None received

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.

There were no declarations of interests.

To approve as a correct record of proceedings, the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th January 2019

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting held on 16^th January 2019 were presented and approved as a correct record of proceedings.

Consideration of any written comments received from members of the public in relation to any of the reports on the agenda.

[Any submissions should be sent to the clerk listed on the agenda front page by 5pm the day before the meeting]

There were no public submissions relating to the agenda items to be considered at the meeting.

To note for information individual decisions relating to the award of grants that have been taken by the Mayor the last meeting.

The Sub - Committee noted that, since the last meeting, the Mayor had taken no urgent decisions in the form of an Individual Mayoral Decision that related to grants.

Keith Burns (Programme Director Special Projects, Commissioning & Health) presented the report seeking agreement of the process for awarding grant funding to small groups to enable them to deliver social activities for older people. The report also included an annual report for projects funding by the programme for 2017/18.  He also referred to the Cabinet agreement to include this grant funding in the VCS Grants Programme in future years. However to avoid a delay in delivering the activities, particularly the summer activities, pending the completion of that process, it was proposed to bring forward this programme now.

At the request of the Grants Scrutiny Sub – Committee, a list of recipients for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 funding was circulated as supplemental information.

The Chair of the Grants Scrutiny Sub – Committee reported feedback on its consideration of the report. In additional to requesting the above information, the Sub – Committee welcomed the proposals in principal, but sought further information regarding measures to increase take up in certain wards and amongst the LGBT community .The GSCC were satisfied with the responses. The GSSC endorsed the report.

The Mayor then invited GDSC Members to comment on the report. The GDSC also asked questions about the outreach work to encourage groups to apply for the funding particularly in the underrepresented areas. Members also requested that information on the applications process could be included in the Council’s Members’ Bulletin. In response, Officers provided reassurances about the publicity measures to encourage applications, through for example working with local groups. Officers would also work with specialist LGBT groups to provide information to such community groups on the application process. Information could also be included in the Council’s Members bulletin.

DECISION

1.         That the process for inviting applications for the Ageing Well Small Grants fund 2019/20 be approved.

2.         That the availability of funding for the proposal be noted.

3.         That the process for awarding the grant funding, and subsequent monitoring arrangements be agreed.

4.         That the Joint Director of Integrated Commissioning be delegated responsibility for approving the awards of grant.

Keith Burns (Programme Director Special Projects, Commissioning & Health) presented the report seeking agreement of the process for awarding grant funding to small groups to enable them to deliver social activities for older people. The report also included an annual report for projects funding by the programme for 2017/18.  He also referred to the Cabinet agreement to include this grant funding in the VCS Grants Programme in future years. However to avoid a delay in delivering the activities, particularly the summer activities, pending the completion of that process, it was proposed to bring forward this programme now.

At the request of the Grants Scrutiny Sub – Committee, a list of recipients for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 funding was circulated as supplemental information.

The Chair of the Grants Scrutiny Sub – Committee reported feedback on its consideration of the report. In additional to requesting the above information, the Sub – Committee welcomed the proposals in principal, but sought further information regarding measures to increase take up in certain wards and amongst the LGBT community .The GSCC were satisfied with the responses. The GSSC endorsed the report.

The Mayor then invited GDSC Members to comment on the report. The GDSC also asked questions about the outreach work to encourage groups to apply for the funding particularly in the underrepresented areas. Members also requested that information on the applications process could be included in the Council’s Members’ Bulletin. In response, Officers provided reassurances about the publicity measures to encourage applications, through for example working with local groups. Officers would also work with specialist LGBT groups to provide information to such community groups on the application process. Information could also be included in the Council’s Members bulletin.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the process for inviting applications for the Ageing Well Small Grants fund 2019/20 be approved.

2.         That the availability of funding for the proposal be noted.

3.         That the process for awarding the grant funding, and subsequent monitoring arrangements be agreed.

4.         That the Joint Director of Integrated Commissioning be delegated responsibility for approving the awards of grant.

