Item 16 - Update of Voluntary Grants 2021-22
West Dunbartonshire Council · 17 August 2022
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 17 August 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer - Resources Corporate Services Committee: 17 August 2022 __________________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Update of Voluntary Grants 2021/22 1. Purpose of Report 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Members with an update of the voluntary grants administered and awarded by West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services (WDCVS) in 2021/22 in respect of Community Chest, Playschemes, Cultural, and Social Transport Support Funding Grants on behalf of the Council. 1.2 The report also provides information on the position regarding the Provost’s Fund and the Dumbarton Common Good Fund. 2. Recommendations 2.1 The Committee is asked to note the position of the grants paid out by WDCVS, the Provost’s Fund and the Dumbarton Common Good Fund. 2.2 The Committee is asked to approve a top-up payment of £2,710.96 to be made to the Provost’s Fund as detailed in paragraph 4.10 below. 3. Background 3.1 The Corporate Services Committee in March 2007 agreed that a report should be brought to Committee after each year-end, giving information regarding the grants approved during the financial year. 3.2 Community Chest and Social Transport Support Grants are administered by WDCVS. In 2021-22 WDCVS also administered a one year only additional Community Matters grant scheme. The Council continues to administer grants for Dumbarton Common Good and the Provost’s Fund. 3.3 The Provost’s Fund was established in 1953 as the Burgh of Clydebank Provost’s Fund and in November 1998 it was determined that the Fund may be used to cover the whole of West Dunbartonshire. 4. Main Issues WDCVS Administered Funds ITEM 16
Page 2
4.1 West Dunbartonshire CVS administer Community Grants on behalf of West Dunbartonshire Council. An annual budget is set by the council and funds are made available to WDCVS to issue to qualifying groups and organisations. There are various schemes run by CVS as summarised in 4.2 below with qualifying criteria listed in the appropriate section below. 4.2 During 2021/22, the total budgets available and the amounts paid out in grants administered by WDCVS are noted below: Group Type Total Budget Agreed Spend Unspent Community Chest £50,000 £44,100 £5,900 Social Transport Support £100,000 £63,600 £36,400 Community Matters Fund £100,500 £98,655 £1,845 WDC funded total £250,500 £206,355 £44,145 Community Chest 4.3 The community chest fund is operated around a 'fund of last resort' model. In a majority of instances, local organisations seeking small/moderate funding will be both eligible and better served accessing external funding. Where groups are unable to do this, most often because of longevity of reliance on council funding or where timescales prevent, the community chest fund offers grants of up to £4500. Applications are scored against 3 main criteria: • Organisation's ability to explains its experience with the target group/actions • Project. its beneficiaries and experience of delivery • Costs and value for money. 4.4 The 2021/22 budget was set at £50,000 and WDCVS has awarded £44,100 in grant funding to organisations as noted in Appendix A. 4.5 In addition to the above, a number of organisations submitted funding applications and were referred by WDCVS to other funders. As a result of this a further £296,390 of applications for funding was supported by WDCVS by re-routing applications to other sources as noted in Appendix B. 4.6 All applications received by WDCVS were granted funding from either Community Chest Grants or alternative funders. Community Matters Fund 4.7 As a result of a large sum remaining unspent during 2020-21 WDCVS was asked to administer an additional one year only Community Matters Fund with a budget of £100,500. WDCVS has awarded £98,655 in grant funding from this fund to the organisations detailed in Appendix C. The scheme was open
Page 3
