Decision details

To consider the grant funding proposal (and the associated conditions and criteria) for 2025-28 and beyond, designed to facilitate the sustainability of Mobile and Community Warden Schemes operating in South Cambridgeshire.

Cabinet:

a)    Agreed the proposed Mobile and Community Warden 3-year funding scheme for 2025-28 in Appendix E to the report (subject to the Council’s normal annual budget setting processes) to include –

                                      i.        Tapered core funding allocations of £135,000 in year 1, £110,000 in year 2, and £100,000 in year 3.

                                     ii.        Ring-fenced funding within each annual allocation to support new or expanding schemes or to help existing schemes develop and become financially sustainable.

                                    iii.        One-off transition funding of £15,000 (included in the £135,000 of core funding) for 2025-26 to provide damping to those schemes that would otherwise receive less grant funding than provided in 2024-25.

b)    Noted the proposal of a 10-year grant plan that would be reviewed every three years, and which would see funding taper off to £0 for existing schemes and maintained at £20,000 per annum for new or expanding schemes (subject to inflation).

c)    Approved the Mobile and Community Warden grant scheme terms and conditions at Appendix F to the report, and delegated authority for any minor amends to the Lead Cabinet Member for Communities.

d)    Agreed the launch of the 2025-28 Mobile and Community Warden scheme in October 2024, with grant decisions to be made by the Lead Cabinet Member for Resources following recommendations by the Grants Advisory Committee in December 2024 (Timeline at Appendix F to the report).