Agenda item

(A report by Maddy Eyre, Local Communities Development Officer and BTAC Grant Administrator)

The Local Communities Officer presented the reportconfirming she would present an update on the small grants applications from round 3 of the financial year, currently on hold due to Covid-19.  Members where further advised that with the agreement of the Chairman, committee would be asked to consider an additional proposal not on the agenda, in respect moving forward with the small grant scheme into the next financial year.

Six applications had been received in Round 3 of the Boston Town Area Committee Small Grant Scheme all of which had been eligible for consideration.  However, in light of the covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, the original committee meeting where the six applications were scheduled to be endorsed, had been cancelled, putting the applications on hold.  When a new meeting date was considered, all 6 applicants had been contacted to establish whether, should they be awarded funding, their projects would be able to go ahead.  They were given 3 options:

Option 1:  Allow their application to be submitted for decision at the August Meeting – if approved funds to be transferred to their respective accounts for their project to be delivered straight away OR at a later stage when they feel able to do so.

Option 2:  Keep their application on hold until later in the year, when they have a better idea of how they intend to move forward with their project into next year.

Option 3:  Withdraw their application from the scheme and resubmit another time when they feel able to do so.

The two applicants who had chosen option 2, had both been assured that the funding allocated for Round 3 19/20 would remain available when they were able to re-submit their applications.    £2,448.33 to be ring-fenced for the two applications.

The four applicants who chose option 1 for consideration at this meeting were then noted along with the suggested award agreed by the working group at its’ meeting on the 27^th February 2020.

Boston Samaritans. 

To purchase branded promotional material to aid awareness.    The sum requested £706.67.   The award suggested by the working group £796.67.

Lincolnshire Community & Voluntary Service – English Language Co-ordination Project

To contribute towards the cost of continuing to provide a single point of access website to enable people to find appropriate English language courses – formal and informal from a number of Boston providers.  The sum requested £1000.00.  The award suggested £1000.00 with part of the monitoring to provide evidence of impact to support them looking for funding from other sources.

Boston Hakusan City 20/21 Exchange Programme

To contribute towards costs of providing the visiting Japanese students and their chaperones with souvenirs, trips and activities while they are here and contribute towards their Farewell Ceremony. The sum requested £1000.00.  The award suggested £1000.00.

Wyberton Football Club

To contribute towards the purchase of a mower to enable them to keep maintenance of their grounds in-house.  The sum requested £1000.00. The award suggested by the working group £500.00 being proportionate to the number of BTAC residents supported by the club

Committee deliberation followed which included:

Councillor Alison Austin asked it be noted that she was a trustee and director of Centrepoint Outreach one of the applicants who had deferred their application until a later date under option 2. 

Referencing Wyberton Football Club a member questioned if they received financial support from Wyberton Parish Council, whilst another advised that they did self-fund many of their facilities.  Another member queried why only £500 was suggested when the facility was run by many volunteers and involved people from across the borough.  The member further moved that the £1000 be granted.  The Chairman confirmed that the points raised at the working group meeting did assure that the no. of young people from the BTAC area only warranted the £500 as a proportionate amount.

No member seconded the proposal to grant the £1000 requested.

A member sought further clarification on the Hakusan exchange programme questioning who benefitted from the funding and was advised that it was an exchange programme with young people selected from the Boston area to take part.  There was a rigorous selection process and candidates had to raise their own funds in order to take part.  When students from Japan along with chaperones came to Boston, they stayed with their elected family and vice versa.  The funding was to allow the project to offer guest students to take part in as many opportunities and events as possible. 

A further member noted that whilst the offer was to any student it was out of reach of many and although they supported the scheme, they would have preferred an easier process to take part for those children who did not have / were unable to source the finances required.  The member thanked the officer for their update and expressed their delight that the students were given the opportunity.

Moving to the second part of their presentation the Local Communities Officer advised that during the period of lockdown all potential grant applicants were notified of the suspension of the scheme as well as those applicants already assessed by the Working Group, in February, for Round 3.  There had been no further approaches by any new group wishing to apply to the scheme to assist with the delivery of service either as a consequence of covid-19 or otherwise.  However, Boston Community Transport who had been awarded funding in Round 2 of the last financial year, had made contact to see if their funding for could be retained until they were able to deliver their project, suspended due to covid-19.

Suggesting a way to move the grant scheme forward, to maximise the opportunity afforded groups to apply to the scheme, the Local Communities Officer asked for consideration of their proposal.  Members were asked to agree the continued suspension of the scheme for the current financial year, and then begin a period of promotion for applications to be submitted in January 2021 to be assessed and put to the committee in April 2021.  The scheme would still ring-fence the remaining budget from 19/20 to those applicants who had decided to defer their applications, which could be potentially be picked up again in the January submissions and we would start 20/21 financial year with £18,000 which will include roll over from this financial year which hasn’t been spent.  Furthermore committee were asked to increase the maximum amount that can be awarded to £2,000 and highlight that the criteria for funds could be for both revenue and capital spend to assist in a group’s recovery from the crisis.

The group would start 2021 with £18,000 to include rollover from the current financial year.

RESOLVED:

1. That BTAC endorse the following recommendation made by the working group in respect of eligible applications where the applicant had confirmed they are able to deliver their project following the covid-19 outbreak.

Boston Samaritans.       £796.67.

Lincolnshire Community & Voluntary Service – English Language Co-ordination Project.   £1000.00

Boston Hakusan City 20/21 Exchange Programme.  £1000.00

Wyberton Football Club.  £500.00

2. That BTAC agree the continued suspension of the small grants scheme for the current financial year and then it begin a period of promotion for application to be submitted in January 2021 to be assessed and put to committee in April 2021.