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 Members:-

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Panel;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 8 – Grant Recommendations for Outcomes Based Grants 2013-16 and Small Grants Funding 2013-14

Councillor Nana Asante declared a non-pecuniary interest in that her involvement with the Voluntary and Community Sector Forum meant she had contact with all the member organisations, and in particular Age UK Harrow, Harrow Law Centre, Harrow Women’s Centre and Harrow Mencap.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

CouncillorManji Kara declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of his involvement with Age UK and Bentley Priory Nature Reserve.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor John Nickolay declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of his involvement with Harrow Borough Football Club.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Joyce Nickolay declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Bentley Priory Nature Reserve Committee.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

Councillor Bill Phillips declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of his involvement with Harrow Association of Disabled People, Crossroads, Harrow Bereavement Care and Harrow Mencap.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

CouncillorSasi Suresh declared a non-pecuniary interest by virtue of her involvement with Harrow Tamil Association and Harrow Tamil School Association.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

DevenPillay, Panel Adviser, declared an interest as an employee of Harrow Mencap.  He would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 July 2012, and the minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2012, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meetings held on 30 July 2012 and 11 September 2012, be taken as read and signed as correct records.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that the following public questions had been received:

1.

2.

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 49 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

Petition regarding grant funding for Harrow Shopmobility

The Panel received a petition, signed by 494 people.  The terms of the petition were as follows:

“We the undersigned urge Harrow Council to reconsider its decision not to grant funding to Harrow Shopmobility in this coming year”.

The petition was accompanied by a letter from a resident and service user setting out the issues she faced and the support she received from Harrow Shopmobility.

RESOLVED:  That the petition be received and referred to the Corporate Director of Community, Health and Wellbeing for consideration.

Petition regarding grant funding for Harrow Women’s Centre

The Panel received a petition, signed by 575 people.  The terms of the petition were as follows:

“If the Harrow Women’s Centre was not to receive the Local Authority Grant for 2013-2014 and is forced to shut down, it would be a threat to women’s rights to support against extreme poverty, depression, isolation and domestic violence; women who are the backbone of every family and community, their breakdown will cause a collapse of the whole social system.”

RESOLVED:  That the petition be received and referred to the Corporate Director of Community, Health and Wellbeing for consideration.

RESOLVED:  That, in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 25.1, the Portfolio Holder for Community and Cultural Services, who was not a Member of the Committee, be allowed to speak at the meeting.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

The Panel, in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 34.1.1., (Part 4D of the Constitution), agreed to suspend the executive procedure rules by motion in order to receive a deputation by Harrow Association of Disabled People, which had been received late and had not met the full requirements for a deputation.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 34.1.1., (Part 4D of the Constitution), a deputation led by Harrow Association of Disabled People be received.

(2)               in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution), the following deputations be received:

1.        HarrowShopmobility

The deputee acknowledged the difficulties faced by the Panel in recommending its allocation of grants.  Harrow Shopmobility understood the link between grants and the delivery of outcomes, and had made an application under the target of helping Harrow residents to lead independent and fulfilling lives.  She asked if the sum of £75,000, ring-fenced for the infrastructure organization, represented value for money.

She stated that this would be the third year in which Harrow Shopmobility would have to appeal the decision, and that uncertainty about the receipt and level of grant made it impossible to plan their service, which they were anxious to expand. 

The Chair responded that the three year funding programme had been introduced as a measure to give stability, and allow organisations to plan and lever in additional funding.

The deputee thanked the Panel for listening, and expressed her hope that they would make good decisions.

2.        Deputation Led by Harrow Association of Disabled People

Fourdeputees, all members of voluntary sector organisations, spoke in support of the deputation. 

The first deputee stated that there had been a 25% cut in funding without any prior consultation with the voluntary sector, and that while they welcomed the extra £100,000, it was not enough to breach the gap, and some organisations might have to close as a result of the loss of funding.

She continued that research suggested that for every £1 of investment in the voluntary sector resulted in £3 worth of service to the community, which was extremely good value.  Voluntary sector organisations were able to operate within tight budgets and at low costs.  It was unlikely that local authorities would be able to provide similar services at a comparable cost.  She added that as a group, they had many good and innovative ideas about service delivery, and she asked that Portfolio Holders and Corporate Directors should meet with them and take their proposals seriously.

