Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member of Housing and Local Services seeking approval of the allocation of the 2010/2011 grants budget to voluntary organisations, attached.

DECISION MADE (CAB 09/10 3247)

On consideration of the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Local Services  and having considered the Community Strategy (City of Southampton Strategy), particularly where grants are authorised pursuant to S.2 Local Government Act 2000 in pursuance of the Council’s priorities, having also considered representations made by various voluntary grant organisations and receiving verbal impact assessments presented by the Stronger Communities and Equalities Manager (set out below),  Cabinet agreed the following:

(i)  To defer the decision to cease the grant award to City Shopmobility to gather more information in relation to the assessment of impact and to award a grant of £40,331 from 1^st July until 31^st March 2011 to allow this to happen.

(ii)  In respect of Fairbridge Solent to part fund the request to a maximum of £45,600 subject to demonstration to the Council’s satisfaction that the grant is not double funded or being used to meet costs that might be expected to be included in other contracts (subsidisation).

(iii)  In respect of Intech to Fund at 2009/10 level.

(iv)  Subject to recommendations (i) to (iii) above to approve the grant recommendations set out in Appendix 1 to the report. 

(v)  To approve an increased allocation of £100,000 of the budget to fund the Community Chest small grants scheme.

(vi)  To delegate authority to the Head of Stronger Communities and Equalities Team following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Local Services to allocate Community Chest grants in two rounds during the year.

(vii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director of Neighbourhoods following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Local Services and the Executive Director of Resources to:

·  determine any outstanding applications for grants for 2010/11 and to authorise grants to applicants subject to remaining within approved budgets

·  develop criteria for the award of three year funding in 2011/12

·  do anything necessary to give effect to the review and allocation of grants for 2010/11

(viii)  To approve the use of general fund contingencies up to a maximum of £100,000 in 2010/11 to fund recommendations in this report.

OTHER RELEVANT MATTERS CONCERNING THE DECISION:

Following the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee meeting held on 17th June 2010, and concern expressed at that meeting, all Cabinet Members were provided with information in advance of the Cabinet meeting  letters of support and testimonial letters from Voluntary Organisations together with notes of the impact assessment meetings and the integrated impact assessments carried out in relation to affected organisations.

Cabinet received the following impact assessment updates at the meeting:

City Shopmobility

The purpose of the assessment was to clarify the perceived potential duplication of services between City Shopmobility and the WestQuay scheme.

Officers have met with Southampton Voluntary Service (SVS), City Shopmobility and WestQuay Shopmobility.

The results of these meetings have been to identify some points of difference between these two schemes, which include:

-  the boundary covered by the City Shopmobility Scheme is slightly larger

-  this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8