BOROUGH OF POOLE
CABINET DECISION BY PORTFOLIO HOLDER
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM GRANTS PANEL
9 FEBRUARY 2009
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM GRANTS PANEL 9 FEBRUARY 2009:
The Portfolio Holder is asked to consider the following recommendations from the Grants Panel (Minutes to follow): -
- A Grant of £5,200 be made to Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association
- A Grant of £500 be made to Poole Agenda 21 Community Forum
- A Grant of £3,800 be made to Honeypot
- The Grant Application by Coping with Chaos for £6,992.71 be not supported but be supported via the Central Government’s ring fenced ‘Short Breaks’ money.
- The Grant Application by Julia’s House for £1,500 be not supported.
- A Grant of £22,000 be made to Poole Shopmobility for the provision of a three-day a week service and the operation of a six-day a week service in the run up to the Christmas Period.
- The Grant Application by Cranford Heath Community Centre for £10,000 be not supported.
- The Grant Application by Bournemouth Chinese School for £6,243 be not supported.
- A Grant of £1,530 be made to Bridging Communities.
- The Grant Application by Poole Borough Band for £7,400 be not supported.
- A Grant of £7,012 be awarded for Sports Development Grants.
- A Grant of £15,750 be made to Wessex Sports Charitable Trust.
The Portfolio Holder for Resources, Councillor Sorton, be asked to consider the above recommendations on 3 March 2009.
Tim Martin, LLB Solicitor
Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Civic Centre, Poole
23 February 2009
Contact Officer:
Kate Gibbings, Democratic Support Officer
Tel: 01202 633022
Email:
BOROUGH OF POOLE
GRANTS PANEL
9 FEBRUARY 2009
The Meeting commenced at 2.00pm and concluded at 3.15pm
Members present:
Councillor Mrs Walton (Vice Chairman) in the Chair
Councillors Brown, Sorton and Wilson.
GP31.09 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs Deas (Chairman).
GP32.09DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
No declarations of interest were given.
GP33.09MINUTES
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 January 2009, having been previously circulated, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
GP34.09EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRESS
RESOLVED that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the Meeting for the business specified at Items GP35.09 and GP36.09 because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.
GP35.09ALLOCATION OF GRANTS FOR 2008-2009
- Tourism
Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association
The Head of Tourism advised the Panel that a grant application of £5,500 had been received from the Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association. It was recommended that a grant of £5,200 be supported. The Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association was a not for profit organisation that encouraged visits by individuals and groups to and from the linked towns in order to broaden the mutual understanding of the social, cultural, educational, recreational, civic and commercial activities of the linked towns.
The Panel was provided the Performance Schedule, which gave details of the activity data and showed how previous grants awarded had been used.
RECOMMENDED that a grant of £5,200 be awarded to the Poole-Cherbourg Twinning Association
FOR: UNANIMOUS
- Strategic Planning
Poole Agenda 21
The Acting Community Planning Manager advised the Panel that a grant application had been received from Poole Agenda 21, Community Forum, requesting a grant of £1,000 towards the cost of administration. It was recommended that a grant of £500 be awarded.
The Panel was advised that Poole Agenda 21 were expected to become more self sufficient, with the Council providing limited financial support to cover the costs of administration. It was particularly important now, as the Council no longer had the services of a dedicated Local Agenda 21 Team (LA21). Grant funding would represent an expression of the Council’s continued support for sustainable development and LA 21, recognising the role the Forum played in informing the Sustainable Community Strategy and the work of the Local Strategic Partnership. In particular its contribution towards the work of Poole’s Sustainable Environment Partnership, which was a key theme partnership of the Local Strategic Partnership, including contributing to the proposed Big Green Fortnight in May 2009.
