Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  That

(a)               the following personal interests were declared and that all Members remained in the room during the discussion and voting:

Item 7: Grant Funding 2010/11

Councillor Nana Asante -

Councillor Manji Kara -

·                    Ashiana Charitable Trust

·                    Bentley Priory Nature Reserve Management Committee

·                    Harrow Mencap

·                    Harrow Iranian Community Association

·                    Indian Association of Harrow

·                    Sangat Advice Centre

·                    St. Luke’s Hospice (Harrow and Brent)

·                    Welldon Activity Group

Councillor Jean Lammiman -

·                    Harrow Association of Disabled People

·                    Harrow Association of Voluntary Services (HAVS)

·                    Harrow In Europe Committee

·                    Relate North West London

·                    Harrow Teenage Cancer Trust

·                    Harrow Young Musicians

Councillor Myra Michael -

·                    Age Concern Harrow

·                    Harrow In Europe Committee

·                    Home Start Harrow

Councillor Joyce Nickolay -

·                    Harrow Association of Voluntary Services (HAVS)

·                    Harrow In Europe Committee

·                    Bentley Priory Nature Reserve Management Committee

·                    Harrow Weald Common Conservators

Councillor Asad Omar -

·                    Harrow Inter-Faith Council

(b)               Councillor Joyce Nickolay declared a prejudicial interest in Welldon Activity Group, in that her husband sat on the Management Board.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2010 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2010 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 16 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  That Committee Procedure Rule 16.3 (Part 4E of the Constitution) be suspended in order to receive three public questions from the following organisations, in relation to agenda item 7, Grant Funding 2010/11:

1.

2.

3.

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

In accordance with Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4E of the Constitution), the Panel received a petition submitted on behalf of the Alan Senitt Memorial Trust with one signature.  The terms of the petition were as follows:

“If we had been contacted with the assessment results as shown we would have been able to provide the further information required to enable a proper assessment to take place.

1.                  The applicant has not identified the need for the service.  There is limited information about Shared Futures project and the evaluation of the pilot project. The service is needed so as to give young people the skills and the confidence to take active leadership roles within their own and the wider community, to learn the value of volunteering, to learn about working with people of different races and religions for the benefit of greater community cohesion.  Shared Futures is a government-backed project for schools-linking for the benefit of greater community cohesion.  Part of the evaluation of the pilot project is and was available but we are still awaiting the final report from the independent evaluation;

2.                  The applicant has demonstrated how it will address the funding priorities and expected outcomes. If this statement is correct I am unsure what else we need to do on this point;

3.                  It is not clear if the project will be delivering in the same schools next year. Only one school listed is in Harrow.  The project is continuing in the same 4 schools this year but it is hoped to extend out to 2 more schools next year. It is taking place with Nower Hill High as that was the school that Alan, and his siblings, attended.  We do not request full funding for the project because the course crosses several boroughs;

4.                  The applicant has not stated how they will target young people from different backgrounds.  Categories are based on current participants. It is clear that people of different races and religions are targeted as we are working with schools of different faiths;

5.                  The applicant has not stated who and how many young people will benefit from the project.  The information provided is based on current participants, not on who will benefit in the future. As one of the purposes of the project is to link schools of different faiths this will always be the case.  The number of participants will increase in each year where we add the project to more schools timetables;

6.                  They have not stated how much they are requesting. Again there is nothing else to say on this point other than to say we were aware that we did not apply for full funding of the project and we were aware that we may only be considered for part of the funds we had applied for;

7.                  The budget provided is not clear and realistic - further breakdown required. Further breakdown was not requested.  The budget is clearly set out;

8.                  Not clear if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 212.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

[Note:  The Panel’s policy (Minute 60:  28.07.03) in principle is not to receive deputations relating to individual grant applications].

[Note:  The Panel's policy (Minute 13: 06.07.06) is to receive deputations annually at its November meeting].

RESOLVED:  That Committee Procedure Rule 15.7 (Part 4E of the Constitution) be suspended in order to receive deputations from the following organisations, in relation to agenda item 7, Grant Funding 2010/11:

A representative from the Sangat Advice Centre advised that:

·                    he would now initiate an appeal, having been made aware of the process.

A representative from the Harrow Healthy Living Centre contended that:

·                    the scoring system should be consistently applied and form the basis for the Grant funding process;

·                    to her knowledge Harrow Healthy Living Centre provided a unique  service to young people in Wealdstone.

In response to a question from a Member of the Panel regarding the outcome the organisation expected, the representative stated that:

·                    she anticipated that the grant request would be enthusiastically received due to the lack of provisions available to young people in Wealdstone;

·                    she anticipated that 80% of the grant amount requested would be provided.

A representative from Harrow Mencap reported that:

·                    the key criteria used by officers for assessing and scoring applicants should be published and be integral to the application forms;

·                    any weighting applied to certain criteria should be made explicit at the start of the assessment process;

·                    any determining factors for recommendation of funding should be central to the assessment criteria, published and applied consistently to all grant applications.

In response to a question from a Member, regarding the Grants process, the representative stated that:

·                    although additional funds had been made available, the transparency and equitability of the current applications process had not been addressed;

·                    the process should be made fairer for new organisations applying for funding.

Report of the Divisional Director Community and Cultural Services.

The Panel received a report of the Corporate Director Community and Environment, which set out the applications received from the Voluntary and Community Sector for grant funding for 2010/11.  The report also set out the process undertaken to determine the allocations, and the Council’s commitment to establish a new Equalities Body and maintain Harrow Weald Common. 

Prior to the consideration of the proposals the Chairman proposed that Appendix 1 to the report, which set out the levels of grants recommended to individual organisations, be replaced with revised proposals which were circulated at the meeting.  Upon agreement that the revised proposals be considered, a further amendment was received.  Following a vote this second amendment was lost.

The meeting was adjourned for ten minutes to allow the Panel and members of the public time to consider the implications of the revised proposals. 

The Panel also received deputations from the Sangat Advice Centre, Harrow Healthy Living Centre and Harrow Mencap.  Questions received from Harrow Mencap, Age Concern, Middlesex Association of The Blind and Flash Musicals were responded to.  A petition from The Alan Senitt Memorial Trust was noted.   A representation from the Pakistan Society of Harrow was also reported at the meeting.  The Chairman referred to the issues raised by those who had addressed the meeting, and stated that their suggestions would be incorporated into the proposed future evaluation process.

A Member stated that she felt the grants process would need careful evaluation in terms of the advice given to organisations during the application process.  She added that consultation with the political groups within the Council would be advantageous.

The Adviser to the Panel voiced his appreciation of the efforts made by officers and Members in attempting to achieve a more transparent process.  He felt it was necessary to apply objective criteria that were fair to organisations and to move forward as part of the evaluation and review process.

In response to a question, the Corporate Director Community and Environment stated that officers would monitor specific equalities issues.  A Member was concerned that the work undertaken in relation to equalities had not been given consideration in an impact assessment.

The Panel noted the officer’s report and acknowledged the work that had been carried out in developing and administering a new assessment process, following Cabinet’s acceptance of recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee review.  The Panel also noted that the marketing of the grants process this year and the support provided through the grants workshops had stimulated an unprecedented level of demand for grants compared to previous years.  It was recognised that a new process would inevitably result in successful outcomes for some organisations and less successful outcomes for others.  The assessment process had led to uncertainty, and further work was required in this area.  As a consequence, and given the importance attached to the Voluntary and Community Sector, it was proposed that Cabinet be requested to agree a one-off payment for 2010/11, to ensure that no currently-funded organisation, which had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 214.