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Voluntary Sector Initiative FundThemed Grant Round 2013 - 2016Executive11 February 2013Report from the Director of Strategy,Partnerships and ImprovementWards Affected: All1.0 SummaryThis report seeks agreement to grant fund 14 projects led by voluntary organisationsfor three years, subject to performance, following assessment of the round 2 of bids forgrant funding against the criteria set by the Executive in January 2012.2.0 RecommendationsMembers are asked to:2.1 note the summary of recommendations in Appendix 1 to this report, individualassessment reports set out in Appendix 2 and the Grant Criteria and StandardConditions of Grant Aid set out in Appendix 3a.2.2 agree the voluntary sector led projects and grant funding allocations as set out andproposed in paragraph 4.9 of this report which will run between 1 st April 2013 and31 st March 20162.3 agree to rounds of smaller one year grants of up to £10k in 2013, 2014 and 2015within the existing budget, as set out in paragraph 4.13 of this report, and to delegateauthority to the Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement in consultationwith the leader, to make the decisions on the award of such one year grants, given thevery small budget.2.4 agree the amendments to the grant terms and conditions appended at appendix 3band outlined in paragraph 4.15 of this report for application to all projects fundedthrough the Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund.2.5. note that all grant funding allocations are subject to the Council’s Grant Conditionsand that where a bid is agreed, the organisation will sign an agreement with the1 v2

Council, stating the purpose of the grant and expected outcomes before funding isreleased2.6 note that in cases where an organisation either declines their grant during thefunding period or the grant is withdrawn for performance reasons, that the Executiveagreed at its meeting of January 2012 that the decision to reallocate such grantmonies within the fund is delegated to the Director of Strategy, Partnerships andImprovement.3.0 ContextVoluntary Sector Initiative Fund3.1 In January 2012 the Executive agreed to the creation of a ‘Voluntary Sector InitiativeFund’ combining existing ‘Main Programme Grant’ and ‘Advice’ budgets. The fundingis now allocated to the following streams: (i) themed grant funding including the roundfor which this paper seeks a decision, (ii) infrastructure support to enhance thecapacity of the voluntary sector and (iii) an advice and guidance stream. The fundingfor the present crime and regeneration stream forms the budget for the ThemedGrants Strand (2 nd Round).Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund 2012 - 2013Crime and regeneration (last year)Themed grants stream (1st round)Infrastructure streamAdvice and guidance streamFigure 1: Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund 2012 -2013Themed Grant Funding 2013 -20163.2 Members are asked to note their decision in January 2012 to create a further themedgrant funding stream between April 2013 and March 2016. This second round ofthemed funding was opened up to bids from the voluntary sector for six weeks until the31 st October 2012. This round differed from previous rounds by offering additionalthemes at once in response to consultation responses from the voluntary sector.Organisations could put forward bids for grant funding for three years to run projectswhich align to the borough plan under the following themes:• Theme1: Community Safety• Theme 2: Regenerating the borough• Theme 3: Supporting children and Families and enabling young people to thrive• Theme 4: Addressing Health and Well Being• Theme 5: Protecting our environment and enhancing our cultural offer2 v2

3.3 Projects could benefit the whole borough or focus on priority neighbourhoods. Theguidance set out that alignment to statutory provision and evidence of need for theproject as critical for bids to be successful. The criteria, and standard terms andconditions are set out in Appendix 3.4.0 Detailed ConsiderationsGrant Assessment4.1 Details appeared in the local press, on the Council’s website, and organisations onour database of presently funded organisations and those who have signed up forvoluntary sector liaison forum were notified. CVS Brent and the BASIS project alsonotified organisations through their newsletters and emails. Organisations wereinvited to attend workshops held by officers in the Corporate Policy Team, where thefunding criteria and process was discussed in detail and where organisations had theopportunity to raise questions with officers. These workshops were held on Thursday4 th October 2012 and Tuesday 9 th October 2012.4.2 Organisations could download the application pack including the application form,grant criteria, links to key strategies and standard conditions of grant aid or have itsent to them on request. The closing date for receiving completed applications was31 st October 2012.The council received 66 bids seeking a total of £4,269,557.14over a three-year period.4.3 Grants were assessed in line with the grant criteria and standard grant terms andconditions agreed at the Executive Meeting in January 2012 and set out at appendix3. The criteria for funding were updated in January 2012 in line with consultationresponses from the voluntary sector; in particular a group of professionals fromdifferent service areas now feed in their expertise of statutory service provision andhow a project might align to it as part of the grant assessment process. Theassessment looked at both the organisation applying and the project proposal made.4.4 The assessment of the organisation considered the structure, management, trackrecord where funded before, commitment to equality and diversity and engagementof users in the management and development of projects. All organisations wererequired to submit references to verify their experience and ability to provide serviceswithin the proposed theme.4.5 All applications were assessed by a management accountant to ascertain thefinancial viability of the organisation. This process was carried out in accordance withguidance from the Council’s contract standing orders. The assessment includeddetailed financial analysis for each organisation.4.6 The assessment of projects looked at alignment with Borough Plan priorities andstatutory service provision in the borough, partnerships with other organisations inthe borough and at a regional and national level, any other match funding proposed,the quality of the proposal including how success would be measured, the exitstrategy and the range of bids received. Officers noted the activities to be provided,their location, links with existing services and the outcomes and outputs to be3 v2

