Contact: Louise Pickford - Ext: 7355; e-mail: [email protected]

1 Financial Position

1.1 The remaining balance of the budget available for grants to voluntary organisations in 2006/07 is £304,337 after allocating for the grants approved at the last decision day, commitments made in previous years and sums earmarked for specific purposes.

1.2 The Schedule of items gives details of 9 applications which, if agreed in the amounts recommended, would total £9,300 and is attached as Appendix 2 to this report. A copy of the guidelines used for allocating these grants is attached as Appendix 1.

2 Winchester Cathedral Trust- Funding Choristership

2.1 In July 2003, a grant request from Winchester Cathedral Trust towards funding a choristership for five years was considered by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources. The cost of this was £8,000 per annum and the Trust advised the County Council this figure would increase between 6 and 9% annually.

2.2 At the above meeting, it was agreed to award the Trust a grant of £8,000 from 2003/04 for a period of five years. Unfortunately, at that time an amount for an annual inflationary increase over this period was not budgeted for.

2.3 It is therefore recommended that this grant be inflated by 5% for the five year period, as shown below, and would mean an actual increase of £4,205 over this term. This additional sum would be drawn from the Policy and Resources grants budget.

· 2003/04 - £8,000

· 2004/05 - £8,400

· 2005/06 - £8,820

· 2006/07 - £9,261

· 2007/08 - £9,724

3 Corporate Strategy

3.1 These grants, if awarded, would support Aims 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Corporate Strategy (Maximising life opportunities, Stewardship of the environment, Achieving economic prosperity, Building strong and safe communities, improving services) of the Corporate Strategy.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. That grants totalling £9,300 be made to voluntary organisations and other bodies as specified in the report.

2. That the original £8,000 grant awarded in July 2003 to the Winchester Cathedral Trust towards funding a choristership be increased by 5 % per annum in the terms shown in paragraph 2.3 of the report. These sums to be drawn from the Policy and Resources grants budget.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excluded:

Published works.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

Letters from organisations which Chief Executive's Department

applied for financial assistance

5dR80104

Appendix 1

EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR POLICY AND RESOURCES

GUIDELINES FOR ALLOCATION OF GRANTS

TO VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AND OTHER BODIES

These notes should be regarded as guidelines and not prescriptive rules.

(i) Assistance will be considered only in response to direct applications from the individual or organisation seeking assistance.

(ii) Where appropriate, applications will be referred to the relevant Committee (e.g. Social Services, Recreation & Heritage, Education, etc).

(iii) Grants will normally be "one off" and not recurring.

(iv) Preference will be given to applications for specific projects rather than "general running costs" of organisations or projects with on-going revenue implications. Any applications for the latter must state how the on-going costs will be met.

(v) Only in exceptional circumstances will grants be made in respect of applications from the following:-

· District or Parish Councils (precepting bodies)

· Government Institutions (e.g. NHS)

· Schools (exceptions might include special schools)

· Overseas and out of County organisations which have no direct Hampshire involvement

· Branches or organisations assisted centrally with a sum from the County Council (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureaux)

· Bodies requesting funds for onward distribution to charities e.g. mayoral appeals, carnivals, fetes, etc.

(vi) As a general rule, grants will only be awarded to churches to support accessibility issues in line with the County Council's policy regarding the Disability Discrimination Act.

(vii) Assistance will be considered for organisations based in Portsmouth or Southampton only insofar as benefits to the wider County result.

(viii) Where possible self-help within organisations should be encouraged and to this end, grants should normally be a percentage of the sum required to complete the project.

(ix) Requests may be considered from young people in Hampshire aged between 16 and 25 years undertaking trips for educational/personal development purposes.

(x) Requests may be considered from County wide groups (e.g. Guides, Scouts, Hampshire County Youth Orchestra) for specific trips, e.g. for an international jamboree or cultural tour.

(xi) Conditions may be attached to any grant if considered appropriate, e.g. availability of minibuses for community use when not in use by the owning organisation.

(xii) As a general rule, grants in excess of £5,000 will not be awarded.

(xiii) Where financial support is sought towards a facility, which is used by others, such as a hall or minibus, details should be given of the extent of that use (in % term(s) and to what extent charges are made.

(xiv) As a general rule, grants will be held up to a maximum of three years after the award was made.