Agenda item

To receive and consider report 180/07 of the Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer. 

Introduction and Report Summary

The purpose of this report is to set out the budget position for the Executive Committee in respect of Community Grants and to invite Members to consider and determine the grant applications received. The Executive currently considers grant applications bi-annually. Executive considered applications in October 2007 and the next meeting, at which the consideration of grants is planned, will be in October 2008.

The contact officer for this report is Lorna Edwards, Community Strategy Officer (Tel: 01235 547626).

Recommendations

(a)               Members are asked to note that the Executive’s budget for 2008/09 for Vale-wide grants is £21,714

.

(b)               Members are asked to consider and determine the following grant applications and agree the Council agenda and priority:

(i)         Ryder-Cheshire Volunteers, £2,000, towards running costs of supporting disabled people to pursue activities, Social Agenda, Access priority

(ii)        Oxfordshire Visual Arts Festival, £1,000, towards printing and distribution of the brochure, Social Agenda, Town & Village Vitality priority

(iii)       Oxfordshire Children’s Information Service, £4,758, towards the cost of providing information and advice to parents, Social Agenda, Access priority

(iv)       Age Concern Oxfordshire, £2,330, towards  singing taster sessions, Social Agenda, Town & Village Vitality priority

(v)        Oxfordshire Chinese Community & Advice Centre, £4,000, towards the Chinese New Year celebration and increased running costs

(vi)       Oxfordshire Association for the Blind, £5,000, towards the introduction of a mobile resource centre and training courses, Social Agenda, Access priority

(vii)      My Life My Choice, £1,342.18, towards running self-advocacy groups, Social Agenda, Access priority

(viii)  Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action, £5,000, towards a volunteer brokerage service, Social Agenda, Town & Village Vitality priority

(ix)       Root and Branch, £1,000, towards the purchase of a kitchen range, Social Agenda, Access priority

(x)        Oxford Film & Video Makers, £3,650, towards events in the Summerscreen 2008 festival, Social Agenda, Town & Village Vitality priority

(xi)       Oxfordshire Rural Education Initiative, £2,000, towards educational work, Social Agenda, Town & Village Vitality priority

(xii)      Vitalise, £1,741.75, towards the provision of holiday breaks for disabled people and volunteering opportunities, Social Agenda, Access priority

(c)        Members are asked to consider an application from Abingdon Citizens Advice Bureau for a one-off grant of £6,000, towards roof repairs and;

(d)       to make an award, in exceptional circumstances,, from savings made in the Community  Strategy service budget; and

(e)       Members are asked to agree to the request from Area Committees to carry forward unspent grant budget from 2007/08. 

(Time: 3.07pm to 3.36pm)

(Councillors Mary de Vere, Tony de Vere, Bob Johnston and Jerry Patterson all declared personal interests in this item, in relation to the application from the Oxfordshire Chinese Community and Advice Centre, and in accordance with Standing Order 34, they remained in the meeting during its consideration.  Councillor Angela Lawrence declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the application from the Abingdon and District Citizens' Advice Bureau and in accordance with Standing Order 34, she left the meeting during its consideration.)

The Executive received and considered report 180/07 of the Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer, whichset out the Community Grants budget position and set out details of thirteen grant applications. 

Members gave careful consideration to each application in the knowledge that the total amount requested exceeded the available budget for the year.  The Executive firstly considered the principle of awarding a grant to each application and, if in favour of awarding a grant, secondly the amount. 

The Executive supported each application except that from the Oxfordshire Children's Information Service as it was felt that the services provided by this organisation were a duplication of services provided elsewhere. 

The Abingdon and District Citizens' Advice Bureau had applied for a one-off grant to help towards repairs to the roof of its premises.  The Executive awarded a grant of £6,000, to be funded from an underspend on the Community Strategy budget.  This left the Bureau with a commitment of £3,750 to cover the remaining cost of the roof repairs.  Representatives of the Bureau had met with the Council's Head of Property Services to discuss the works needed and to negotiate the possibility of spreading the cost over three years.  The Executive indicated that it would be content in principle if this was the outcome of the negotiations. 

RESOLVED

(a)               that it be noted that the Executive’s budget for 2008/09 for Vale-wide grants is £21,714;

(b)               that the following applications be approved:

(c)        that the application from the Oxfordshire Children’s Information Service be refused (by four votes to three);

(d)       that application from Abingdon and District Citizens' Advice Bureau for a one-off grant of £6,000 towards roof repairs be approved, to be funded by way of a virement from the Community Strategy budget due to an underspend (by six votes to nil, with one Member having left the meeting);

(d)       that the Executive supports the principle of a phased repayment by the Abingdon and District Citizens' Advice Bureau of its remaining contribution to roof repairs of £3,750 over three years, should this be the outcome of negotiations with the Council's Head of Property Services (by six votes to nil, with one Member having left the meeting); and 

(e)       that the requests from Area Committees to carry forward unspent grant budget from 2007/08 to 2008/09 be approved as follows, subject to the Area Committees being advised that their balances should not be built up each year (by seven votes to nil):

Abingdon Area Committee                         £3,727.97

North East Area Committee                       £2,313.65

South East Area Committee                         £635.88

West Area Committee                                        £0.00

Total                                                               £6,677.50