achieved. Organisations which have or are benefiting from three year funding todeliver a project already were able to bid again but had to propose an entirely newproject as an exit strategy had formed one of the funding criteria for all previous threeyear grant agreements.4.7 Of the 66 organisations which applied, 23 were new to council grant funding orreturning after a number of years. For a number of new organisations which appliedin this round there was further development required to meet the funding criteria anda number were not in a position to receive project funding of this sort.4.8 Funding has been recommended for 14 projects. These projects meet the fundingcriteria, offer value for money and align with Council’s priorities and associatedstatutory service provision in the borough.Recommended Projects4.9 Details of the recommended projects, including funding levels are as follows:Project Organisation Total 1 st Year 2 nd Year 3 rd Year1. Safe to Achieve Advance Advocacy £75,000 £25,000 £25,000 £25,0002. DementiaInformation andAwareness RaisingService3. Training forVolunteer AdvisersAlzheimersSocietyBrent CitizensAdvice Bureau£74,908 £24,949 £24,959 £25,000£71,311 £23,596 £23,784 £23,9314. Get Active Brent Mencap £73,651 £24,042 £24,716 £24,8935. CommunityEngagement &Mental HealthPromotionBrent Mind(Association forMental Health)6. Healthier Homes Brent PrivateTenants RightsGroup7. Artspiration DramaWorkhouse8. Brent CommunityCo-operative(BRECO)9. Hestia BrentDomestic AbuseServicesChildren’s Artsand DramaTherapy10. Access toEmployment11. The Prince’sTrust ‘Get intoEnergySolutionsHestia HousingSupport£74,456 £25,000 £24,500 £24,956£75,000 £25,000 £25,000 £25,000£66,525 £22,175 £22,175 £22,175£75,000 £25,000 £25,000 £25,000£34,920 £11,640 £11,640 £11,640I Serve £64,060 £22,020 £21020 £21,020The Prince’sTrust£64,870 £15,500 £24,620 £24,7504 v2

Programme’12. Early InterventionSupport forFamilies13. Steel Pan in theCommunityRelate LondonNorth WestSt Michael’sYouthProgramme2013-1614. The Green Works ToucanEmployment£63,148 £20,430 £21,043 £21,675£75,000 £25,000 £25,000 £25,000£63,514 £22,572 £20,501 £20,441TOTAL £951,363 £311,924 £318,958 £320,4814.10 If members agree to the funding recommendations in this report, each fundedorganisation will be issued with a written agreement clearly stating the activities to beprovided and the outputs to be achieved and any special conditions will be includedin this.4.11 Officers in the Corporate Policy Team will monitor each organisation’s performanceagainst the output and outcomes set out in their funding agreement. As part of thisprocess the team will have regular meetings with organisations and will carry outplanned and unannounced inspection of projects. Officers will work closely withorganisations to ensure links with the statutory organisations providing serviceswithin the proposed themes are established and that the projects continue to supportthe council’s priorities. Success will be monitored through the council’s performancemanagement scorecards.4.12 The competition for funding was high and so the need for high quality responses inline with the stated criteria was very important for success. The standard of bids washigher in this round than last, however the assessment of bids highlighted a numberof aspects which need to be developed further by organisations in order to enhancetheir chances of success in obtaining funding. These aspects include better financialresilience as organisations, better alignment with statutory provision, a strongerevidencing of need and partnerships which enhance projects and stronger linkagesbetween activities and proposed measures of success.4.13 Having looked at all of the bids which met the criteria, there is a small sum of theavailable budget left each year. Members are asked to agree to use this to offerrounds of smaller one year grants up to a maximum of £10k in line with the grantcriteria at appendix 3b and outlined at appendix 5 and to delegate authority to theDirector of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement, to make the decisions on theaward of such one year grants, given the very small budget. This would respond tothe feedback about opportunities for smaller groups to access funding.4.14 The council is working with CVS Brent already to arrange for more support inpreparation for the next round of themed grant funding from the council based onthese general themes and look at the range of other ways in which local groups canhave more success in securing other funding for local projects in Brent.5 v2

