Agenda and minutes

To note any substitution of Members made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 19-22.

There were no substitutions of Members.

To note any apologies.

There were no apologies.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2016 (previously circulated).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2016 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members were advised that an urgent item had been accepted by the Chairman.

The reason for accepting the item was that, should discussion be delayed until the next meeting of the Board, the organisation that had made the request would not be able to make decisions in a timely manner.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

There were no declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

The Chairman changed the order of the agenda and brought forward the urgent item for discussion.

The item was discussed as Part II under Section 100(A)(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 Paragraph 3 (private financial or business information).

RESOLVED

To refuse the request on the grounds that it did not fit the criteria for such grants.

Report of the Executive Director – Resources, Environment and Cultural Services which provides the Board with information on the applications for a Community Grant.

Members received a report which detailed the applications that had been received for Community Grants.

It was noted that there was £8,175 available and applications totalled £16,276.

De Havilland Bowls Club

An application had been received for the amount of £1,776 for the purchase of a spreader and dragmat for maintenance of the green.

Members commented that they liked that Bowls was a sport that was played by all generations and was accessible to people with disabilities. 

AGREED a grant of £1,776.

Hertfordshire Society for the Blind

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 to purchase four tandem bikes to enable those with sight problems to enjoy the sport and leisure activity of cycling.

Members commented that they were pleased to see that the Society did some of its own fundraising and did not rely solely on grants from other organisations.

AGREED a grant of £2,000.

Herts Area Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 towards training of counsellors and counselling of females who had been the subject of rape.

Whilst Members were supportive of the work that the Centre did, there were several questions that needed to be answered before any grant could be made, as follows:

1.    How many people were currently receiving counselling?

2.    How long would the counselling process take?

3.    How long does training take?

4.    What is the waiting period for counselling?

The grant was REFUSED.  HARCSAC to be invited to apply again subject to the answers to the questions above.

Herts Young Homeless

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 towards a scheme to engage with and educate young people on the risks and realities of leaving home and becoming homeless.

Members considered this to be a very positive project and, if it only prevented one young person from ending up homeless, it would be worth the grant amount.

Officers asked that Herts Young Homeless work closely with the Youth and Sports Coordinator on this project.

AGREED a grant of £2,000.

HOST

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 towards the cost of a new database which would hold details of host homes in the UK where overseas students are able to stay.

Members commented that the application did not meet the criteria.

REFUSED the application.

Manna Food Bank

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 towards salaries, food purchases and overheads.

A grant had already been made to Manna Food Bank and, as applications this time exceeded funds available, Members were unable to agree further money.

REFUSED the application.

Platypus Swimming Club

An application had been received for the amount of £2,000 towards a visit to Paradise Wildlife Park.

Members commented that this application was the same as the one previously which had been refused because it did not meet the criteria.  As nothing had changed since then, Members could not agree the application.

REFUSED the application.

St Johns Youth and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Report of the Executive Director – Housing and Communities which provides details of the applications for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Awards.

Members received a report which provided details of the applications received for Queen Diamond Jubilee Awards.

An amount of £6,000 had been allocated from grant funds for the Queens Diamond Jubilee Awards.

All of the applications met the criteria for awards and Members agreed the following amounts:

Members agreed that all of the applications were of a high standard.  They chose Robin Bedford for the Exemplar Award in Sport as they felt that he had shown continued improvement in his sport and showed a great deal of commitment.

The Exemplar Award for Dance was awarded to Alistair Michael Fitton as he had not only shown improvement in his discipline and been accepted on a full-time course for Musical Theatre, he was also commended for the support he has given to less confident students.

RESOLVED

            That grants should be awarded as shown above.

Members discussed what they could do with the £800 that was surplus following the payment of the Queens Diamond Jubilee Awards.

They requested that £101 should be transferred to the Community Grant pot so that the full amount of £2,000 which had been applied for by Welwyn Hatfield Action on Disability could be paid in full.

A suggestion was made that the remaining £699 could be used for advertising and promotion of the Council’s Grants Scheme.  This would include:

·         Rebranding of the Queens Diamond Jubilee Awards to the Queens Sapphire Jubilee Awards (QSJA).

·         Promotion of the new QSJA to young people throughout the borough who are involved in sport, music, dance or art.

·         Promotion of Annual Grants and Small Community Grants to encourage applications from diverse groups and organisations in order to provide support to a wide range of people.

Officers will seek authorisation for this.