RECOMMENDED that a grant of £500 be awarded to Poole Agenda 21, Community Forum.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
- Children and Young People’s Social Care Services
Honeypot
The Principal Manager of Assessment and Family Support advised the Panel that a grant application had been received from Honeypot for £3,800. Honeypot owned and managed Honeypot House, a residential Unit in the New Forest. Honeypot House offered the provision of residential respite breaks and on-going outreach support to young carers.
The Panel was advised that the Grant, if awarded would enable 24 young carers within Poole to receive a partly funded 1 weeks respite holiday and 1 repeat weekend break. Honeypot had not previously requested a grant from the Council. The amount requested represented 50% of the actual costs, the remainder 50% was to be funded from it own fund raising activities. It was recommended that the full £3,800 be awarded.
RECOMMENDED that a grant of £3,800 be awarded to Honeypot.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
- Children and Young People’s Integrated Services
a.Coping with Chaos
b.Julia’s House
a.Coping with Chaos
The Panel was advised that Coping with Chaos had made a grant application for £6,992.71. The Organisation was a well-established and valued organisation that provided short breaks for parents and carers, and offered advice and practical support to disabled children and families living in the Poole, Bournemouth and Dorset area. The recommendation was to not award a grant, as the Organisation would qualify for the provision of Central Government ring-fenced ‘Short Breaks’ money. The Children and Young People’s Integrated Services intended to ensure that Coping with Chaos’ Short Breaks Operations were supported and strengthened via this source of funding.
RECOMMENDED that the Grant Application submitted by Coping with Chaos be not supported but be supported via the Central Government’sring-fenced ‘Short Breaks’ money.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
b.Julia’s House
The Panel was advised thatJulia’s House had made a grant application for £1,500. The Organisation was a high-profile local charity that provided services for sick and disabled children, both from Poole and outside the Borough. It was recommended that the Grant Application be not supported on two counts:
- The Charity was not run to wholly or mainly to support the residents of Poole.
- The Organisation had significant local fund-raising presence and was not reliant on provision of this Grant in order to be able to deliver its services.
RECOMMENDED that the Grant Application submitted by Julia’s House be not supported.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
- Housing and Community Services
a.Poole Shopmobility
b.Canford Heath Community Centre
c.Three Year FundingGrants Awarded affecting 2009/10
a.Poole Shopmobility
The Panel was advised that Poole Shopmobility provided a range of mobility scooters and wheelchairs to people suffering from mobility issues, to enable them to use the facilities of the Town Centre. The Organisation had submitted three applications for consideration requesting £20,000, £30,000 and £40,000, dependant on the level of service provided.
It was recommend that a grant be awarded for the provision of a three days a week service, which was in line with the current grant arrangements, with a commitment from Poole Shopmobility to provide the service on extra days when staffing was available at a cost of £20,000. In addition, it was recommended that Poole Shopmobility to be further supported to operate a six days a week service in the run-up to the Christmas Period at an additional cost of £2,000, which should be paid at the beginning of quarter 3, to allow time for planning and publicity to go ahead for the Christmas Service. The total grant recommended was £22,000. The total cost for providing such services would be £54,000.
It was also noted that Shopmobility had appointed a new Chair following its AGM last year. Housing and Community Services Officers were keen to work with the Organisation and its new Chair to help develop its services. The work it could support included seeking funding from other sources to restore the Organisations activities to six or seven days a week throughout the year. The Dolphin Centre, through its Shopping Centre Management Team may provide funding of £10,000, which if awarded in addition to the Grant request, would enable the Organisation to run a five-day a week service.
RECOMMENDED that
- a grant of £22,000 be awarded to Poole Shopmobility for the provision of a three-day a week service andthe operation of a six-day a week service in the run-up to the Christmas Period.
- The Grants Panel be advised if the additional £10,000 funding from The Dolphin Centre to Shopmobility is to be granted and when.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
b.Canford Heath Community Centre
The Panel was advised that Canford Heath Community Centre had requested a £10,000 grant to enable major refurbishment of its Hall Floor, the refurbishment, kitchen and possible extension of its Community Club, improvement of the Centre’s presentation and the replacement of its Boiler/Heating System.