4.15 Each round of grant funding offers an opportunity to review the grant terms andconditions. Members are asked to agree the amended version set out at appendix3b. On this occasion the only change is to the wording of section 4.4 to offer clarityon alignment to the council’s anti fraud framework.5.0 Conclusion5.1 Members are asked to note and agree the voluntary sector led projects and grantfunding allocations set out in 4.9 of this report which will run between 1 st April 2013and 31 st March 2016, subject to performance. Members are also asked to agree afurther small round of grants in line with the existing criteria as set out in 4.13.6.0 Financial Implications6.1 The Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund budget is £2,076,457. There was a budget of upto £1,114,701 over three years available for this round. The projects recommended asthey met the grant criteria will cost £951,363 over three years. The rest of the budgetis recommended for allocation through small grants rounds in 2013/2014, 2014/15 and2015, 2016.Figure 2: Allocation of funding in the Voluntary Sector Initiative FundCost Item 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16Last payments CYP Grants 59,559 0 0 0Last Payment NT Grants 15,190 0 0 0Crime & Regeneration 371,567 0 0 0Themed Grants 2012 -2015 177,984 241,261 241,902 0Themed Grants 2013 - 2016 0 311,924 318,958 320,481Small Grants Rounds 59,643 52,609 51,086Other 31,937 78,019 77,379 TBAInfrastructure Stream 159,249 159,249 159,249 TBAAdvice and Guidance Stream 883,874 883,874 883,874 TBALondon Councils Contribution 377,097 342,487 342,487 TBATOTAL 2,076,457 2,076,457 2,076,4576.2 The recommendations made in this report can be implemented within the availablebudget.7.0 Legal Implications7.1 The Council has powers under s137 Local Government Act 1972 and s2 LocalGovernment Act 2000 to make grants to voluntary organisations.6 v2

7.2 The decision to award a grant is discretionary. The Council’s discretion must not befettered by previous commitments they may have given and it should make its decisionin the light of present circumstances.7.3 The Council is bound to act reasonably and must take into account relevantconsiderations and to ignore irrelevant considerations and should consider its fiduciaryduty towards local taxpayers.7.4 Under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 1999, Brent Council, as a “best valueauthority” is under general duty of best value to “make arrangements to securecontinuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regardto a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness”. Under the duty of bestvalue, the Council should consider overall value, including environmental and socialvalue, when reviewing service provision.7.5 Before deciding how to fulfil their best value duty, local authorities are required toconsult a wide range of local persons, including voluntary and community sectororganisations and businesses as set out in section 3(2) of the Local Government Act1999.7.6 In April 2011, the Government circulated draft Best Value Statutory Guidance (“theGuidance”) for consultation. According to that Guidance, local authorities should besensitive to the benefits and needs of voluntary and community sector organisationsand should seek to avoid passing on disproportionate cuts. The Guidance also advisesthat a local authority intending to reduce or end grant funding or other support to avoluntary or community organisation that will materially threaten the viability of theorganisation or service it provides should give at least three months’ notice to both theorganisation involved and the public/service users. The Guidance also advises that alocal authority should actively engage the organisation as early as possible on thefuture of the service, any knock-on effect on assets used to provide this service andthe wider impact both on service users and the local community. The Guidance alsoadvises that where appropriate, local authorities should make provision for an affectedorganisation or wider community to put forward options on how to reshape the serviceor project and local authorities should assist this by making available all appropriateinformation.7.7 As a public authority the Council is subject to a specific duty is in relation to theEquality Act 2010:‘Meeting the general equality duty requires ‘a deliberate approach and a consciousstate of mind’. R (Brown) v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions [2008] EWHC3158 (Admin).Members must know and understand the legal duties in relation to the public sectorequality duty and consciously apply the law to the facts when considering andreaching decisions where equality issues arise.7 v2

