Perth Common Good Fund Criteria Amendment
Perth and Kinross Council · 4 May 2026
Back to Perth Common Good Fund Committee — 4 May 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Perth Common Good Fund Committee Date of Meeting: 4 May 2026 Report Title: Perth Common Good Fund Criteria Amendment Report Number: 26/121 Report Author: Sarah Kimmet, Community Empowerment Officer communityempowerment@pkc.gov.uk Organisational Lead: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead - Housing and Communities ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The report asks Perth Common Good Fund Committee to consider amending Perth Common Good Fund Criteria 11.3 which states that Town Twinning Activities are exempt from Common Good funding. New wording would state funding for “Town Twinning Activities within Perth City which are more properly attributed to the Civic Fund” will not be funded. 1.2 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendations 3. Background / Main Issues 4. Review Of Criteria 5. Review of Other Common Good Funds 6. Conclusion 7. Impact and Value Assessment 8. Appendices 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Review the information and agree that Perth Common Good Fund Criteria 11.3 be amended.
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3. Background / Main Issues 3.1 Perth and Kinross Council owns land and property which forms part of the Common Good of the former burghs in Perth and Kinross and has a statutory duty in terms of section 15(4) of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 to administer this land and property having “regard to the interests of the inhabitants" of those former burghs. This duty also applies to the administration of the associated Common Good Funds. 3.2 The Common Good Funds have traditionally demonstrated their support to local residents and organisations by distributing grants. These grant awards allow individuals and local organisations to carry out a wide range of community-based activities. 3.3 Applications to Common Good Funds vary across the different former burghs of Perth and Kinross. The Perth Common Good Fund is larger and receives a much higher number of applications than the other Funds. Therefore, additional criteria are applied to assist with assessing applications. 3.4 Criteria 11 outlines costs that are ineligible for funding, with Criterion 11.3 specifying “Town Twinning Activities.” This has recently been queried, as it prevents groups travelling to Perth’s official twin towns from applying for support, while groups travelling to other destinations remain eligible. Amending the criteria to permit funding for visits to twinned towns would address this inconsistency and enable the Perth Common Good Fund to promote the dignity and good standing of Perth within its twinning partnerships. 4. Review Of Criteria 4.1 The earliest reference to the Perth Common Good Fund Criteria available on CMIS is dated 18 May 2016. Earlier online records contain only committee minutes, with no indication of the criteria being created or amended, suggesting that a form of criteria existed prior to this date. 4.2 The criteria in use in May 2016 state that Town Twinning activities are ineligible, “other than those qualifying through the age/occupation criteria.” This appears to relate to the following provision: “Within the boundary of the Perth Common Good area and if funding is available, applications will be considered from individuals either in fulltime education or of senior citizen status, and from groups whose members qualify on the same basis or which are operating within the same boundary” (Report 16/204). 4.3 On 19 December 2018, the Committee considered and approved Report 18/407, which proposed updated criteria to take effect from April 2019. The report noted that the revised criteria would provide the Committee with greater flexibility. During these revisions Criteria 11.3 was amended to exclude “Town Twinning Activities”. No further rationale for the changes was provided. Available recordings of previous committees do not include substantive
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discussion of the amendments. The criteria agreed at this meeting are the criteria still used today and are available as Appendix 1. 4.4 By amending and approving the proposed new wording of the Town Twinning criteria, the Perth Common Good Fund committee would again be provided more flexibility in their decision making. 5. Review of Other Common Good Funds 5.1 Perth and Kinross Council administer nine Common Good Funds. Of these, only the Perth Common Good Fund publishes specific criteria. The remaining funds state only that the Common Good Funds provide funding for any activity which is beneficial to the interests of the inhabitants of the former burgh served by the relevant Committee. Applications are considered on a case-by- case basis by Committee members, in line with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which sets out the statutory framework for Common Good governance. 5.2 Across Scotland’s 32 local authorities, officers identified 15 that clearly publish information about their Common Good Funds online. Of these, three make explicit reference to Town Twinning. Aberdeenshire Council notes that applications “may be acceptable for contributions towards the establishment of new Town Twinning schemes,” including initial travel costs. Argyll and Bute Council lists Town Twinning as an activity not normally funded but emphasises that “each application must be considered on its own merits.” Orkney Islands Council previously allocated a specific Common Good budget for Twinning and Friendship activities in 2023, though it is unclear whether this continues as a separate budget line. 5.3 Three authorities that did not refer directly to Town Twinning stated that they do not fund travel or trips, with two of these also noting that activities taking place outwith the Common Good area are not eligible. 5.4 The Perth Common Good Fund does support activities and travel outside the Common Good area where there is a clear benefit to Perth residents. This recognises the value of enabling residents to experience opportunities beyond the city and the positive impact such experiences can have on the wider community upon their return. In this context, supporting travel to twinned locations would maintain consistency with the existing approach to funding trips more generally. 6. Conclusion 6.1 It is recommended that amending the wording of criteria 11.3 would make all criteria coherent, treating all travel equally. 6.2 The Committee is asked to consider the information presented and agree the change of wording to the Perth Common Good Fund Criteria to state that “Town Twinning Activities within Perth City which are more properly attributed to the Civic Fund” will not be funded.
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7. Impact and Value Assessment 7.1 Perth_Common_Good_Fund_Criteria_Amendment.pdf 8. Appendices 8.1 Perth Common Good Fund Criteria