Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report from the Community Funding & Development Manager which detailed applications received for 2017-18 funding for projects in the East Area.  Members noted that no award had been proposed for the Hammer and Tong workshops because of lack of sufficiently detailed information, but discussions were continuing, and the unallocated sum of £3,611 could potentially be used for the workshops, or kept for later requests.

In reply to a member’s question, the Community Funding & Development Manager confirmed that all the organisations for which funding was being proposed were paying the living wage.  However, the Scrutiny Committee in January had decided paying the living wage should not be set as a criterion, because it would have to apply to all awards of council grants to the voluntary sector, and the fragility of the voluntary sector was such that this could compromise the stability of a service.  Only three in the whole range of organisations had not been paying the living wage, and work was being undertaken with them to see how they could be supported, but to implement such a criterion would be a wider-reaching corporate task.

In response to a request for members’ advice on suitable locations in the East area for Citizens’ Advice Bureau outreach sessions, members suggested

1)    Barnwell Baptist Church, Howard Road

2)    Tesco, Newmarket Road

3)    East Barnwell Community Centre, Newmarket Road

4)    Abbey Meadows Primary School - Community Wing, Galfrid Road

5)    River Centre, River Lane

6)    St Matthew’s Church

7)    the Cherry Trees Centre

8)    George Pateman Court

9)    St Thomas’s Hall, Ancaster Way

It was urged that the outreach sessions be located close to areas of deprivation, and some reservations were expressed about appearing to endorse a commercial outlet.

The Committee resolved unanimously to:

i.        Approve the awards detailed in Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report and summarised in the table at paragraph 2.1 of the Officer’s report.