Item 10 - Cost of Living Capital Fund v2
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 October 2022
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer – Resources Council: 26 October 2022 Subject: Cost of Living – Capital Fund 1. Purpose 1.1 To provide Council with details of the proposed Cost of Living Capital Fund to support organisations who require funding for Cost of Living focused initiatives and to seek approval of the process to review applications for funding to 2. Recommendations 2.1 The Council is asked to: • approve the guidance and application form drafted to support the Cost of Living Capital Fund • approve the process to manage the Cost of Living Capital Fund, including delegating powers to the Chief Officer – Resources to approve or reject applications to the fund • approve that the Cost of Living Capital Fund be launched on 31 October for an initial period ending 9 December with an option to revise, or relaunch it after Christmas. • approve an overall cap of £250,000 be applied to the fund in each financial year between 2022/23 and 2025/26. 3. Background 3.1 At a meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council on 22 June 2022, an emergency item of business was considered and approved by members in relation to the cost of living crisis. 3.2 The motion committed to a range of projects to support those hardest hit by the cost of living crisis. In order to progress the initiatives set out in the motion and other developing action in relation to tacking the impact of the cost of living crisis, it was decided the previously established cross-party Cost of Living Working Group (the Working Group) would be the most appropriate forum to discuss and monitor progress, emerging issues and proposed activity. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The June 2022 motion made available £1,000,000 of capital funds to support Council and community organisations with capital costs for cost of living initiatives and asked that a process be developed to review applications for funding to be submitted through the Cost of Living Working Group (the Working Group) for consideration and then passed to an appropriate committee or Council for approval. Item 10
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4.2 A first draft of fund guidance and an application form was considered by the Working Group at their meeting in August 2022, with feedback taken on board to inform revised versions which were presented to the Working Group on 20 September 2022. These versions were approved by the September 2022 meeting of the Working Group and are included at appendix 1 and 2 to this report. 5. Process 5.1 Also presented to the Working group in September 2022 was the process to manage the fund and it is this process that now requires Council approval. 5.2 The intention is to upload the guidance document and application form to the Council’s webpage to allow applicants to apply digitally. Hard copies of the forms can be provided on request however ideally this would be minimised to help ensure we can manage the fund as efficiently as possible. 5.3 Initially officer resource will be made available from the Finance team to review applications as they are submitted however it is hard to gauge the potential level of interest/volume of applicants at the current time. If it, proves excessive for one person to perform this role, especially given that officer will have other duties within Finance, there may be a need to commit further resource. If that commitment is material there will be a need to fund it and that funding may need to be provided from the capital fund. 5.4 The Chief Officer – Resources will then circulate a summary of applications to the Working Group with his recommendation for acceptance/rejection for their consideration. Council are asked to delegate authority to the Chief Officer Resources to make the final decision on whether to approve an application. This will ensure that applications can be managed, approved, or rejected, and payments made within a reasonable timeframe. 5.5 The fund will initially be open for applications for a preliminary period from 31 October 2022 until 9 December 2022 and there will be flexibility to relaunch it after the Christmas period. This will provide an opportunity to assess if the fund is working as intended or whether the Working Group needs to reconsider the parameters and guidance associated with it. Whilst there is no cap being placed on any individual award, an overall cap of £250,000 will be applied for each financial year. This will mean the fund is there to support Cost of Living initiatives between 2022/23 and 2025/26. 6. People Implications 6.1 There would be an impact on current resources to implement and manage the fund and due to unknown number of applications this may result in additional resources having to be allocated support the fund.
