Agenda and minutes

Zafar Saleem – Head of Service, Communities, Policy & Resilience

Noel Singh – Funding Manager

Andy Hayes – Funding and Grants Officer

Rosemary Whitelaw – Head of Democratic Services

Damien Buckley – Democratic Services Officer

Verity Graham – Charnwood Borough Council

Tracy Gaskin – Blaby District Council

Emma Trahearn – North West Leicestershire District Council

Dave Cliffe – Voluntary Action LeicesterShire

Gary Beharrell – Lloyds Bank Foundation

Annette Kendrick – Active Together

Oliver Savage – The National Lottery Community Fund (Via Microsoft Teams)

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2023 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

The press and public are likely to be excluded during the following items of business in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1982:

·         Feedback from other grant funders, other partners and stakeholders.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 3 and 10 of the Act and that, in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information –

·         Feedback from other grant funders, other partners and stakeholders.

An opportunity for members to ask questions of external organisations who also provide funding/investment into the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector.

(Exempt under paragraphs 1, 3 and 10).

The Panel considered written statements provided by BBC Children in Need and Locality, regarding the impact and value for money of grants programmes and investment into the local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. Copies of these statements marked “Agenda Item 5” are filed with these minutes. The documents were not for publication by virtue of Paragraphs 1, 3 and 10 of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Chairman welcomed other grant funders, partners and stakeholders to the meeting and invited feedback regarding the impact and value for money of grants programmes and investment into the local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

In response to a question regarding the impact which grant funding had on supporting the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, the following points were made:

                   i.       The Lloyds Banking Foundation believed in unrestricted funding and did not necessarily focus on outcomes or outputs.  Funding was often used by VCSE organisations to pay for running costs. Grant funding helped to keep organisations in operation and quite often VCSE organisations were unable to use funding from other funders to pay for such overheads. Members were advised that funding supported the most vulnerable in society through the delivery of support services which had not been offered by statutory bodies. Grant funding from local authorities had often helped VCSE organisations to secure funding from other sources.

                 ii.       North West Leicestershire Council agreed that grant funding helped to support those in the community who could not receive support from statutory services and also provided leverage for VCSE organisations sourcing alternative funding streams.

                iii.       Charnwood Borough Council highlighted that VCSE organisations were often adaptable when providing support to communities during difficult circumstances, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and assisting with cost of living pressures. It was noted that considering outcomes had been important, but that it was often more appropriate to focus on case studies rather than quantitative data.

                iv.       The National Lottery Community Fund focussed on what support could be delivered to VCSE organisations, and to their service users, and commented that the guidance and development opportunities provided to organisations was often invaluable.

                 v.       Voluntary Action LeicesterShire commented that local grants would be important against a climate where national grant schemes had generally been reduced.

In response to a question regarding whether organisations had used specific criteria when assessing applications or requests for repeat funding, the following points were made:

                   i.       Charnwood Borough Council allowed applications for repeat funding but had always signposted organisations to additional sources of funding beforehand. The authority offered repeat funding where it would be used to help a group continue in the absence of other funding streams.

                 ii.       Blaby District Council accepted applications for repeat funding. Only one grant per year was allowed and only one grant could be requested at a time.

                iii.       North West Leicestershire District Council accepted applications for repeat funding but these would be accessed to understand the bigger picture before making a decision.

                iv.       The National Lottery Community Fund had no process in place for repeat funding but instead focuses on the relationship with organisations and encourages diversifying their reliance on grant funds. Each application would be treated on merit and the organisations expectations and learning would be taken into consideration when assessing the application.

                 v.       Lloyds Bank Foundation provided repeat funding to secure the future needs of organisations and their service users.

In response to a question regarding how funding providers had monitored key outputs and outcomes achieved through grant funding, the following points were made:

                   i.       Grant funders provided members with an overview of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

There were no matters arising.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 30 May 2023 at 13:00pm.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel would take place on Tuesday 30 May at 13:00.