Agenda and minutes

To note any apologies.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors L. Chesterman and R. Lass.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2021 (previously circulated).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2021 were agreed as a correct record and noted by the Chair.

Report of the Head of Community and Housing Strategy detailing the applications for COVID-19 Relief Grants.

An opportunity had arisen for the Council to be part of a joint bid to Hertfordshire’s Health Protection Board, for money from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) to enhance the Council’s Community Grants programme and help support capacity within local charitable and voluntary organisations in connection with covid19 infection control and recovery.

The Council was successful in a joint bid considered at the Health Protection Board on 25 May 2021. As a result, the Council had been awarded £100,000 to distribute as grant support to local charitable and voluntary organisations, who met the criteria of the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) scheme.

Cabinet had agreed that the grants should be made available through the community grant programme and overseen by the Grants Board.

Covid-19 Relief Community Grants were limited to a maximum of £10,000 per application.

The amount of £40,430 was awarded to five applicants in the first round of funding for this Covid-19 Relief Community Grants.

The balance of £59,570 is now available to the Council and would need to be issued by 31 December 2021.

The total of £69,809.32 had been applied for in the second and final round of funding for the Covid-19 Relief Community Grant Applications.

Forever Young People - £9,900

Forever Young People combined multi-sport activities and mentoring. The charity’s programmes supported young people with mental health issues who had displayed self-destructive behaviours and had suffered from social anxiety during Covid-19. These young people were specifically referred to the Charity due to mental health issues via doctors, teachers, the youth services, and the various Council support teams.

The charity’s referrals come from the Hatfield Central Ward, which suffered with high deprivation, and various issues amongst young people e.g. issues with gangs, anti-social behaviour, substance misuse etc.  Many people have had challenging home lives and would not otherwise attend multi-sport sessions.

The charity had already prepared to restart these sessions, using time during lockdown to get staff and volunteers trained in infection control and had bought the relevant cleaning products, alongside still enforcing the 2m social distancing rule. With these sessions, the charity would adhere to smaller group sizes so as to not cause additional anxieties about meeting in person.

Therefore, as part of starting back up face-to-face session, the charity would need to put the right measures in place with the right COVID-19 safe resources, equipment, and staffing.

The following points were noted:

• Members noted that the application was similar to the previous application the charity submitted.
• Members noted that the charity were asking for money to help re-introduce face to face sessions.
• Members noted that Forever Young were active in Welwyn Hatfield.
• Members noted that the charity were partnering with Mind in Mid Herts in relation to Mental Health.

AGREED a grant of £9,819.72.

Future Living Hertford - £10,000

Future Living Hertford was an award winning, registered charity that had actively supported Hertfordshire residents over the past 7 years in a large, fit for purpose building in Hertford.

The charity had been financially  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.