Alison Denning (Festival and Events Officer), presented the report providing an overview of Event Funding Applications and awards during the 2018-19 financial year. It was noted that this report covered the period April 2018 to March 2019.

It was noted that in response to feedback, Officers had amended the format of the progress reports to provide two reports. This first report, before Members,  provided an overview of the applications received and awarded for the year. A second report would be presented to the GDSC meeting in the late summer and would provide monitoring information.  Copies of an updated version of the report  were circulated containing minor factual changes.

Ms Denning summarised the key points in the report, including details of the number of applications received and awarded, ward information and the approach to publicising the initiative, including the provision of workshops and information in the Member Bulletin. It was noted that Officers had worked with groups to increase the number of projects in the less well represented areas.

The Chair of the Grants Scrutiny Sub –Committee reported feedback from this discussion of the report. The GSSC welcomed the change in the reporting style and noted the historic imbalance in terms of coverage of activities in the borough. GSSC welcomed the work to address this. The GSSC also noted the drop in the number of applications for the Big Lunch fund and that Officers were working to address this. The GSCC were satisfied with the responses. The GSSC endorsed the report.

The Mayor then invited GDSC Members to comment on the report. Members also noted the ongoing work to increase take up in the underrepresented wards. Members also asked questions about the information provided by the recipients in terms of their customer profile and it was noted that Officer could provide further information regarding the location of the organisations.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the contents of the report be noted.

Steve Hill (Head of Benefits), Robert Mee (Interim Voluntary & Community Sector Team Manager) and David Freeman (Voluntary and Community  Sector Strategy Manager) presented the MSG performance report for July 2018 to August 2018. 

There were 112 live projects in this period. Of these, three were rated red for performance.  All three related to the Tower Hamlets Youth Sports Foundation (THYSF) and concerned outstanding premises agreements. Officers had contacted the THYSF to confirm details of premises usage. It was anticipated that the recommendations in the report  would enable the issues to be concluded.

There was also one amber project - Wadajir Somali Community Centre – Homework Club.  Officers had worked with this group to agree the recommendation as set out in the report. Officers and the TH Youth Service supported the recommendation.

The third recommendation related to the Tower Hamlets Community Transport (THCT), seeking grant funding for a three year period to cover loan repayments for replacement vehicles.  Officers outlined the reasons for this request and the need to replace the ageing fleet to meet emissions requirements given the introduction of the ULEZ.  Officers also advised of the reasons why the option of moving to electric powered vehicles could not at this stage be pursued on the grounds of conflict with the weight restrictions for passenger vehicles driven by volunteers – the weight of which exceeded the regulations.

The Chair of the GSSC reported feedback on their consideration of the item. The Committee discussed the recommendation regarding the Wadajir Somali Community Centre. They were satisfied with the efforts to encourage more boys to take up the provision.  Regarding THCT, they discussed the possibility of purchasing electric vehicles (as outlined above) and the exceptional circumstances justifying the proposal. The GSSC also asked questions about the reporting periods. The GSCC were satisfied with the responses received and supported the recommendations. 

In response to these points, Officers confirmed that they would update the key achievements column in the appendix of the report to reflect the period’s achievements and publish this on the website. It was also noted that a report setting out project performance over a three year period would be submitted to the May meeting of the GSDC, highlighting the outcomes of projects.

The Mayor then invited GDSC Members to comment on the report. Members asked questions about the opportunity costs of providing funding for the replacement vehicles and noted details of the grant arrangements. THCT had produced a business plan providing details regarding their ability to increase their income to enable them to meet their obligations regarding the loan and to invest in more vehicles.

Members also asked questions about the option of ‘hybrid’ electric powered vehicles and noted that the same advice applied to such vehicles as with electric vehicles, with regard to exceeding weight restrictions.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the significant variation to the Wadajir Somali Community Centre project be agreed to replace the existing boys provision with additional provision for girls. This will move the performance rating to Green and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.3

There was no other business.