The subject of the decision:

Following the success of the Making a Difference Grants’ programme over the last six years, whereby £125,000 was made available each year to assist community projects, it was proposed that £250,000 be allocated to finance the 2021/22 Making a Difference Grants programme in light of the exceptional difficulties experienced by our communities in 2020.  The Leader reported that the criteria contained within the Annex required some minor amendments to include reference to salaries and general running costs only being funded in exceptional circumstances and that generally works on land or to buildings would only be funded if the applicant could evidence that they held a minimum of 10 years left on their lease for the land or building and that the deadline for completion of projects was 30 April 2022.

Alternative options considered:

None.

The reason for the decision:

It was a legal responsibility upon the Council to ensure that this funding was only allocated to projects that met the terms and conditions of the grant scheme and to ensure that the funds were used for the purpose approved.

The decision:

That Cabinet approves an allocation of £250,000 from the One-Off Fund to be used to fund a 2021/22 Making a Difference Grants programme, applying the criteria and timetable (as amended) set out in Annex A of the report.