The Committee’s approval was sought to make four core grant aid awards and introduce conditions to monitor how funding was spent by those voluntary organisations.  The overall spend was included in the Medium Term Financial Strategy approved by full Council in January 2023.

Officers advised that the Council wished to continue supporting four core organisations whose work supported key themes in the Corporate Plan, particularly health and wellbeing, providing significant social value to the community.

Officers had engaged with each organisation and gained an understanding of their work and the benefits for residents they worked with.  Findings had been considered by the Health and Wellbeing Member Working Party, as the first stage of an overall review of Voluntary Sector funding and an attempt to streamline processes and introduce more consistency and transparency.

Members agreed that the conditions attached to each grant were reasonable and proportionate and would also keep the Committee informed.  Each organisation would be required to submit an application for funding and make a report either annually and/or on a quarterly basis to account for the grant and its impact on their work.  With the exception of Addlestone Community Association, one or more Councillors would continue to be appointed as representatives on each organisation.

The awards were as set out below and would be made annually for a period of three years:

1.    Citizens Advice Runnymede and Spelthorne: £103,700 + 10%

2.    Voluntary Support North Surrey: £33,000 + 10%

3.    Runnymede Access Liaison Group: £1,500 + 10%

4.    Addlestone Community Association: £2,900 + 10%

It was agreed that should Council finances become unavailable, or if the grant investment was found not to deliver the intended outcomes, funding could cease subject to each organisation being given six months’ notice.

Members noted the legal and equalities implications in the report.  Legal agreements would be drawn up with each organisation to ensure the monitoring conditions were met.

The Committee was pleased to recommend the grants be approved by Corporate Management Committee.

RESOLVED that  -

Members recommend Corporate Management Committee to approve:

a)         the proposal to award an annual core grant to the sum of £103,700 + 10% for a period of three years to Citizens Advice Runnymede and Spelthorne on receipt of completed application documentation, with the monitoring conditions outlined in section 2 of this report;

b)         the proposal to award a core grant to the sum of £33,000 + 10% for a period of three years to Voluntary Support North Surrey, on receipt of completed application documentation, with the monitoring conditions outlined in section 2 of this report;

c)         the proposal to award a core grant to the sum of £1,500 + 10% to Runnymede Access Liaison Group, for a period of three years, on receipt of completed application documentation, with the monitoring conditions outlined in section 2 of this report; and

d)         the proposal to award the core grant sum of £2,900 + 10% to the Addlestone Community Association for a period of three years, on receipt of completed application documentation, with the monitoring conditions outlined in section 2 of this report.

[It was subsequently confirmed that approval by full Council was not required for the first two proposals and the correct amount to be paid to Voluntary Support North Surrey was £33,000, not the £33,700 stated in the report]