Agenda item

Report by Director of Law and Assurance – attached.

It is proposed that the budget for the Council’s Community Initiative Fund (CIF) be reduced from £280,000 per year to £140,000 per year from April 2019.

The Cabinet Member is asked to consider reducing the CIF budget to £140,000, on a basis of £2,000 per member of the Council, from April 2019. 

56.1 The Committee considered a report by Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to signed minutes). 

56.2 Tony Kershaw, Director of Law and Assurance introduced the report which proposed that the budget for the Council’s Community Initiative Fund (CIF) be reduced from £280,000 per year to £140,000 per year, or £2,000 per member of the Council, from April 2019. He advised that member feedback would feed into the Cabinet Member decision.

56.3 The Chairman added that the use and effectiveness of the ‘West Sussex Crowd’ funding platform previously adopted in May 2018 for all CIF applications would be subject to a 12 month review by the Committee.

56.4 The Committee made comments including those that follow. It:

·        Recognised that the current financial environment meant that spending by the County Council had to be prioritised, but suggested that the vast majority of County Local Committees (CLCs) had been consistently spending their CIF funding and since demand for funding was not falling, queried the rationale for the proposed reduction when it the existing funding was already considered low. Mr Kershaw advised that the proposal was based on the regular overall underspend of CIF funds and the arrangements in place since the crowdfunding model had been introduced had shown an increase in funding from other sources.

·        Welcomed that other sources were contributing towards funding local projects, but raised concerns that the crowdfunding application process was lengthy and difficult and could hinder accessibility for smaller groups and businesses. Nick Burrell, Senior Advisor, Democratic Services advised that in terms of system usability the questions were similar to the previous CIF application process, so there was little difference in process. Different ways of breaking up the amount of information required for lesser funds were also being explored. The Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities added that information was currently being collated to help inform the review, including usability and accessibility, in particular for smaller groups.

·        Queried what the early termination costs and consequences of the 3-year contract with current providers of the crowdfunding platform ‘Spacehive’ would be, and what the current costs were in administrating the platform were. 

·        Raised concerns over the role of CLCs and their ability to have a positive impact on communities, as evidence pointed to CIF being a well-used fund to assist local good causes. 

56.5 Mr Oakley made the following proposal, seconded by Mrs Purnell which the Committee considered: -

That the allocation for CIF Funds be reduced to £0.

56.6 A vote was held and the proposal was lost.

56.7 Mr Jones made the following proposal, seconded by Mr Purchese which the Committee considered: -

That the Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities postpone her decision until after the review of the ‘West Sussex Crowd’ has concluded in the spring; and that any CLC underspending this year is not put back into the County Council’s reserves but is carried over to next year’s CLCs’ CIF funds.

56.8 A vote was held and the proposal was carried

56.9 Resolved – That the Committee:

Recommends that the Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities postpone her decision until after the review of the ‘West Sussex Crowd’ has concluded in the spring; and that any CLC underspending this year is not put back into the County Council’s reserves but is carried over to next year’s CLCs’ CIF funds.