 7 April 2011 on Grant Funding 2011/12 and the relevant minute of that meeting.  The Chairman invited Angela Dias (HAD), Deven Pillay (Harrow Mencap), Tony Revill (Flash Musicals), Gabrielle Branch and John Allright (Harrow and Wealdstone Shopmobility) to speak on behalf of the signatories.

Angela Dias, Deven Pillay and Tony Revill outlined each of the grounds raised in the call-in notice.  It was stated that a large number of service users would be affected by the Cabinet decision, staff could lose their jobs and Flash Musicals would not be able to function without the required funding.  The representatives stated that the decision meant that people with disabilities were being discriminated against.  During the course of their presentation, the representatives made the following additional points:

·                     The Grants Advisory Panel had not had sufficient time to look at the papers as they had been circulated the day before the meeting instead of the 5 clear working days required by the Council’s Constitution.  The Panel should have considered the Equality Impact Assessments (EIA).

·                     Cabinet had not agreed its Panel’s recommendations.

·                     The appeals process was too narrow was felt to lack a level of openness and integrity.

·                     The adverse effects of the Cabinet decision on service users had not been assessed.  Services provided by Harrow Mencap and Flash Musicals enabled users, who might otherwise suffer health problems, to work.  In addition, special needs workshops and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

Report of the Corporate Director Community and Environment.

The Portfolio Holder for Community and Cultural Services introduced the report, which set out the recommendations for the allocation of grants to the voluntary and community sector for 2011/12 together with the recommendations of the special meeting of the Grants Advisory Panel meeting held on 30 March 2011.

The Portfolio Holder stated that altogether, the Council had received 131 applications and the total amount requested was £2.3m.  However, the budget available to the Council was £600,000, as savings had been forced upon the Council by the government.  She commended the partnership working between the Council and the Voluntary Sector and the valuable work carried out by this Third Sector.  Compared to other local authorities that were either cutting their entire grant budgets or reducing them drastically, this Council was reducing its grant funding by 15% only.

The meeting was informed that, on the basis of the funding criteria, it was being recommended that those applications with a score of 95% or above be awarded 85% of the amount applied for subject to a number of conditions being met.  The report also recommended that 5% of the budget be set aside to fund appeals, amounting to a figure of £30,336.

The Portfolio Holder also drew attention to the recommendations of the Grants Advisory Panel, which, inter alia, proposed that all appeals be considered before final recommendations are made and that the appeals be considered by a Panel of Reserve Members.  She agreed in principle with the Grants Advisory Panel that decisions on appeals should be made quickly. However, having given due consideration to the Panel’s recommendations and having reflected on the experiences and lessons learnt from last year which resulted in significant delays for organisations, the Portfolio Holder proposed changes to the officer recommendations set out in the report, namely that a sub-paragraph 1(c) be added and recommendation 2 be replaced.  She added that the report also sought approval to ring-fence £20,781 to fund the development of support services to the voluntary sector to replace those previously provided by the former Harrow Association of Voluntary Services (HAVS).  This would be matched by £47,000 carried forward from the current year.

In addition, the report sought delegated authority to the Corporate Director Community and Environment, in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder, to withdraw grant offers from organisations that did not meet the conditions described in the report.  In commending the report to Cabinet with the changes proposed, as set out in the resolution below, the Portfolio Holder stated that she recognised the benefits the voluntary and community sector provided to Harrow’s diverse communities.

The Leader of the Council stated that the decision before Cabinet was difficult as some organisations would lose out but, the Council had a strong record of supporting the voluntary and community sector.  He further noted that a record number of applications had been received for 2011/12.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               grant recommendations for the 2011/12 Main Grants Programme, based on the assessment of applications described in the officer report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 192