Issue - meetings

The Chairman and Portfolio Holder for Grants to Voluntary Organisations, Councillor Azad, introduced the report which set out the grant applications received as part of the Community Support Scheme 2020/21, noting that the recommended funding totalled £911,872 of the available revenue budget, with a further £10,000 to be ringfenced.  In addition, the recommendations for capital or one-off applications equated to £200,509 from the Community Fund.

The Chairman noted that the high level of support from Woking Borough Council showed its ongoing commitment to supporting the voluntary sector, which included grant funding, accommodation, concessionary rent, discretionary rate relief, parking spaces and the provision of advice.  The total value of the Council’s support for the voluntary sector for the coming year was estimated to be £1,967,704, which was significantly higher than any other local authority in Surrey.

The importance of Groups undertaking joint working with the Council was noted along with the ongoing constraints on Council budgets which required the community groups to prepare for possible funding reductions each year.  The Groups were encouraged to pursue other sources of available funding and to liaise with the Council’s Community Development team.

Following a question by Councillor Forster, it was noted that the overall revenue budget had been held at the same level for several years, with a reduction in 2018/19 to accommodate the transfer of Woking Association of Voluntary Service into the Council due to a grant award no longer being required.  Councillor Kemp stated that the level of support provided by the Council continued to be very high, particularly in comparison with other local authorities in the County. 

Attention was drawn to the application from Woking Mind and it was noted that the application had been deferred to a future meeting of the Executive to enable further time for the purpose of the grant to be explored by officers in consultation with the Group, as the transfer of Cornerhouse into Woking Mind was being completed.  It was expected that any recommendation for funding would be through a service budget as opposed to a grant award.

The Chairman thanked Officers for their work in the preparation of the reports before the Executive.

RESOLVED

That  (i)    the report be noted;

          (ii)   Officers work with Woking Mind to fully understand the Charity’s requirements for the coming year, with the intention of bringing a report with a funding proposal to a future meeting of the Executive;

          (iii)  any unused funds remaining in the budget from the 2020/21 financial year be transferred to the Community Fund; and

          (iv)  the allocation of funding of £10,000 to the Woking Asian Business Forum to manage the Alpha Road Community Hall (ARCH) be noted.

Reason:   To determine financial support for voluntary and community organisations through the Council’s Community Grants Scheme for the 2020/21 financial year.