The Head of Leisure, Parks and Communities has submitted a report to inform members of monitoring information returned by community & voluntary organisations awarded a grant by the City Council in 2013/14.

Officer Recommendations: That the City Executive Board

1.    Note the report 

2.    Approve the recommendation made by Price Waterhouse Coopers that there should be a penalty for organisations not returning their monitoring information of not being able to reapply for future funding and the grant  awarded should be reclaimed.

The Head of Leisure, Parks and Communities submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed the monitoring information returned by community & voluntary organisations awarded a grant by the City Council in 2013/14.

Cllr Rowley, Executive Board Member for Leisure Contract and Community Partnership Grants presented the report. He outlined that Price Waterhouse Coopers recommendation was really formalising something that was already being done. If organisations cannot account for how the grant was spent the Council would seek the grant money back. Officers to help struggling organisations complete the monitoring forms.

Cllr Fooks asked if the grants criteria could change so that community groups could claim for staff costs?   The Board felt that such a change to the criteria would encourage dependency and that community groups needed to be self- sufficient.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Note the report

2.    Approve the recommendation made by Price Waterhouse Coopers that there should be a penalty for organisations not returning their monitoring information of not being able to reapply for funding the following year and the grant awarded should be reclaimed.