Agenda and minutes

No interests were declared.

1. Comments from the Safer Stronger Communites Select Committee on

the Main Grants Programme

Councillor Rathbone, the Chair of the Safer Stronger Communities Select

Committee presented this report.

The SSSC recommended that organisations seeking main grants of £100,000

or more, a total of 5 organisations, be subject to more rigorous monitoring and

scrutiny.

It appears that such organisations have had more problems with governors

over the last 7 years in Lewisham, for example the closure Lewisham Sub-

living Coalition has revealed where those failings are.

Organisations which have not been recommended to main grants funding due

to governance problems, or organisations which just got recommended due to

very recently urgent changes due to their governance structures- Voluntary

Services Lewisham; The Albany; Lewisham Local; Advice for Lewisham

Partnership and Age UK, total £1.85m of third sector funding per year. The

smallest of these being 5% of the main grants programme and the largest is

29%.

The feeling from the SSSC is that the kind of scrutiny the smaller and larger

organisations should be under is not the same. There are informal procedures

in place for some of the larger organisations but these should be put down

officially in agreement rather than adhoc agreement.

A review of the organisations’ governance and auditing arrangements can be

done by the time of implementation of the main grants. Any changes can be

made or at least requested by the Council before the new scheme comes into

place. In regards to the partnership organisations, receiving money via an

incubator organisation, but what is being funded is not a formally constituted

entity. This will need to be reviewed to see if it is still an appropriate

governance arrangement.

2. Appeals- Main Grants Programme

Representatives from organisations presented their appeals against the draft

recommendations of allocation of the Main Grants Programme 2019-22 as

follows

Voluntary Action Lewisham

VAL provides information, support, training and specialist advice on topics

ranging from governance and fundraising to safeguarding and GDPR, with

over 900 people and organisations on their database. VAL received criticism

in the assessment for not creating a thriving hub for the Mulberry Centre, to

which they respond that without accessibility to the building for vulnerable

users and a licence to rent the spaces are both required to do this, but are

impossible without support or funding from Lewisham. Since the submission

of the Main Grants application, a 2 year grant of £100,000 from City Bridge to

extend the impact programme has been confirmed which may be withdrawn

without core funding from LBL.

The Mayor invited members of the Cabinet to ask questions to the appellant. Appellants responded that they are having discussions with Lewisham Local about merging. Merger discussions have also been had regarding Community Southwark who have experience in running the infrastructure services other boroughs. A minimum of £50,000 is required for core funding.

The strategy for the future on income generation is ineffective without funding.

Evelyn 190

The centre provides specialist face to face advice and advocacy. Services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 422.