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7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 In total a maximum of £1,000,000 of capital funds will be used to support the Cost of Living Capital Fund. Laurence Slavin Chief Officer – Resources 26 October 2022 Person to Contact: Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer Resources Email: laurence.slavin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1 – Cost of Living Capital Fund Guidance for Applicants Appendix 2 - Cost of Living Capital Fund Application Form Background Papers: June 2022 Council Emergency Motion Wards Affected: All
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Appendix 1 – Cost of Living Capital Fund Guidance for Applicants 1. Aims of the Fund? The fund has been established to provide money to support capital expenditure in relation to the cost of living crisis within West Dunbartonshire. 2. Who may apply? Any organization appropriately constituted or set up. 3. What can the Grant be used for? The fund is available to help with capital costs incurred directly as a consequence of activity to help alleviate the impact of the Cost of Living Crisis on people living in West Dunbartonshire. To qualify as capital spend, the asset created must last longer than one year, and has to either: • Create and/or purchase a new tangible asset (such as purchase of a vehicle or computer equipment) • Enhance an existing asset by either o Upgrading an existing asset (such as replacing single glazed windows with double glazed) o Extending the life of an asset (i.e. making it last longer) o Extending the use of an asset (such as a building extension or room conversions). Revenue funding relates to the day to day running costs associated with projects (such as staff costs and running events) and this cannot be funded from this Capital Fund 4. How are applications assessed? The fund is competitive, and applications are considered on individual merit. Organisations most likely to attract funding are those which make the most convincing arguments for funding. Consideration will be given to a range of factors including: • the number of local people involved in, and benefiting from the activity, relative to the amount of grant being requested. • the group’s own fund-raising efforts including any matched funding which would contribute to the overall cost of the activity/project. 5. How much is available? The total amount of funds available is capped at £1,000,000. Grant levels, although not fixed to an upper or lower level will therefore also be restricted. Value for money will be a main factor, and applications for larger amounts may have less chance since smaller grants allow more groups to be assisted. The Fund may make a grant conditional upon additional matters being produced to their satisfaction and the Council reserves the right to request evidence of how the funding had been used and the outcomes achieved. In
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the event that the funds were not used in a manner consistent with the funding award the Council may take steps to recover it in part of in its entirety. 6. Are there any types of application unable to get a grant? Yes: • Activity to take place outwith West Dunbartonshire. • Application made by an individual alone. • Activity which is not lawful. • Applications supporting any political party or from any applicant whose activities are political. Specifically Grants will not be given for:- • unspecified expenditure • activity which is not capital in nature • repayment of loans • retrospective funding The Fund will not normally provide grant to replace funding withdrawn by another agency. 7. How to apply Complete all questions on the webform. If you need a hard copy of the application form please contact grants@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Check the form is fully completed including relevant contact details. Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application via the e-mail address on the application form within three weeks of submission. 8. When to apply The fund is open for applications from 26 September 2022 until 9 December 2022 or earlier if the fund is fully exhausted. 9. Queries Please send any queries on this fund to grants@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
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Appendix 2- Cost of Living Capital Fund Application Form Please read the Guidance Notes before completing this application form Tell us about who is applying for funding 1. Name of the Organisation Name: Contact details First Name: Surname: Organisation Address Details Address: Post code: Phone: Email address: 2. Please describe your organisation, (please tick): A not-for profit constituted Group A charity Other If other, please specify If a charity, what is the registration number given to your organisation by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator? Registration number: 3. What geographical area does your organisation cover? 4. When was your organisation started? 5. Where appropriate - have all volunteers/ staff in your organisation been checked through Disclosure Scotland? If your staff and/or volunteers are working with children and/or vulnerable adults has their fitness for duties properly established via appropriate Disclosure checks? 6. What are your organisation’s main aim/ activities? Tell us briefly what your group does.
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7. Does your organisation aim to make a profit on services provided? YES NO 8. If yes, please confirm that no profit is expected on providing the service under the Cost of Living Fund? YES NO Tell us what the money is for. Tell us how much money you need for your project. 10a. How long will the project run for? 10b. Please give us a breakdown of ALL costs for your project and tell us how much you are requesting from us. (Please include VAT where applicable) How long will the project run Item or activity Total Cost (including VAT) Amount requested from Cost of Living Fund £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ TOTAL £ £ 10c. If the total project cost is more than the amount you are asking for, please tell us where the rest of the money will come from e.g. other funders, ticket income, fundraising, group funds, etc. Tell us if you are applying to any other organisations to help fund this project, and what stage your application has got to. Also tell us about any income you think your project will make and any money your group is contributing. Source Amount Progress £ £ 9. What will your organisation use the money for? Please explain what the project involves and how it be implemented. Is this type of project something new for your group or is it something similar to what you’ve done before? Note that this fund is to help with the cost of capital items rather than routine running costs. See the guidance notes for an explanation of what can be considered capital expenditure.
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£ TOTAL £ £ 11. How will the project benefit the West Dunbartonshire area or residents – specifically in relation to the impact of the Cost of Living crisis? Who will it benefit? How many are likely to benefit? How long are the benefits likely to last? Explain who will benefit and in what way. 12. Are you planning on buying any assets (i.e vehicles or equipment) with the funds? YES/NO. If purchase of equipment / vehicle is planned: Where will the equipment be kept? Name the person who will be responsible for the equipment? What security measures have been taken for the equipment? Does your organisation have insurance cover for the equipment? How will the ongoing running costs be funded? 13. If you are planning to use the fund to make any amendments to a building can you confirm who the landlord is (if it is leased) and that you have received consent from the landlord to carry out the work? In particular can you highlight if the building is leased from West Dunbartonshire Council. 14. Do you have any other information you think is relevant to the application? 15. Please give us your bank account details. Please attach a scan of a recent copy of your organisation’s bank statement. Account name Bank or building society name Bank or building society address Sort code: Account number:
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16a. Are your Financial Statements audited? YES/NO 16b. If NO, why? 15c. If YES, who are your auditors? 17. Please attach a copy of your most recent financial statements 18. Authorisation I confirm that, as far as I know, all the information on this application form is true and correct. I understand that you may ask for more information at any stage of the application process. (Note: This must be same person as the one in question 1) Name: Date: Position held in your organisation: What to do now Before you submit your application, check that you have done everything. Check that you have enclosed all the documents we need:- a. Your most recent yearly accounts or statement of income and spending. b. A copy of your most recent bank statement in the name of your organisation
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