53 Approach to Community Funding for 2021/22 and 2022/23 PDF 709 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolutions: That Cabinet;
a) Approved the proposed interim Community Funding Grant Policy for West Northants Council 2021 to end of March 2023.
c) Approved the Councillor Covid Support Fund of £232,500 for 2021/22 to aid Covid recovery of our local communities, note the use of Covid Recovery Fund to finance this scheme in 2021/22 and agree that officers complete a review of the scheme and its funding source prior to 2022/23.
Reason for Resolutions;
Community Funding Grant Policy:
a) WNC acknowledged there has been a six-month gap (since Vesting Day) in the council awarding small grants to our local community and voluntary organisations (CVS). This presents a risk to the continuation of essential local support and services. Therefore, Cabinet approval is sought to enable WNC to launch the interim Community Funding Grant Policy.
b) The recommendation to produce one interim policy with one community funding scheme for West Northants provides a consistent approach to community funding grant awards across West Northants.
c) The policy enables the council to take a more strategic approach to investment into CVS organisations, aligned to meet identified needs and the councils adopted corporate priorities.
d) Approval of the policy enables the application and award for grants process, in turn benefiting our local communities through funding that helps sustain and invent new activity to address the local needs.
f) The recommendation for delegated authority to officers will ensure applicants receive funding awards in the most expedient timescale.
Councillor Covid Support Fund 2021-22:
a) To support our local communities to recover from the impact of Covid during the remainder of the 2021-22 financial year.
b) To provide WNC Councillors with a consistent and expedient mechanism for making local grant awards to community and voluntary groups.
c) To draw upon the local knowledge of Councillors best placed to identify local groups, organisations and/or communities at most risk due to Covid impact and in most need for grant awards.
Alternative Options
a) Continuing the model of sovereign council community funding. This model would see decision making and awarding of community funding implemented on a locality basis (Northampton; Daventry; South Northants). This option is not recommended ... view the full decision text for item 53
Minutes:
At the Chairman’s invitation Councillor David Smith presented the report, copies of which had been previously circulated.
Councillors made the following comments.
Councillor Mike Hallam advised that this would allow the Council to move forward as required, and that increasing to a three year cycle could be looked at. He advised that parish councils can’t apply, but that they have other avenues open to them.
Councillor Adam Brown noted that use of this fund would be monitored.
Councillor Fiona Baker had been disappointed with the time taken to create this but understood that a lot of work had taken place. Many voluntary organisations had not been able to fund raise due to covid, so this fund would be important.
Councillor Phil Larratt queried whether councillors could go through parish councils in order to fund some organisations, noting that some smaller ones might not have bank accounts etc.
Councillor Malcolm Longley advised councillors that this had been a one-off fund that was covid related, which meant care needed to be taken when allocating funds. Councillors must be sure, for this fund, that any projects should be covid-related.