Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The purpose of this paper is to consider four applications for financial assistance from the Policy and Resources budget which have been received in the current financial year and whose details are outlined in Appendix 2 to this report.

2. Budget position

2.1. The balance available for allocation at today's meeting is £374,299, after grants approved at the last decision day, commitments made in previous years and sums earmarked for specific purposes.

3. Criteria of grant

3.1. A copy of the criteria used for allocating grants is attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

4. Recommendation

4.1. That grants to those voluntary and community organisations and young people as outlined in Appendix 2 of this report be approved.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

5. Equalities Impact Assessment:

5.1. The application procedure includes equalities monitoring information as agreed as part of the corporate review of grants programmes and procedures.

6. Impact on Crime and Disorder:

6.1. The County Council has an obligation under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to consider the impact of all decisions it makes on the prevention of crime. The proposals in this report aim to improve the wellbeing of Hampshire residents and reduce the risk of crime occurring.

FUNDING CRITERIA FOR THE POLICY AND RESOURCES GRANTS

The following criteria should be taken into consideration when preparing a submission for funding. They are intended as guidelines and not prescriptive rules

1. Assistance will be considered only in response to direct applications from properly constituted organisations seeking assistance. You must show in your application that your organisation is properly and legally organised and has its own bank account.

2. Where appropriate, applications will be referred to the relevant service department (e.g. Adult Services, Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs, Children's Services, etc) for consideration.

3. Preference will be given to applications for specific projects or activities rather than general running costs of organisations. These grants are not intended to replace shortfalls in service delivery budgets or replace funding for other support you may be able to obtain, or that you have obtained from us in the past.

4. Grants will not usually be made in respect of applications from the following:-

· District or Parish Councils

· Government Institutions

· 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

· Bodies requesting funds for onward distribution to other charities e.g. mayoral appeals, carnivals, fetes, or for their own fundraising events.

5. Applications will not be accepted from political parties or groups affiliated with a political party or from lobbying/campaigning organisations.

6. Applications will only be considered from faith groups who can demonstrate their facilities are open and used by the local community other than for church related activities.

7. 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. Individual requests will not usually be considered.

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

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

10. In general only award grants to projects which are taking place in the same year as application for funds.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING REQUEST FROM CITIZENS ADVICE , HAMPSHIRE

1. Background/Contextual Information:

1.1. Citizens Advice, Hampshire (CitAH) currently receives a grant of £110,370 from this budget, which is reviewed on an annual basis and is used to fund specialist support for advisers at each of its twenty-six bureaux. The grant enables them to provide advice at a complex and skilled level in Welfare Benefits and Employment and also training for staff and experienced advisers. These funds are also used to help fund development work that has attracted external funding of over £1.9 million in the last year for new services that will benefit clients throughout Hampshire.

1.2. CitAH currently contributes to county level networks, including the Senate Economic Action Group and the Hampshire Voluntary Sector Consortium, providing data on the impact of the recession on both clients and the CAB service.

1.3. Hampshire CABx key response to the recession has been to open longer hours and change processes; most are now open at least five hours a week extra and are seeing more clients as a result. Advice and guidance is one of the main areas of need when people lose their jobs and possibly face debt and a threat to their housing for the first time.

2. Request for additional support during the recession

2.1. The recession has impacted areas of the county differently; hence the needs of each CAB vary. Further evidence regarding the effects of the recession can be found in the appendix (available on request).

2.2. CitAH is seeking additional support to help manage their workload during this exceptional period in the following ways.

· Funding additional adviser training - there is an increasing number of new volunteers available who could assist with the extended opening hours and gain new skills for reemployment. Extra funding could enable some fast track training to be undertaken to get new advisers on stream.

· Funding for creating new or larger debt teams of skilled caseworkers - debt is now their largest number of enquiries and is growing, especially mortgage arrears and credit card debt.

2.3. On the above basis, an additional one-off grant of £130,000 in 2009/10 is being sought by CitAH to assist with locally identified priorities at the 26 bureaux, such as additional new volunteer training and building debt teams.

