Agenda item

Purpose of report: To provide Members of the Select Committee with an update on the Your Fund Surrey community grant programme, presented for scrutiny.

The Committee received a report of the Head of Community Investment and Engagement providing an update on the Your Fund Surrey (YFS) community grant programme, presented for scrutiny.

Witnesses:

Denise Turner-Stewart, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for

?Customer and Communities.

Jane Last, Head of Community Investment and Engagement.

Samantha Mills, Lead Community Investment Advisor.

Key points made in the discussion:

1. A Member asked about the current total budget, the amount spent so far for projects, what was in the pipeline, and how much remained in the YFS Large Fund. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that there was £43 million in total, £20.5 million has been approved, and another £8.1 million has been set aside for the YFS Small Fund. This leaves £14 million to be allocated for the pipeline.

2. A Member asked which fund had uncommitted resources. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement replied that there is £14 million unallocated, with a few projects that have come to the stage to be scored. The £35 million within the pipeline includes projects in early stages or that have stalled for various reasons. Applications were still being accepted against the £35 million. The Deputy Leader said that there had been approximately a 30% drop-off rate, as some applicants had changed their minds.

3. A Member asked about issues related to projects and their monitoring. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that there were currently no issues.

4. A Member asked about the 16 projects allocated to deciles one and two, questioning whether they were sufficient to meet the Council’s No One Left Behind policy. They also noted that a more comprehensive overview of projects across all deciles would be beneficial. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said they will provide the breakdown across deciles as requested.

5. A Member raised supporting approval for a local project and the issues for those projects that do not have a local volunteer infrastructure.  They also questioned the fund’s limit of £50,000 for the YFS Small Fund and the barrier this creates for a project seeking £57,000 in funding. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said the Council has Community Link Officers (CLO) that have been supporting local needs and submissions. The established £50,000 limit for the YFS Small Fund because those projects that exceed this amount become more complicated to manage. 

6. The Chairman asked if this situation could be revisited. The Deputy Leader emphasised that the mechanism for that quantity of funding would need more diligence and be part of the Large Fund and staff are always working to help organizations qualify and work hard to find options.

7. A Member asked if CLOs were trained in YFS. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that CLOs work together with the YFS team to understand expectations from communities. They received training on YFS processes and assist communities with their local connections and engagement.

8. A Member asked about the plan to evaluate the benefits of the projects in relation to the four aims of Surrey County Council, and what the costs would be. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that applicants are asked what the benefits of their project are. The team also use Social Value measurement tools to assess the social value and benefits for these projects and, under the transformation banner, the team engaged in prevention efforts.

9. The Chairman asked about the possibility of a large project applying for a small amount from the YFS Small Fund. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that they wanted to avoid complicating the process by involving multiple pots of money.

10. A Member said that at the beginning of the YFS programme, communications and promotions in the YFS programme have currently diminished.

11. A Member asked whether communications can be reinvigorated again. The Deputy Leader agreed that this was valid. As the project approached its four-year mark, the team had gathered data demonstrating how it had met expectations and should highlight these achievements.

12. A Member asked whether there was satisfaction in the uptake of the YFS Small Fund. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that update was slow a year ago in the YFS Small Fund. However, today they are satisfied with the recent increase in engagement in the YFS Small Fund but had only disbursed £2 million, with approximately £8 million to go in this financial year. They encouraged Members to boost awareness for the fund.

13. A Member asked about whether early lessons could be drawn to promote access to small YFS Small Fund applications following the significant rise in them. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that effective communication of ongoing projects was essential. The CLOs made presentations to various organisations. The lessons learned emphasised the importance of communication and the promotion of successes from other projects.

14. A Member asked about tracking applications through the CLOs and the method used for submitting those applications. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that YFS did not track how applicants found out about YFS.  This could be explored. Where CLOs were involved in supporting a group, they did have this information.

15. A Member asked about the funding allocated to Greener Futures projects and about concluding the scheme. The Head of Community Investment and Engagement said that Greener Futures’ data can be supplied. The Deputy Leader said they are not looking to close the scheme and expressed hope that it would continue into the next council. They remained aware of the application pipeline and planned to contact everyone by autumn.

Decision:

RESOLVED, that the Communities Environment and Highways Select Committee,

1. Notes the total fund currently available is £43 million (Large Community Projects) with £20.5 million already spent, and £1 million is allocated in Small Community Projects and £14 million is left in the pipeline;

2. Notes the difference Your Fund Surrey makes in delivering a wide range of community projects particularly in designated key neighbourhoods and noted the contribution this makes to supporting the most vulnerable in society and ensuring no one is left behind;

3. Notes the successful introduction of the small community projects fund which ensures all communities throughout Surrey benefit from YFS investment and supports the efforts of officers to target members and areas which have yet to take up the fund or have used a lower proportion of funding;

4. Recommends renewed focus on communicating the impacts and benefits of the YFS scheme so that residents understand the difference the Council and Councillors are making investing in their communities;

5. Welcomes the work done to provide county wide measure of social value;

6. Askes the Cabinet Member to review the process and crossover between the large and small project funds and any flexibility for contributing from the small fund to a larger project.

Actions/requests for further information:

Head of Community Investment and Engagement: Provide a breakdown table of all deciles explaining the split of money and number of projects across Your Fund Surrey.