Agenda item

Report of the Divisional Director of Community and Culture

The Chair welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Community and Cultural Services and the Divisional Director of Cultural Services to the meeting.  The Portfolio Holder introduced the report which provided an overview of Council support to the Voluntary Sector and an update on the implementation of the Third Sector Strategy.

The Divisional Director of Community and Cultural Services outlined the background to the report, the current situation, the way in which each of the three objectives of the Third Sector Strategy had been delivered to date, some of the highlights and work for the future.  Both the Divisional Director and Portfolio Holder offered to provide the Committee with an annual update on the Strategy.

During the discussion on this item Members made comments and asked questions as follows:

·                    A Member stated that whilst transparency in the grants process was important he was concerned about the scoring of the applications.  Scoring removed judgement and he was not convinced that was helpful as had been seen with the Shopmobility application earlier that year.  He added that it may be that those organisations that completed the application form well that received a grant and suggested that maybe a more common sense approach should be taken.  The Divisional Director acknowledged the difficulties but advised that as applications requested funding for triple the amount available in the budget there needed to be a clear and transparent process in place.  The grants process was reviewed annually and, following the most recent review, this year’s application focused on outcomes and the need the organisations had identified.  The Portfolio Holder added that there was cross party evaluation of the applications and that there was a fine balance in terms of judgement.

·                    The London Councils Grants Scheme was not mentioned in the report and a Member expressed concern that the Council viewed this as free money.  The strategy should include reference as to how the repatriation of London Council funding would be dealt with.  Another Member advised that London Councils had agreed the budget that day and that a reduction in the budget to £11.5m had been recommended.  Two thirds of London Boroughs would be required to agree this by 31 January 2012.  The Divisional Director advised that the London Councils funding tended to be targeted disproportionately to inner London Boroughs.  She undertook to take the comments on board.

·                    A Member sought clarification on the phased transition to commissioning and how it worked in practice.  The Divisional Director advised that work was currently underway and officers were looking to identify the first pilot(s) in consultation with the Voluntary and Community Sector which would begin with a workshop at the end of January 2012.  There would be a report to Cabinet in March 2012.

·                    A Member questioned how support could be given fairly and suggested that discretionary rate relief could be considered.  The Divisional Director responded that consistency and transparency of support was important and that Finance was currently doing consultation on discretionary rate relief.  Another Member stated that he had been unable to find any reference to this consultation on the Council’s website and emphasised the need for the website to be up to date.

·                    A Member questioned how much money the voluntary sector brought into the borough and was advised that it would be suggested to the voluntary service representatives that they might want to consider this.  There were 600 organisations in Harrow, of which 38 were funded by the Council through the Main Grants Programme.

·                    In response to a Member’s comment that an analysis should be done of organisations viability and longevity, the Divisional Director advised that a financial review of those organisations applying for funding was carried out before any grant was given.

·                    Referring to objective 3, a Member sought clarification on the longer term funding arrangements.  The Divisional Director advised that commissioning would give organisations more certainty for a 3 year period whereas the grants process was annual.

·                    A Member questioned whether any analysis was done on the overall external funding streams lost by organisations in the current financial climate.  The Divisional Director advised that the grants process was competitive and officers could not determine who would apply.  Sixty organisations had attended the workshops run by the Council to offer assistance with the process. She added that some external funding organisations, such as the Heritage Lottery fund, had more (not less) funding available.

·                    A Member stated that the Association of London Government, the predecessor of London Councils, had funded some organisations year after year and he questioned how the Council could ensure that organisations/groups did not automatically receive funding for historical reasons.  The Divisional Director stated that it was a competitive process and some organisations that were funded previously had not been this year.  The Portfolio Holder added that workshop sessions had aimed to improve the skills of those completing the application form and that whilst large organisations did receive the most funding, there was a separate budget this year for smaller organisations.  He acknowledged the Member’s comments about the need for an increased budget in this area.

·                    In response to a Member’s question in relation to the transformation fund, the Interim Director of Finance advised that the Council was in a forecast over spend position.  In terms of general new bids there was £470,000 remaining and, in relation to the restructure, £1m, but that this would not be the case at year end. In terms of commissioning, she added that the Council’s resources should be allocated in accordance with the priorities and by what the Council was trying to achieve.

·                    In response to a Member’s question as to whether unsuccessful applicants were provided with details of other potential sources of funding, the Divisional Director advised that the Council had an External Funding Officer who sent regular emails to voluntary service organisations.  Regular workshops were also held by the Community Development Team and there would be a workshop targeting sports organisations with input from the Big Lottery Fund and Sport England in January 2012.

The Chair thanked the Portfolio Holder and officer for their attendance and the responses provided.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)               the progress against the action plan for the Third Sector Strategy and current developments regarding Council support to the Voluntary Sector be noted;

(2)               the proposed updated actions set out at Appendix 4 to the report of the Divisional Director of Community and Culture be noted.