3. Other Local Authority contributions

4.1. The following bureaux have received additional funding of £90,561 for the recession from the Local Authorities/Local Strategic Partnerships:

· Eastleigh - £20,000

· Fareham - £20,000

· Gosport - £18,761

· Hart - £3,500

· Petersfield - £8,300

· Winchester - £20,000

4. Comments of Chief Officer

4.2. The Head of Economic Development's comments on this application are as follows:

With the impacts of the recession on people's jobs and finance, CABs have seen a significant increase in demand for their services, in some instances enquiries have more than doubled. It is vital that the Bureaux are supported to respond to this increased demand and helped to build capacity. In particular, debt counsellors take as long as 3 months to train and this puts additional pressure on existing counsellors. The money applied for will help the Bureaux to deal with the personal and social consequences of the recession in the coming year, as unemployment continues to rise and citizens face loss of their homes, jobs or other financial pressures. 

4.3. In view of the amount already given to CitAH and that the sum sought would be a disproportionate amount of the remaining budget for the year, it would not be appropriate to meet their request in full.

4.4. It is therefore recommended that an additional grant of £40,000 be allocated to support the core costs arising, in terms of supporting additional capacity and training.

5. Recommendation

That an additional one-off sum of £40,000 be awarded to Citizens Advice, Hampshire in 2009/10 to assist with debt welfare management during these exceptional times.

STRATFIELD SAYE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

HOG ORG NO:1508

PURPOSES FOR WHICH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS SOUGHT

The Stratfield Saye Educational Foundation is an outside body to which the County Council appoints a trustee. The Foundation was established in 1739 by George Pitt to provide grants for children under 18 years of age in the parishes of Stratfield Saye and Beech Hill for extra curricular activities.

The Foundation is seeking a grant from the County Council to "top up" its grant fund from which awards are made in January and July of each year. The number of applications varies from year to year.

In 2008, applicants received awards ranging from £53 to £442 to cover travel costs and exchange visits.

AMOUNT OF REQUEST

£500

PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION GIVEN BY OTHER EXECUTIVE MEMBERS AND GRANTS PREVIOUSLY AWARDED

11.9.03 - £250 - contribution towards funds

17.5.06 - Nil

31.10.06 - £250 - contribution towards funds

COMMENTS OF LOCAL MEMBER

Councillor Kimber is a trustee of this Foundation. Comments have been sought from the local member, Councillor Chapman.

GENERAL COMMENTS

Chief Executive: Grants from this budget are not normally awarded to organisations requesting funds for onward distribution. It should also be noted that the majority of beneficiaries (fifteen in 2008/09) are from outside of the County.

It is therefore recommended not to award a grant on this occasion.

RECOMMENDATION

Nil

PARKINSONS DISEASE EXTEND EXERCISE GROUP (NEW FOREST) HOG ORG NO:

PURPOSES FOR WHICH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS SOUGHT

Parkinsons Disease Extend Exercise Group (New Forest) wish to provide weekly exercise sessions for people in the Lymington Area who have Parkinsons Disease.

The forty-eight sessions will be held at the Boldre War Memorial Hall and managed by a qualified nurse and instructor. The total cost of providing these classes is £3,024 p.a (£63 per session) which covers, instructor costs, transport, premises hire and refreshments.

The Group has currently raised £500 and is seeking funding from the County Council to cover the remaining sum. Total shortfall is £2,524.

AMOUNT OF REQUEST

£2,524

PREVIOUS CONSIDERATION GIVEN BY OTHER EXECUTIVE MEMBERS AND GRANTS PREVIOUSLY AWARDED

Nil

COMMENTS OF LOCAL MEMBER

GENERAL COMMENTS

Director of Adult Services: This request appears to be more health-focused and it therefore might be more appropriate for the Group to approach the Primary Care Trust for help towards these costs.

Chief Executive: The applicant has advised these sessions were identified through direct demand from members of an existing social group, Lymington Area Parkinsons Support, who attended classes in 2008 and earlier this year.

It should be noted that the New Forest branch of the Society, a different group, has also submitted an application for grant aid to cover the purchase of a P.A. system for their classes.

RECOMMENDATION

£1,250 and request organisation approach the Primary Care Trust for a contribution.

JAMES NANISTA, HARTLEY WINTNEY

PURPOSES FOR WHICH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS SOUGHT

James, currently in Year 11 at Robert Mays Secondary School in Odiham, is participating in a scouting expedition in Uganda during August and is seeking a grant of £150 to help towards his costs, which are approximately £2,300.

He has so far managed to raise nearly £900 towards this and with a matching sum from his parents, his current shorfall is £500.

Recommendation: £150