7.8 The Equality Act 2010 introduces a new public sector equality duty which came intoforce on 6th April 2011. The duty placed upon the council is similar to that provided inearlier discrimination legislation but those persons in relation to whom the duty applieshave been extended.7.9 The new public sector equality duty is set out at Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.It requires the Council, when exercising its functions, to have ‘due regard’ to the needto eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimization and other conduct prohibitedunder the Act, and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relationsbetween those who share a ‘protected characteristic’ and those who do not share thatprotected characteristic. A ‘protected characteristic’ is defined in the Act as:• age;• disability;• gender reassignment;• pregnancy and maternity;• race;(including ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality)• religion or belief;• sex;• sexual orientation.Marriage and civil partnership are also a protected characteristic for the purposes ofthe duty to eliminate discrimination.7.10 The previous public sector equalities duties only covered race, disability and gender.7.11 Having due regard to the need to ‘advance equality of opportunity’ between those whoshare a protected characteristic and those who do not includes having due regard tothe need to remove or minimize disadvantages suffered by them. Due regard mustalso be had to the need to take steps to meet the needs of such persons where thoseneeds are different from persons who do not have that characteristic, and encouragethose who have a protected characteristic to participate in public life. The stepsinvolved in meeting the needs of disabled persons include steps to take account of thepersons’ disabilities. Having due regard to ‘fostering good relations’ involves havingdue regard to the need to tackle prejudice and promote understanding. Complyingwith the duty may involve treating some people better than others, as far as that isallowed by the discrimination law.7.12 In addition to the Equality Act, the Council is required to comply with any statutoryCode of Practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. New Codesof Practice under the new Act have yet to be published. However, Codes of Practiceissued under the previous legislation remain relevant and the Equality and HumanRights Commission has also published guidance on the new public sector equalityduty. The advice set out to members in this report is consistent with the previousCodes and published guidance.8 v2

7.13 There is no prescribed manner in which the equality duty must be exercised. However,the Council must have an adequate evidence base for its decision making. This can beachieved by means including engagement with the public and interest groups and bygathering relevant details. An equality impact assessment is attached to this reportand a summary of this assessment is set out in the Diversity Implications of this reportbelow7.14 Members should be aware that the duty is not to achieve the objectives or take thesteps set out in section 149 of the Equalities Act 2010. Rather, the duty on publicauthorities is to bring these important objectives relating to discrimination intoconsideration when carrying out its public functions, which includes grant funding.“Due regard” means the regard that is appropriate in all the particular circumstances inwhich the authority is carrying out its functions. There must also be a proper regard forthe goals set out in s.149. At the same time, Members must also pay regard to anycountervailing factors, which it is proper and reasonable to consider, which includebudgetary pressures, economics and practical factors. The weight of thesecountervailing factors in the decision making process is for Members in the firstinstance.8.0 Diversity Implications8.1 The equality impact assessment for this round of projects recommended to membersis provided and set out in appendix 4 to this report. This predictive equality impactassessment found no adverse impact arising from these recommendations. This workhas been audited by the Diversity Team.8.2 The analysis was based upon information obtained directly from organisations aboutpeople expected to benefit from projects based on criteria being applied to projectsand data from existing work with these cohorts of people. The application packs forgrants and updated monitoring forms all include requirements for equality monitoringof those benefiting from projects which are grant funded, where this is appropriate.The team review this on an annual basis as part of the monitoring process.9.0 Background Documents• Brent Our Future 2010-2014• Brent Council Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund Report January 2012• Brent Council Voluntary Sector Initiative Fund Report May 201210. Appendices• Appendix 1a: Summary of Recommended Projects• Appendix 1b: Summary of all Projects with Recommendations• Appendix 2a and 2b: Summary of Grant Assessments• Appendix 3a: Themed Grant Criteria and Standard Conditions of Grant Aid• Appendix 3b: Amended Grant Criteria and Standard Conditions of Grant Aid• Appendix 4a and b: Equality Impact Assessment and Data• Appendix 5: Small Grants Round Outline9 v2

Joanna McCormick, Partnerships CoordinatorCathy Tyson, Assistant Director, PolicyPHIL NEWBYDirector Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement10 v2