Agenda item

To consider the report of the Community Involvement and Inclusion Officer.

The Chair welcomed Christine Fraser of the Exeter Community Forum who explained the background to the creation of the Forum and advised that the Forum had been charged with setting up a Grants Making Panel. The Communities Involvement and Inclusion Officer further set out the proposed terms of reference for the Panel, led by Exeter Community Forum,that would make future recommendations to Council on how the neighbourhood portion of the CIL should be spent.

In March2016, Executive had approved the Exeter Community Strategy as a living document that would inform the allocation of the neighbourhood portion of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and a proportion of the New Homes Bonus. It had been agreed that £150,000 of New Homes Bonus funding be used over the next two to three years to support capacity building work with community groups across the city requiring investment to enable them to access the CIL neighbourhood funding in future years.

The proposed Panel would comprise:-

• The Exeter Community Forum Chairperson;
• up to four other community representatives drawn from different community organisations which are full members of Exeter Community Forum;
• the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Communities and Neighbourhoods;
• the Council’s Community Involvement and Inclusion Officer or nominated substitute (non-voting member); and
• when established, a member of the Exeter Community Youth Forum to attend panel meetings and have voting rights.

Christine Fraser and the Communities Involvement and Inclusion Officer responded to Members queries:-

·         a basic goal of the grant making process would be to stimulate and support new community activity and care would be taken to ensure that applications for grant support were not repetitive and/or from the same groups and organisations;

·         all applications would be scored and assessed against criteria set out in the terms of reference;

·         during the creation of the Forum, a collaborative, cross City approach had been evident and, as such, applications based on a City wide perspective would be welcomed and encouraged. Work in Wonford and Exwick by Community Organisers, for example, could be extended across the City;

·         a further challenge was to develop a multiplier effect to increase the available funds and obtain investments from other sources e.g. through cloud funding; and

·         applications would require a solid evidence and need to refer to locally produced community plans. Support would be available to help communities produce a community plan for their area.

People Scrutiny Committee:-

(1)        welcomed and approved, in principle, the terms of reference of the Grants Panel led by Exeter Community Forum;

(2)        request Executive to recommend Council welcome future recommendations from the Grants Panel as to how to spend the neighbourhood portion of the CIL and the New Homes Bonus taking account of the availability of funds;

(3)        request Executive to recommend Council to require future consultation with the local authority, as appropriate, on the future review of the purpose, function and outcomes of grants awarded to ensure that the panel is working effectively and in the interests of both the Council and Exeter Community Forum;

(4)        request Executive to recommend to Council that, through its Community Involvement and Inclusion Officer, the Council retain accounting responsibilities in relation to the neighbourhood portion of the CIL; and

(5)        Councillor Bull, as the appropriate Portfolio Holder, be nominated to serve on the Panel as the Council’s representative.