to community organisations with an annual turnover under £250,000 and offered grants of £250-£3,000 to support projects that would: • Reduce social isolation caused by the pandemic • Encourage and support group members to return to activities, safely and/or • Celebrate the achievement of a community during the last year. The fund was allocated on a light touch assessment, on a rolling process, while the budget allowed. Social Transport Funding 4.8 Following the review of the use of council transport resources in 2012, West Dunbartonshire Community Health and Care Partnership Board agreed to implement a grant scheme for eligible organisations. The Social Transport scheme aims to increase access to transport for local community organisations who are disadvantaged due to the following protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 – age, disability. All applications are scored along a 1-10 of importance/relevance using the following scoring framework: • User Status – the nature of the group • Independence/Self Management support for users • Mobility needs of users • Medical conditions • Communication issues • Behavioural issues • Vulnerability issues • Need to be accompanied • Social Isolation prevalence. Grant awards are made in the following bands: Score of 80-100 £5,000-8,000 per annum (depending on actual projected spend) Score 40-75 £2,500-5,000 per annum (depending on actual projected spend) Score 20-40 £500-£2,500 per annum (depending on actual projected spend) Score <20 No award – seek alternative funding 4.9 The 2021/22 budget was set at £100,000 and WDCVS has awarded £63,600 during 2021/22. 7 groups who have been awarded grants in previous years have ceased operating during 2021-22 and a further 7 groups did not operate during 2021-22 but intend to restart during 2022-23. The grant value of these
Page 4
14 groups is normally £34,900. Details of all grants paid are listed in Appendix D. Provost’s Fund 4.10 The Fund was allocated £3,000 in 2020/21, which remained unspent. During 2021-22 activity totalling £1,990.96 has occurred. A further 2 awards of £720.00 have already been made during 2022-23 leaving a current balance of £289.04 in the fund. Members are requested to approve a top-up payment of £2,710.96 to be made to the Provost’s fund to restore the fund balance to £3,000. Members are advised that the top-up value is taken from funding otherwise made available to WDCVS and as such the top-up reduces the funding to be administered by WDCVS. Dumbarton Common Good 4.11 Nine organisations benefited from funding from the Dumbarton Common Good Fund totalling £193,537 against a budget of £193,231, as detailed in Appendix E. The £7,000 small grants budget has not awarded any funding during 2021-22 as no applications were received. 5. Option Appraisal 5.1 No option appraisal was required for this report. 6. People Implications 6.1 There are no people implications. 7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 WDCVS paid out grants totalling £206,355 during 2021/22. The full budget was £250,500, leaving a balance of £44,145 unspent. The unspent funds are returned to the council. The Provost’s Fund spent £1,990.96 in 2021/22 and £1,009.04 funding was available for spend in 2022/23 at the beginning of April. 2 awards of £720 during 2022-23 have reduced the remaining funds to £289.04. For the Common Good Fund the small overspend is covered from reserves. 8. Risk Analysis 8.1 The Council must consider financial and reputational risks when considering grant applications. The financial risk is not only that the Council and Common Good Fund remain within budget, but also that the organisations funded by the Council and the Common Good Fund are both viable in the long term and comply with the Conditions of Grant which cover issues such as discrimination, health and safety, insurance, etc.
Page 5
9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 No equalities impact assessment was required in relation to this report. 10. Environmental Sustainability 10.1 No assessment of environmental sustainability was required in relation to this report. 11. Consultation 11.1 Legal and Financial Officers have been consulted in preparing this report. 12. Strategic Assessment 12.1 Proper budgetary control and sound financial practice are cornerstones of good governance and support Council and officers to pursue the 5 strategic priorities of the Councils Strategic Plan. 12.2 Payment of voluntary grants contributes to improvements in life changes for children and young people, care for elderly and the wellbeing of communities. Laurence Slavin Chief Officer, Resources Date: 27 July 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Adrian Gray, Finance Business Partner, Church Street, Dumbarton, Email: adrian.gray @west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Breakdown of Community Chest Grants 2021/22 Appendix 1: Appendix 2: Organisations Supported by WDCVS to attract external funding in 2021/22 Breakdown of Community Matters Grants 2021/22 Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Breakdown of Social Transport Grants 2021/22 Appendix 5: Breakdown of Dumbarton Common Good Grants 2021/22 Background Papers: Grant application summary information Individual group grant applications Wards Affected: All wards