Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Commercial and Operations and the Director of Community Protection

Louise Graham, VCS Partnerships Manager, presented a report to the Sub Committee regarding arrangements around Area Based Grants (ABG’s) and Communities of Identity (COI) grant programmes and future allocation of funding. The following points were highlighted during discussion:

(a)  Councillors felt it would enhance the programme if reallocation, approval of criteria and approval of the grants process was completed in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holders;

(b)  A large section of the ABG is ring-fenced for activities around employment and skills as EU Match funding;

(c)  City Council Services are not permitted to bid to offer activities. This is a historic decision made by NCC as a commitment to ensure Nottingham has a thriving third sector;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  Delegate approval of the re-allocation of the funding available within the Are Based Grant based on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation and population numbers using a “Fairer Funding Formula” to the Portfolio Holder of Community Protection in consultation with the relevant portfolio holders;

(2)  Delegate approval of the final criteria and specification for the Area Based and Communities of Identity grant programmes to the Portfolio Holder for Community Protection in consultation with the relevant portfolio holders; and

(3)  Delegate approval of the grants process and the allocation of funding from the grants programmes to successful applicants following recommendations from grants panel made up of representatives from Local Councillors and Officers to the Portfolio Holder for Community Protection in consultation with the relevant portfolio holders.

Reasons for decision

(1)  Consultation with the relevant portfolio holders will ensure that funding is allocated where it is needed the most and increase accountability.

(2)  The current programme was developed as part of a streamlining investment programme in 2013. The second round of the two grant programmes comes to an end in March 2019 and so the criteria is being updated to better reflect current need within communities/ Existing specification are based on previous delivery outcomes of activities around Employment and Skills, activities for children and young people  and supporting the management of Community Centres. Existing specifications for the COI are based on previous delivery outcomes of information, advice and guidance on building skills and confidence, and supporting VCS organisations to manage space within buildings;

(1)  Funding will not move between the ABG and COI programmes. Reallocation will occur to ensure that NCC spending is reflective of the areas of the city. In the case of the ABG this is based on the IMD, a nationally recognised statistical tool that considers seven measures of deprivation (employment, health, education, crime, income, living environment and barriers to housing and services) and population numbers;

(2)  The grants process will be undertaken based on standard good practice for grants management. It will be transparent and robust and will follow the agreement between NCC and VCS through the Nottingham Compact Plus, which sets out the way in which the local authority works with the VCS.

Other options considered

The option to roll forward the existing arrangements for a further grant period was rejected because it does not reflect the changes in local need and available budget since the last programme was initiated.