The Head of Community Services submitted a report to Cabinet on 15 December 2021 setting out the findings, recommendations and implementation plan following the Grants Strategic Review. 

The Cabinet decisions are set out in the minutes of that meeting (included in this agenda at item 10).

Cabinet Member Cllr Aziz will present the report and propose Cabinet’s recommendations.

Recommendation:

1.    To approve the establishment of a Community Impact Fund totalling £558,000;

2.    To approve the establishment of a commissioning fund totalling £475,000 for domestic abuse, and advice services;

3.    To approve the continued use of the £442,000 homelessness monies alongside the Government grant (paragraph 22);

4.    To agree to the savings shown in table one (at paragraph 79).

Council considered the report from the Head of Community Services seeking approval for the recommendations and approach to implementation contained in the Communities Grants Strategic Review to ensure grants remained fit for purpose.

Cllr Abrishami and Cllr Waite joined the meeting.

Cllr Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities introduced the report, proposed the recommendations and answered questions. Council was advised that, following constructive conversations with Councillors and Advice Centres, the proposed £25,000 saving contained in table one of the report was under review and work was underway to identify alternative options before Budget Council to make the required savings that would not impact Advice Centres.

The recommendations were agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.    Approve the establishment of a Community Impact Fund totalling £558,000.

2.    Approve the establishment of a commissioning fund totalling £475,000 for domestic abuse, and advice services.

3.    Approve the continued use of the £442,000 homelessness monies alongside the Government grant (paragraph 22 of the report).

4.    Agree to the savings shown in table one (paragraph 79 of the report).

The Head of Community Services has submitted a report  which lays out the findings, recommendations and implementation plan following the Grants Strategic Review. The report reflects what has been learnt during the Review and proposes changes to ensure the grants remain fit for purpose, with particular reference to processes, equalities and equity, partnerships, transparency and levering in external funding for Oxford.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.    Endorse the recommendations and approach to implementation contained in the Communities Grants Strategic Review;

2.    Recommend the Council to approve the establishment of a Community

Impact Fund totalling £572,000;

3.    Recommend the Council establishes a commissioning fund totalling

£501,000 for domestic abuse, and advice services;

4.    Recommend that the Council continues to use the £442,000 homelessness monies alongside the Government grant (section 22); 

5.    Recommend the Council agrees the savings shown in table one;

6.    Agree the criteria and weightings (shown in table three) for assessment of

Applications;

7.    Agree that there should be an annual report to the Cabinet to confirm the

criteria and weighting for assessing the following year’s grants to ensure the programme remains fully transparent, inclusive and aligned with the Council's strategic priorities. This report will also update on the impact of the previous year’s grants and commissioning programme; and

8.    Agree that officers should engage directly with the groups impacted and

people who responded to the consultation to explain the changes before they are implemented.

The Head of Community Services had submitted a report  which set out the findings, recommendations and implementation plan following the Grants Strategic Review. The report reflects what has been learnt during the Review and proposes changes to ensure the grants remain fit for purpose, with particular reference to processes, equalities and equity, partnerships, transparency and levering in external funding for Oxford.

Cllr Shaista Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities, said the proposed strategy represented a new approach which would, among other things, encourage applications from a wider range of groups than hitherto and took account of the desirability of environmental sustainability and equality. The strategy would streamline and demystify the application process.

Ian Brooke, Head of Community Services,  said the preceding consultation had been extremely thorough and detailed as illustrated by the report. Completion of the  report’s Equality Impact Assessment had been an ongoing process during development of the strategy rather than something completed after the event.  Appendix 4 as published with the agenda was not the finally agreed version and would be replaced on the CounciI website after the meeting.

The Chair noted the importance of all those with an interest in these matters responding to the forthcoming consultation.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Endorse the recommendations and approach to implementation contained in the Communities Grants Strategic Review;

2.    Recommend the Council to approve the establishment of a Community

Impact Fund totalling £558,000;

3.    Recommend the Council establishes a commissioning fund totalling

£475,000 for domestic abuse, and advice services;

4.    Recommend that the Council continues to use the £442,000 homelessness monies alongside the Government grant (section 22); 

5.    Recommend the Council agrees the savings shown in table one;

6.    Agree the criteria and weightings (shown in table three) for assessment of

Applications;

7.    Agree that there should be an annual report to the Cabinet to confirm the

criteria and weighting for assessing the following year’s grants to ensure the programme remains fully transparent, inclusive and aligned with the Council's strategic priorities. This report will also update on the impact of the previous year’s grants and commissioning programme; and

8.    Agree that officers should engage directly with the groups impacted and

people who responded to the consultation to explain the changes before they are implemented.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 15 December, will consider a report on the Strategic Grants Review. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Cllr Shaista Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities and Ian Brooke, Head of Community Services, have been invited to attend for this item. 

No report was brought to Scrutiny last year concerning grants. However, a number of grants-related recommendations were made as part of the Domestic Abuse Review Group, which are attached.

In advance of the first item of substantive business a brief presentation was made to the Committee on behalf of some of Oxford’s advice centres and in anticipation of item 8 on the Agenda, Strategic Grants Review.  Sue Tanner, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Rosehill and Donnington, spoke on  behalf of the three local advice centres, Agnes Smith in Blackbird Leys; Barton and Rose Hill; and Donnington. She drew attention to a paper which had been distributed by them to members of the Committee in advance of the meeting. A copy of that paper is attached to these minutes.

Advice centres had suffered significant cuts in grant funding in recent years and were now faced with a proposal to remove the Development Fund and to cut a further £25,000 from the budget for advice centres and Citizens Advice.

Advice centres carry out work which, was in effect delegated, to  them by  the City Council, such as the distribution of the Covid support grants and receiving referrals from the Hubs.  All the work they did was in line with Council’s strategic priorities.

Advice centres worked in the most deprived areas of the city, bringing  financial gains for clients in those neighbourhoods . Last year the three centres helped clients to access nearly £10 million,  which was a good return on the £0.5 million received from the City Council.

She hoped that the Committee would recommend rejection of the proposal to reduce by £25,000 the core funding to the advice centres

Cllr Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities, introduced the report by first thanking Sue Tanner for her presentation at the beginning of the meeting and for the important contribution made by all those who work in advice centres. The workload of advice centres had undoubtedly increased as a result of Covid, having to  deal with a multitude of issues, frequently affecting the most vulnerable   members of the community and  particularly women. The proposals before the Committee didn’t seek to identify, specifically, where cuts would be made but, rather, to set out  a strategy for making such decisions in due course. Comments made at this stage would help to inform the strategy.

Cllr Aziz  was grateful for the letter which had been sent to members of the Committee on behalf of the advice centres  in advance of the meeting  and said she would be pleased to meet their representatives to discuss their concerns. It was agreed that this letter should inform the Budget Review group’s deliberations.

The strategy sought to set out a new approach to grant funding which supported the following principles: equalities at the heart of the programme; recovery from Covid; tackling deprivation; and environmentally sustainable. The strategy also sought to make the process of accessing grants easier and, in particular, to facilitate access to grants by organisations/groups  which had not done so previously.

Ian Brooke,  Head of Community Services, said the need to take £200k from the overall programme was a difficult and unwelcome challenge. The review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73