Contact Officer: Julia Tomkins, Grants and External Funding Officer.

Tel: 01865 252685, email: jtomkins@oxford.gov.uk

The Head of Leisure, Parks and Communities, and the Head of Customer Service, submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) that provided information on the review of community and voluntary organisations grant programme.

Julia Tomkins (Grants and External Funding Officer) presented the report to the Committee and provided some background and context. Councillor Curran (Board Member for Youth and Communities), Ian Brooke (Head of Leisure) and Helen Bishop (Head of Customer Service) also attended the meeting in order to answer questions from members.

Questions and issues raised by the Committee

Advice Centres

The Committee noted that there was a pilot scheme to examine some of the welfare changes in order to determine how the Council could work with Advice Centres. With the advent of Universal Credit there was a desire for the Council (Customer Services) to work more closely with welfare advice providers. Advice Centres had been given a 1 year contract with the Council with a view to entering into a 3 year contract subsequently. 

The Council sought a representative from each Advice Centre to sit on the welfare Officers Group. This group reported to the Welfare Reference Members’ Panel. The Committee asked that this be broadened to include a representative from the Scrutiny Committee as Councillor Coulter had expressed an interest in taking on that role. Helen Bishop (Head of Customer Service) indicated that she was happy to add Councillor Coulter, subject to approval from City Executive Board.

Need

In answer to a question, Julia Tomkins indicated that the need grants funding far outstripped supply. Last year £400,000 was requested under the open bidding scheme – but the budget for that was £95,000. The Council made awards to some 20 groups, but very few received all the funding that they had requested.

Benefit

The Committee observed that there seemed, in some cases, to be a disparity between the amount of expenditure and the numbers that benefitted.  It understood, though, that some smaller organisations supported fewer clients, and that they were often the most vulnerable.

There was concern that the Council might be subsidising people from outside Oxford to take part in arts activities. The Committee was interested to know (assuming that the organisations concerned) from which post code areas participants were drawn.

There was a need to be aware that a small number of beneficiaries did not mean that the work was not valuable. Statistics were useful but they did not necessarily show the full picture. Numbers were useful but the value and impact of a grant was arguably even more important.

Grant aid from the City Council could lever in further grants from elsewhere. In the case of the arts, this had totalled £8 million and for housing, a further £6 million. The Committee would be interested to have clarity particularly around arts issues and outreach work.

Recommendation to CEB on 9^th October

That a member of the Scrutiny Committee be offered a seat on the Welfare Reform Members Panel.  This would be Councillor Coulter until May 2014.

The Committee thanked Julian Tomkins, Ian Brooke, Helen Bishop and Councillor Curran for their attendance and useful input.