It was recommended that a grant not be supported as the Grants Eligibility Criteria clearly stated that building and construction works or maintenance would not be grant aided. It was also noted that the Application provided very little information, there was no evidence of matched funding and the Organisation had been reluctant to engage with the Borough of Poole Officers. Housing and Community Services Officers would attempt to work alongside the Organisation to support it and identify more appropriate sources of funding.
The Panel felt that the Organisation needed to raise funds to support the refurbishments and that it was not appropriate for a grant to be given for such works. There was the Local Community Network, which offered fund raising support to Community Centres to enable such works to be carried out, as achieved by other Community Centres.
RECOMMENDED that the Grant Application submitted by Canford Heath Community Centre be not supported but the Organisation be provided support to identify appropriate sources of funding.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
c.Three Year Funding Grants Awarded affecting 2009/10
The Grants Panel was reminded of the following Organisations that had been awarded three year funding Grants and the Grant Awards for 2009/10:
Dorset Race Equality Council Year 2£ 15,000
Hamworthy Money Advice ProjectYear 2£ 9,194.25
Poole Citizens Advice BureauYear 3£130,146.75
Poole Council for Voluntary ServicesYear 2£ 67,158 + VAT
The Grants Panel was also reminded that Streetwise was in year 3 of its 10 year Lease Arrangement at a cost of £ 11,800 + VAT for 2009/10.
RESOLVED that the Grants Panel noted the Three Year Funding Grants Awarded affecting 2009/10 and the Streetwise Lease Arrangement affecting 2009/10.
- Culture and Community Learning Services
a.Bournemouth Chinese School
b.Bridging Communities
c.Poole Borough Band
a.Bournemouth Chinese School
The Panel was advised that the Bournemouth Chinese School had requested a grant of £6,243 to enable its current and new activities to continue. The School was established in 2000 and aimed to teach Mandarin and Cantonese to children and young people and undertake other related activities to improve cultural awareness and the conditions of life of the Chinese community in Poole, Bournemouth andsurrounding areas and was expected to benefit 24 children from Poole. The School had accumulated a deposit fund of £9,074 at the end of August 2008, however its planned expenditure for 2009/10 was £22,250.
The Officer recommended that a grant to the Bournemouth Chinese School not be supported. The Culture and Community Learning Services delivered post-16 learning opportunities through Poole Adult Learning. Poole Adult Learning’s work was funded entirely externally through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in a target driven process specific to the achievement of the LSC Priorities. The Council cross departmentally had and was continuing to provide support and services to enable and encourage equality and the understanding of cultures and that Language Schools did not meet the Eligibility Criteria.
RECOMMENDED that the Grant Application submitted by the Bournemouth Chinese School be not supported.
FOR: Cllrs: Sorton and Mrs Walton
ABSTAINED: Cllrs: Brown and Wilson
b.Bridging Communities
The Panel was advised that a grant application had been received by Bridging, requesting £1,530 to support its ‘Living History Project’. Bridging Communities was a church organisation that worked across the regeneration area with newly forming community and faith groups. The Organisation aimed to bring diverse communities together, empower and support people and enabled people’s voices to be heard. It offered training in Community Development and its activities were open to all, regardless of beliefs.
The Living History Project aimed to capture people’s memories of the past, views of the present and expectations for the future, of the urban regeneration area of Poole Town and Lower Hamworthy. The project would be intergenerational involving school aged children and older generations. The redevelopment of Hamworthy Library included community engagement, activities with young people and older people. The Museum Service planed to develop community engagement and collect oral history, which would be supported by this Project. Outcomes would include listening posts in Poole Museum and the new Hamworthy Library.
