Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Virtual meeting - Online. View directions

Contact: 03450 450 500 Email: Democratic.Services@scambs.gov.uk 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Minutes:

The Grants Advisory Committee authorised the Chair to sign, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held Friday January 2021.

4.

Community Chest Grant: Funding Applications pdf icon PDF 254 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Grants Advisory Committee reviewed all Community Chest applications received between 21st January 2021 and 12 Feb 2021.

 

After consideration of these applications, the Committee recommended to the Lead Cabinet Member for Finance that:

 

1. Bassingbourn Nature Rangers (CNDMQGMT) be deferred pending further information.

2. Sew Positive (DFGDHTLL) be funded at the requested amount of £1000

3. Arthur Rank Hospice Charity (WCGXMSDZ) be funded at the requested amount of £564.00

4. Linton Village Cricket Club (KGZHXVSS) be funded at the requested amount of £1000

 

After consideration of temporary amendments to the Community Chest Guidance, the Committee recommended to the Lead Cabinet Member for Finance that the following text be inserted to the Community Chest Guidance (Appendix B):

 

“The Grants Advisory Committee have agreed to relax the eligible body requirements for Community Chest Applications until 28th May 2021 committee meeting (and a second round of applications to be invited to June 2021 Committee if unspent funding remains). This is to allow any group or Parish Council to apply for a Covid recovery related grant of up to £2,000. The Committee can award a maximum grant allocation of up to £2000 specifically in the case of applications designed to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and aid recovery.”

 

This was in addition to the standard Community Chest applications that may be made.

 

This was a temporary change to Community Chest Guidance, for applications brought before May 2021 (or possibly June 2021) committee meetings depending on remaining funding.

 

It was noted that this was a temporary change in guidance and that any applications reviewed under this guidance were done so entirely at the discretion of the Grants Advisory Committee. No guarantee of funding was made for normal or Covid recovery related Community Chest Applications.

5.

Zero Carbon Communities (ZCC) Grant Scheme 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 494 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee noted that the Zero Carbon Communities (ZCC) Grant Fund for 2021/22 would be split across the 3 themes, with the potential to change the amount of funding allocated to each theme if necessary:

 

  1. Community buildings (40%)
  2. Tree planting & nature (40%)
  3. Exceptional projects (20%)

 

It was remarked by the Committee that as community engagement was part of the criteria, the Council must ensure that community engagement was more than just publicity and that applicants need to show evidence of wider engagement to reduce carbon emissions. It was agreed that examples would be provided for applicants so that they could understand what was expected and the process by which to achieve it. It was also suggested that the Council could put applicants in touch with Parish Councils or groups that were previously successful to provide advice.

 

The Committee requested that officers include a section covering additionality, which would show that the applicant had not applied for overlapping funding from another government source. It was noted that those applicants who were unsuccessful in previous round of funding were given suggestions on which other grants they might be able to receive funding from and how to access them.

 

It was noted that the previous round of funding received 56 applications of which 17 were funded, it was remarked however, that the full total of funded applications was 27 as 10 energy surveys had also been carried out.

 

It was remarked by Members that the Zero Carbon Communities fund should be spread further than in previous rounds. It was agreed that officers would review splitting the grant to ensure a more even spread. It was suggested to split the funding so that 50% would be available for schemes over £10k and 50% available for those under 10k.

 

The committee requested for case studies to be provided for any small, medium or large projects. The Committee requested further advertising of the environment partnership event as this would allow prospective applicants to hear from those who had previously been successful. It was agreed that this would be recorded to allow those who miss to access this information.

 

It was agreed that the date for application submissions would be changed to the end of July. Since the meeting it was agreed that the grant would be launched on 10 May 2021, rather than 1 April 2021 due to the pre-election period.

 

It was agreed that officers would review how to take certain applications out of the grant fund to be hired by the Council to provide a service. It was queried if this would need to go through the full procurement process.

 

It was noted that any applications that had requested more than £5,000 would be recommended to seek part funding from other sources.

 

The Grants Advisory Committee, in discussion with the Climate and Environment Advisory Committee confirmed that the changes to the Zero Carbon Communities (ZCC) Grant Fund did not significantly affect the policies and criteria of the grant scheme.

 

6.

Date of next meetings

The next meeting will be held on Friday 26 March at 10am.

Minutes:

Friday 26 March 2021 at 10:00am.