To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Rachael Saunders, Stephanie Eaton, Fozol Miah, Amy Whitelock of which Khales Ahmed deputised, Helal Uddin, Denise Jones, and Tim Archer of which Cllr Peter Golds deputised.

Apology was also received from Mr Nozrul Mustufa, Parent Governor.

To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992.  See attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Councillor Peter Golds declared that he is the council nominee to the board of the Green Candle dance company, but is not party to any discussions.

The Chair, Councillor Jackson welcomed all parties and read out an email  from Cllr Choudhury which questioned why the meeting was held at a time knowing that key executive members were scheduled to attend a statutory event. The Chair stated that the date of the meeting was chosen as it was the last date that the call-in could be heard in order to allow time for the Mayor to respond before the Christmas holidays. Moreover, she stated that she had invited the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and all lead members in turn to the meeting, which was the only date that a quorate could be assured, but had been refused by all.

The Chair began the meeting by informing the committee about information she has obtained since the call in and prior to this meeting.  She continued that she had requested specific information from Aman Dalvi such as, details of the grant applications including officer assessments at all stages including drafts, the draft reports and papers on the 3^rd Sector Grants Board, including minutes, and a geographical breakdown of the grants proposals.

The Chair, highlighting her concerns, raised the following points:

·        She queried why the original officer recommendations produced on 14 August 2011 were rejected as the reasons given were, in her judgement, spurious.

·        That Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) has been reviewed and changed and the original approach and processes for Assessment amended.

·        That organisations that had proven track records have either had their funding cut or not received any grant at all for reasons not substantiated.

·        She raised concerns that funding had been allocated to organisations which had been judged as not eligible for funding by officers.

·        The mapping report did not show how funding had been allocated across the borough and there was no stated Mayoral policy to fund some areas to a greater extent than others. Organisations based in the E1 and E2 areas appear to have received a higher proportion of funding than E3 and E14. 

·        That there were documents missing from the MSG documentation folders and this was unexplained.

·        The funding allocation was not conducted in a transparent way, nor had it followed proper guidelines. 

·        Many of the applications in the MSG folders had colour banding which needs further explanations.

Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman for the Call-In Members referred to the reasons in

their requisition and made the following comments:

·        He expressed disappointment that members ‘called in’ were not present at the meeting to be held to account.

·        Noted that whilst some of the funding recommendations presented at Cabinet had been reversed, not all the concerns raised had been addressed

·        The cuts in funding in some areas, including social welfare advice, were not forced upon the administration but rather imposed by the Mayor. In contrast, neighbouring boroughs including Islington and Camden have increased funding for social welfare advice. Despite an overall increase in the amount of funding put into the MSG programme, this had not been directed into continued support for organisations with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.1

In view of the contents of the remaining items on the agenda the Committee is recommended to adopt the following motion:

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.”

EXEMPT/CONFIDENTIAL SECTION (Pink Papers)

The exempt committee papers in the agenda will contain information, which is commercially, legally or personally sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties.  If you do not wish to retain these papers after the meeting, please hand them to the Committee Officer present.

This item was considered in closed session.