The total cost of the project was to be £3,770. However it was noted that some of the costs identified could be reduced through joint working with the Culture and Community Learning Services. If the grant were to be awarded the Culture and Community Learning Services Officers would continue to work with Bridging Communities to reduce costs and the size of the Grant, whilst continuing to develop the outcomes of the Project. It was recommended that a grant of £1,530 be awarded.
RECOMMENDED that a grant of £1,530be awarded to Bridging Communities.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
c.Poole Borough Band
The Panel was advised that a grant application had been received from Poole Borough Band requesting for £7,400 to pay for initial advertising, set-up and one years running costs of a training band for young people.
The band aimed to rehearse and perform both concert and competitive music. They were a traditional brass band, rehearsing twice a week in Poole, and performing over 20 public performances a year. They aimed to play at the highest possible standard, whilst promoting accessibility for all. The Borough of Poole’s contribution was to be used to support the submission of a bid to the Arts Council for lottery funding of £55,000 for the purchase of instruments.
It was recommended that a grant not be supported. The Borough of Poole had made a strategic decision to support music education and development by working with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) Music Education Programme and through the Music Education Officer in Dorset Music Services who had the remit to develop music with young people in Poole.
Standards Fund Money had been allocated to music development in Schools and part of the BSO Service Level Agreement was to provide training sessions. Events such as ‘Battle of the Bands’ were run to engage large numbers of young people in musical activities and there were numerous music bands within Poole that supported and helped train young people.
RECOMMENDED that the Grant Application submitted by Poole Borough Band be not supported.
FOR: Cllrs, Brown, Sorton and Mrs Walton
ABSTAINED: Cllr Wilson
viiLeisure Services
Sports Development Grants for 2009/2010
The Panel was advised that each year Poole Sports Council, in conjunction with Leisure Services awarded grants to talented sports individuals and sports clubs. It was recommended to agree a Sports Development Grants Budget of £7,012 for 2009/10 in order to continue to support awards, in conjunction with Poole Sports Council, to talented individuals and sports clubs. This was an increase of £2,012 on the amount awarded for 2008/09, as further recognition of the Councils support to talented individuals, particularly in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.
RECOMMENDED that a sum of £7,012 be allocated for Sports Development Grants for 2009/10.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
GP36.09WESSEX SPORTS CHARITABLE TRUST LTD.
The Panel was advised that Wessex Sports Charitable Trust Ltd. (WSCT) had submitted a grant application of £15,750 for the provision of services through Broadstone Leisure Centre (BLC). Wessex Sports Charitable Trust operated through Broadstone Leisure Centre within the Borough of Poole. It was recommended that £15,750 be awarded and paid in one instalment in April 2009.
In 2008 Wessex Sports Charitable Trust Ltd. had received additional funding to enable the Broadstone Leisure Centre to register and undertake the Quest self- assessment and external assessment before the end of March 2009. Unfortunately BLC had advised Leisure Services that, due to constraints on staff time, they did expect to receive the Quest accreditation by the end of the 2008/09 Financial Year.
The Panel was advised that the Trust’s situation would be monitored and the provision of services through Broadstone Leisure Centre would be reviewed throughout the year by the Borough of Poole’s nominated officer at quarterly meetings. BLC had been given an extension on the original time frame to receive the Quest accreditation, with a view to completion by the end of June 2009. Failure to deliver by the new deadline would result in £2,000 being repaidto the Council. WSCT’s Chief Executive would also be asked to report to a future Grants Panel Meeting, should it be necessary to enforce this. It was also noted that the Borough of Poole’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) was an annual report, last produced in September 2008, and a small delay in the achievement of the Quest Accreditation, was unlikelyto affect the results.
RECOMMENDED that
- a grant of £15,750 be awarded to Wessex Sports Charitable Trust .
- Broadstone Leisure Centre registers and undertakes the Quest self- assessment and external assessment before the end of June 2009. Failure to deliver by the new deadline would result in £2,000 being repaidto the Council.
FOR: UNANIMOUS
CHAIRMAN
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