This report is for the City Executive Board to make decisions on the allocation of grants to the community and voluntary organisations for 2015/2016.  This report will be submitted in February 2015.

A further monitoring report on the reported achievements resulting from those grant allocations will be submitted to the City Executive Board in June 2016.

The Head of Leisure, Parks and Communities submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed the proposed allocation of grants to community & voluntary organisations for 2015/16 through the Community Grants Programme.

Cllr Rowley, Board member for Leisure Contract and Community Partnership Grants presented the report. He said he was keen for officers to work with the Cutteslowe Community Association (CCA) to make their holiday scheme sustainable.

Shirley McCleery, Chair of the Cutteslowe Community Association (CCA) spoke on the CCA only receiving 25% of the grant it had requested to run a children’s holiday programme. She was concerned there had been an error in calculating the cost per head and that the fees the children pay hadn’t been taken off the overall cost. This had made the total figure per head significantly more expensive than it actually was.

Cllr Price said that the Council would review its decision and would get back to the CCA.

Subject to Council subsequently agreeing the grants budget as set out in Table 1, the City Executive Board resolved to:

1. APPROVE the recommendations for the three year commissioning programme as listed in Appendix one, with the addition of reviewing the Cutteslowe Community Association grant.

2. APPROVE the recommendations for the applications received to the grants annual open bidding programme as set out in Appendix three.

3. APPROVE the recommendation for Oxford Friend to be funded through the Community Safety commissioning theme.

4. DELEGATE authority to the Board member for Leisure Contract and Community Partnership Grants in consultation with the Board member for Customer Services and Social Inclusion and the Head of Customer Services to approve proposals for the unallocated funding (£20,000) in the Advice and Money Management commissioning theme.