Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Voluntary Support Grant Committee - Tuesday, 23rd February, 2021 12.30 pm

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Items

No.

Item

Election of a Chair

To elect a Chair of the Committee.

Decision:

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Hargreaves as Chair.

Minutes:

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Hargreaves as Chair.

Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest

To receive apologies for absence and declarations of interest

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Lodge.

VSG Application - Community 360 Training PDF 148 KB

To consider the VSG application of Community 360 Training (previously VST). This item was considered at the VSGC held on 15 February and further information was requested.

Minutes:

At the previous meeting, Members had requested further information in respect of whether the organisation’s expenditure during the pandemic had been less than usual. The organisation had satisfactorily explained their position.

Members fully supported the officers’ recommendation and noted that the organisation had a proven record.

RESOLVED to grant Community 360 Training £6,000.

VSG Application - Saffron Hall Trust PDF 345 KB

To consider the VSG application of Saffron Hall Trust.

Minutes:

Councillor Lodge had previously declared a personal and prejudicial interest as he was a trustee of the organisation. He took no part in the decision-making process and did not attend this meeting.

The Chair said that the case for funding had been well presented and that there was a clear explanation as to why £9,000 funding had been requested.

Members recognised that this organisation was a very professional body, providing a very good service for a wide spectrum of ages, particularly through intergenerational projects.

RESOLVED to grant Saffron Hall Trust £9,000.

Applications by Organisations PDF 15 KB

View the background to item 5.

Further to consideration of VSG applications made by various organisations at the VSGC on 15 February, to now consider all applications in accordance with overall budgetary limits.

Minutes:

The Chair said that the previous meeting of the Committee had agreed to grant organisations £345,881, subject to the consideration of all valid applications and the overall budget limit. He confirmed that there was £386,200 available to allocate.

He said that approval had previously been given for £7,381 to be provided to Carers First and Members supported the proposal to round that figure up to £7,400.

RESOLVED to grant Carers First £7,400.

The Chair said that, following consideration of all grants, this left a sum of £25,300 available to distribute. He proposed that this remaining sum be allocated by looking at the organisations that had most clearly had extra costs to cover during the pandemic. This view was supported.

Members noted that the Council for Voluntary Services Uttlesford (CVSU) had detailed additional costs directly related to Covid-19 as £71,000 and recognised that the organisation had shown great innovations throughout the pandemic in maintaining communications with the public. A proposal was made to increase the previously agreed sum by 50%.

RESOLVED to grant the Council for Voluntary Services Uttlesford (CVSU) £51,000.

Members noted that approval had previously been given for £40,000 to be provided to Uttlesford Community Travel but that the organisation had sought £48,300. Members noted that the organisation had been lifeblood to many people during the pandemic and particularly recognised that many people were currently using the service to get to vaccination centres.

RESOLVED to grant Uttlesford Community Travel £48,300.

All other grants remained as approved at the meeting held on 15 February 2021and the final allocation of £386,200 has been detailed in the table below.

The Chair stated that additional funding had been found for this year but there were no guarantees for future years.


Organisation	Project	Amount Requested 2021/22	Allocated 2020/21	Amount Initially Allocated 2021/22	Amount Finally Allocated 2021/22
Council for Voluntary Services Uttlesford (CVSU)	Core funding	£34,000.00	£34,000	£34,000	£51,000
Uttlesford Community Travel	Core funding	£48,300.00	£40,000	£40,000	£48,300
Uttlesford Community Travel	Vehicle replacement	*	*	*	*
St Clare West Essex Hospice Care Trust	Core funding	£5,000.00	£3,000	£5,000	£5,000
Community 360 Training	Core funding	£6,000.00	£6,000	C/F	£6,000
Home-Start Essex	Core funding	£10,500.00	£10,500	£10,500	£10,500
Volunteer Uttlesford	Core funding	£22,000.00	£13,600	£18,000	£18,000
Support 4 Sight	Core funding	£11,650.00	£11,286	£10,000	£10,000
Action for Family Carers	Core funding	£14,077.73	£15,400	£15,000	£15,000
Hearing Help Essex	Core funding	£3,500.00	£2,000	£3,500	£3,500
Uttlesford Citizens Advice	Core funding	£155,000.00	£155,000	£155,000	£155,000
Uttlesford Citizens Advice	Frontline	£5,000.00	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000
Citizens Advice East Herts	Core funding	£11,500.00	£11,500	£11,500	£11,500
Accuro (Care Service)	Core funding	£25,000.00	£10,000	£20,000	£20,000
Uttlesford Buffy Bus Association - Buffy Playbus	Core funding	£5,709.00	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000
Carers First	Core funding	£7,381.00	£6,000	£7,381	£7,400
Saffron Hall Trust	Core funding	£9,000.00	£1,000	C/F	£9,000
Bridge Meadows CIC	Core funding	£5,000.00	Nil	Nil	Nil
Dig-It Community Allotment	Core funding	£6,000.00	Nil	£6,000	£6,000
Saffron Walden Mencap Society	Core funding	£8,000.00	Nil	Nil	Nil

	Total	£392,617.73	£329,286	£345,881	£386,200


		* £17,000 vehicle ... view the full minutes text for item 5.

Council for Voluntary Services Uttlesford (CVSU)

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant CVSU Organisation £51,000.

Uttlesford Community Travel

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Uttlesford Community Travel £48,300.

St Clare West Essex Hospice Care Trust

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant St Clare West Essex Hospice Care Trust £5,000.

Community 360 Training

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Community 360 Training £6,000.

Home-Start Essex

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Home-Start Essex £10,500.

Volunteer Uttlesford

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Volunteer Uttlesford £18,000.

Support 4 Sight

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Support 4 Sight £10,000.

Action for Family Carers

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Action for Family Carers £15,000.

Hearing Help Essex

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Hearing Help Essex £3,500.

Uttlesford Citizens Advice

Decision:

RESOLVED to recommend that Cabinet grant Uttlesford Citizens Advice £160,000.

Citizens Advice East Herts

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Citizens Advice East Herts £11,500.

Accuro (Care Services)

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Accuro (Care Services) £20,000.

Uttlesford Buffy Bus Association - Buffy Playbus

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Uttlesford Buffy Bus Association £5,000.

Carers First

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Carers First £7,400.

Bridge Meadows CIC

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Bridge Meadows CIC nil monies.

Dig It Community Allotment

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Dig It Community Allotment £6,000.

Saffron Walden Mencap Society

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Saffron Walden Mencap Society nil monies.

Saffron Hall Trust

Decision:

RESOLVED to grant Saffron Hall Trust £9,000.