Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE POLICY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

To bring to the Committee’s attention some important community-based activities that will take place during the next few months.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That grant funding of £1,221 be awarded to Home Start Royston, Buntingford and South Cambridgeshire to assist with costs for providing counselling support to one vulnerable family from Royston for a period of 9 months as outlined in 8.1.1 of the Grants and Community Update.

(2)  That the Committee endorse the actions taken by the Community Engagement Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Royston.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)  To ensure the Committee is kept informed of the work of the Community Engagement Officer.

(2)  This report is intended to inform Members of the financial resources available to the Committee. It draws attention to the current budgetary situation by assisting in the effective financial management of the Area Committee’s budget. This ensures that all actions are performed in line with the Authority’s Financial Regulations, the Council’s Constitution, and the guidance of the existing Grants policy as agreed by Cabinet in January 2020.

(3)  The awarding of financial assistance to voluntary organisations and the use of discretionary spending allows the Committee to further the aims of the Council Plan.

Audio recording – 24 minutes 9 seconds

The Community Engagement Officer presented a written submission from Home-Start Royston, Buntingford and South Cambridgeshire regarding their grant application. He advised:

·         Previous grant of £1050 had been made in 2019 for a similar project and the group had also received funding of £1885 from the Covid Support Fund in 2020.

·         The group were expecting to see an increase in need and families being referred to them for support.

·         The request was for £1221 to cover the cost of counselling support for 9 months for a vulnerable family in Royston. The group would also be contributing £300 of their own funds.

·         Confirmed that the remaining balance would be £3351 following the approval of this grant request.

The following Members asked questions:

·         Councillor Gerald Morris

In response to questions Councillor Tony Hunter advised:

·         Home-Start was a national charity.

·         They worked on both a request and referral system which allowed referrals from various places, e.g. schools, GPs, County Council and for individuals themselves to request access to services.

·         Revenues at Home-Start were reasonably good, but they were expecting more demand this year and fear funds could be stretched due to this.

·         They usually do a lot of fundraising themselves, but have seen opportunities diminish due to Covid restrictions.

Councillor Tony Hunter, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Sarah Dingley seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1,221 be awarded to Home Start Royston, Buntingford and South Cambridgeshire to assist with costs for providing counselling support to one vulnerable family from Royston for a period of 9 months as outlined in 8.1.1 of the Grants and Community Update.

REASON FOR DECISION: The awarding of financial assistance to voluntary organisations and the use of discretionary spending allows the Committee to further the aims of the Council Plan.