DECISION

1.    To agree to fund projects listed in Appendix 1 to the report totalling £2,406,048 as Mayor’s Covid Recovery Fund to support the recovery of the borough.

2.    From the Mayor’s Covid Recovery fund agreed in Recommendation 1, to add £50,000 to the cohesion theme of the Small Grants Programme in accordance with our current grants policy.

3.    To authorise the relevant Corporate Director to enter into an agreement with East End Community Foundation (EECF) for the management of the fund referred to in recommendation 2 in line with the other small grants fund themes.

4.    To authorise the relevant Corporate Director to enter into any other agreements to give effect to the recommendations in the report.

5.    To note that details of any grants awarded from Mayor’s Covid Recovery  Fund monies will be reported to Grants Determination (Cabinet) Sub Committee.

Action by:

CHIEF EXECUTIVE (W. TUCKLEY)

(Director, Strategy, Policy and Performance (S. Godman)

(Head of Strategy and Performance (A. Hoque)

Reasons for the decisions

There is a need to support the Tower Hamlets community to recover from the impact of the pandemic and to address the damage caused by it. This report presents details of the Mayor’s Covid Recovery Fund, including an overview of the proposed funding programme and themes, along with details of recommended project proposals to help achieve the commitments to support community recovery.

Alternative options

The Council can decide not to contribute to the borough’s recovery. This is not recommended as our impact and engagement work, detailed below, has highlighted that it is crucial to support recovery of the borough in order to ensure that we can achieve the aims and objectives of the Council’s Strategic Plan.

The Council could agree an alternative set of projects to be funded or ask for some proposals to be reworked.

Councillor Sirajul Islam, Statutory Deputy Mayor for Community Safety, Faith and Equalities introduced the report that that presented proposals for funding projects to support the Tower Hamlets community to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman, Cabinet Member for Work and Economic Growth, highlighted the positive impact the grants were anticipated to have on helping recovery in the local economy.

Councillor Mohammed Pappu, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, addressed the meeting and highlighted a concern that had been identified by his committee at its last meeting, concerning an award for mindfulness services at the London Buddhist Centre. The Mayor welcomed the committee’s question and provided a summary response and indicated that a full response would be provided in the officers’ responses to the pre decision scrutiny questions that would be published shortly after the meeting.

The Mayor moved the recommendations as set out and they were agreed without dissent. It was:

RESOLVED

1.    To agree to fund projects listed in Appendix 1 to the report totalling £2,406,048 as Mayor’s Covid Recovery Fund to support the recovery of the borough.

2.    From the Mayor’s Covid Recovery fund agreed in Recommendation 1, to add £50,000 to the cohesion theme of the Small Grants Programme in accordance with our current grants policy.

3.    To authorise the relevant Corporate Director to enter into an agreement with East End Community Foundation (EECF) for the management of the fund referred to in recommendation 2 in line with the other small grants fund themes.

4.    To authorise the relevant Corporate Director to enter into any other agreements to give effect to the recommendations in the report.

5.    To note that details of any grants awarded from Mayor’s Covid Recovery  Fund monies will be reported to Grants Determination (Cabinet) Sub Committee.