The second deputee commented that the voluntary sector had been encouraged to increase activity to compensate for the reduction or withdrawal of services, and that this cut, which had been an arbitrary reduction, was a breach of faith with the sector, as they would not be in a position to deliver their services.

The third deputee said that the Council needed to consult with the sector prior to making decisions, and should look for solutions together.

The fourth deputee concurred with all the previous  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

Report of the Corporate Director, Community Health and Wellbeing

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, this report was submitted following agenda publication as it had not been available at the time the main agenda was printed and circulated.

The Panel received the report of the Corporate Director of Community, Health and Wellbeing, which set out information regarding applications that had been made for Council funding under the Outcomes Based Grants programme for 2013-16 and the Small Grants programme for 2013-14.  Members noted that there was also a confidential part to the report which was appended elsewhere on the agenda.

An officer outlined the changes to the process, in particular the move to a three year funding programme, and advised the Panel on the numbers of applications received, the process by which applications had been assessed, including measures for quality assurance, and the support provided to organisations in submitting their applications.

Members considered the recommendation to ring-fence £75,000 for an infrastructure support service.  The Chair sought views as to whether it would be preferable to reduce the amount to £50,000, and release more funds for grants. The Panel Adviser expressed his personal view that an independent, overarching organisation, accountable to member groups, should be properly funded as it would provide a much needed focus and voice for the voluntary sector, although he added this might not be a universal opinion among voluntary sector organisations.  He also stated that it should be funded separately from the Grants budget.  Members discussed the purpose and viability of such an organisation, and a majority felt that it could provide vital co-ordination, support and information for local voluntary sector organisations, particularly in signposting them to other funding streams.

The Panel Adviser commented that any cut in funding would have an impact, and while some organisations might be able to adjust, others would not.  A Member added that organisations making grant applications for specific projects would be very concerned if their bid did not secure all the funds required to deliver the project.  The Panel Adviser suggested that if the Council could agree strategic priorities, then they could allocate funds accordingly.  Another Member commented that if groups received only a proportion of their bid, they could still use it well, and it would be her preference to see more groups supported even if the amounts were lower.

A Member commented that the choice appeared to be to fund specific, deliverable projects to the level required, or to fund as many organisations as possible.  He said that ‘match funding’ could have been an option, but it was too late to consider this option at this stage in the process.

An officer then outlined the choices before Members in determining their preference for the allocation of funds.  A range of values was set out in an appendix, and Members considered how the different permutations would impact on successful and unsuccessful applicants, and to what extent their ability to deliver projects would be affected.  Members sought clarification as to how applicants would renegotiate their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124.

Report of the Corporate Director, Community Health and Wellbeing

The Panel received the report of the Corporate Director of Community, Health and Wellbeing, which set out information on the monitoring of grants awarded under the Main Grants Programme 2012-13 and included information provided by organisations on their projects or services as part of the mid-year monitoring process.

A Member commented that this was an excellent report, which provided detailed information on the performance of organisations in receipt of grant funding, and he expressed his thanks for the work done by officers in compiling the report.  The Chair concurred, and added that this represented the result of a desire for continuous improvement on the part of officers and the Panel.  Another Member praised the interactive questionnaire which was available electronically.

An officer informed the Panel that although the process had been delayed as a result of two assessment processes running simultaneously, all responses had now been received.  She reported that at the mid-year point, 15,000 residents had received support via grant funded organisations, with a full year target of 63,000.  There had been more partnership working than ever before, numbers of volunteers had increased, and many organisations had managed to secure additional funding from other sources.  Services generally had been adversely affected by an increase in demand, and poor weather during the summer, but despite this the main concern for voluntary sector organisations remained the uncertainty of future funding.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               the report be noted;

(2)               officers be commended for a quality report and thanked for their hard work in producing it.

To resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence, or of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972:

RESOLVED:  That in accordance with Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item for the reasons set out below:

Report of the Corporate Director, Community Health and Wellbeing

Members received a confidential report of the Corporate Director of Community, Health and Wellbeing which related to a public report appearing elsewhere on the agenda.  Members sought clarification on details and information provided in the confidential papers.

In accordance with the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 33.2 (Part 4B of the Constitution) it was

RESOLVED:  At

(1)               9.55 pm to continue until 10.10 pm; and

(2)               at 10.05 pm to continue until 10.30 pm.