Community Investment Fund 2023-24 - 2nd Round
Perth and Kinross Council · 20 March 2024
Back to Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee — 20 March 2024 and its agenda
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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL Housing and Social Wellbeing Committee 20 March 2024 COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND 2023/24 – 2ND ROUND Report by Head of Culture & Communities Services (Report No. 24/92) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report informs Committee of the funding commitments made for the second round of the 2023/24 Community Investment Fund (CIF) in Carse of Gowrie and Kinross-shire. Ward Panels allocated £19,800 to support 15 projects which contribute to the delivery of the priorities outlined in the Council’s Corporate Plan. The report also seeks Committee agreement on a future paper for a further round of CIF in 2024/25. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: (i) notes the funding decisions taken by Ward Panels for 2023/24 CIF (ii) agrees that a further report will come to Committee on 19 June 2024 with proposals for a future round of CIF in 2024/25 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: CIF Funding Decisions • Section 6: CIF 2024/25 • Section 7: Conclusion 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 In 2018/19, the Council established a Community Investment Fund (CIF) as part of its commitment to devolve more decisions to local communities. Since then, a total of £2.5m has been distributed to approximately 500 community- led projects. 4.2 In March 2023, the Council approved £400,000 in addition to £68,677.64 CIF underspend from 2022/2023, for a further round of Community Investment Fund in 2023/24. This provided a total budget of £468,677.64 for CIF 2023/24.
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4.3 Report 23/194 set out the process for running CIF 2023/24. The original application process opened on 26 June and closed on Friday 18 August. Ward Panels met throughout September to consider the applications and agree any funding to be awarded. In Ward 8, the Kinross-shire Committee has delegated authority over CIF funding and approved the Ward Panel’s recommendations in early November 2023. The awards from all wards were then noted by Housing & Social Wellbeing Committee later in November 2023. 4.4 Following the conclusion of the original funding round, specific requests were made in Ward 1 (Carse of Gowrie) and Ward 8 (Kinross-shire) to allow the underspends (£11,496.90 in Ward 1 and £8,306.02 in Ward 8) to be made available to further bids from community groups in those Wards. As a result, the application process was reopened for these Wards, with a closing date of 22 November for Ward 1 and 15 December for Ward 8. The Ward Panel for Ward 1 met and made their decisions on 12 December 2023. The Ward 8 Panel met on 21 February 2024. The number of applications received for these rounds and the funding requested is set out below. Ward Funding Available Number of Applications Funding Requested 1 – Carse of Gowrie £11,496.90 10 £39,004.59 8 – Kinross-shire £8,306.02 7 £15,996.60 TOTALS £19,802.92 17 £55,001.19 5. CIF FUNDING DECISIONS 5.1 The following CIF funding decisions were made in each ward area, with funding paid out to successful applicants: Ward 1 – Carse of Gowrie Group Project Funding Inchture Parent Council Be More Ruby Bench £500.00 Errol Community Council Errol Local Place Plan £2,511.91 Inchture Village Hall Trust Annual Village Fete £1,350.00 Carse Voices Community Support £647.00 Carse of Gowrie Group Carse Communities' Resilience £1,080.00 Thera-Pony CIC Thera-Pony Wellness Project £1,600.00 Bullionfield Recreation Club Hall Upgrade £1,377.99 Invergowrie & Kingoodie Light Nights Group Kingoodie Christmas Lights £2,430.00 TOTAL £11,496.90
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Ward 8 – Kinross-shire (LAC Approval pending) Group Project Funding KGV Playing Field Management Committee Kinross KGV Pavillion Extension – Disabled Access Lift £1,743.82 Portmoak Village Hill Village Hall Storage Areas Reroofing £700.00 Carnbo and District Community Hall Association Carnbo Hall £2,000.00 Kinross-shire Climate Café Kinross-shire Repair Café £2,200.00 Crook of Devon Hall Car Park Security Lights £405.60 Kinross-shire Volunteer Group & Rural Outreach Scheme Supporting Referral & Cost of Living Fares £1,000.00 Milnathort Core Paths Group Core Path Flail (Top-up) £256.60 TOTAL £8,306.02 6. CIF 2024/25 6.1 As a result of the Council budget setting process a further £300,000 has been allocated for CIF, ensuring that another round of funding will be delivered in 2024/25. It is recommended that a report be brought to Committee on 19 June 2024 setting out plans for this funding round. Following positive feedback from applicants, staff and ward panel members on the 2023/24 process, the use of the online portal will be maintained for 2024/25. Areas for improvement have been noted and will be addressed with colleagues to ensure a smooth process can be delivered for all involved. 6.2 Areas of improvement include: • amendments to the online application to make the process clearer for applicants and ward panel members, including easier access to attached additional documents for panel members and clearer questions for applicants • encouraging in-person ward panel meetings to promote meaningful roundtable discussion between members. • consideration of the impact of final scoring compared to panel discussion input as justification for final decisions. Additional detail on the above will be contained in the Committee Report on 19 June 2024. 7. CONCLUSION 7.1 Community Investment Fund supports new and innovative community projects that tackle inequalities and improve quality of life. This second round of 23/24 CIF has seen £19,802.92 committed to support 15 separate projects across two wards from the remaining underspend. A further round of CIF will be delivered in 2024/25, with a report coming to the June Committee with detailed proposals.
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Authors Name Designation Contact Details Lee Haxton David Stokoe Community Planning Team Leader Service Manager - Communities 01738 475000 ComCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Barbara Renton Executive Director (Communities) 11 March 2024 • APPENDICES - NONE
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Local Outcomes Improvement Plan Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial Yes Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment Yes Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal Yes External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 Supporting and investing in community-led solutions to locally identified issues contributes to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan / LOIP in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations Corporate Plan 1.2 Supporting and investing in community-led solutions to locally identified issues contributes to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Council Corporate Plan in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.
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2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 Community Investment Fund has a budget of £410,000 for 2022/23 and funding decisions of £362,391.06 have been made, leaving an underspend of £47,608.94. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.2 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment Process (EqIA) and has been assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. Sustainability 3.5 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council has a general duty to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and the community, environmental and economic impacts of its actions. 3.6 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 There has been consultation with the Finance Department, Communities and the Executive Leadership Team.
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2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report.