Agenda, decisions and minutes

Received from Councillor Marian Spall.

None.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

         if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

         you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)      Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)        Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)        Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)        Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)        Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f)        Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

Councillors Richard Watts and Theresa Debono declared an interest in the Foodbank.

CONFIRMED as a correct record

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

A revised Appendix A was laid round.

AGREED 1.recommendations in the report of the Executive Member for Community Development, including the funding proposals detailed in revised Appendix A.

2. That thanks be expressed to the Ward Budget and Partnerships Officer for all her work on the LIF programme

Reason for decision – as specified in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted - none

A revised Appendix A was laid round.

The Executive Member for Community Development reported that an additional meeting was to be arranged for the end of April/beginning of May 2017 for the purpose of consideration of a further round of Local Initiatives Fund awards from this year’s budget.

RESOLVED:

(a) That, in order to address the issue of recruiting and retaining support for 15 Ward Partnerships, an incentive payment of £1,000 per annum be paid to each Ward Partnership co-ordinator and that £1,000 be set aside from each Ward Partnership’s Local Initiatives Fund budget each year to fund this support.

(b) That £250 be set aside from each Ward Partnership Local Initiatives Fund budget to fund the support detailed in resolution (a) above for the period from January to March 2017, noting that this would mean that the 2016-17 Local Initiatives Fund budget would reduce by £3,750 to £236,250.

(c) That the annual Local Initiatives Fund budget for subsequent years be set at £225,000, noting that this totalled £14,000 per Ward, apart from Bunhill and Clerkenwell Ward budgets, which would each total £14,500.

(d) That the proposals for funding under the Local Initiatives Fund submitted by Ward councillors and detailed in revised Appendix A (attached to these minutes) of the report of the Executive Member for Community Development be approved in principle, subject to the Corporate Director of Housing and Adult Social Services being satisfied that all necessary checks have been made and any other issues resolved.

(e) That the amendments to Ward budgets resulting from project funding being returned, detailed in paragraph 3.10 and Appendix A of the report, be also noted.

(f) That thanks be expressed to the Ward Budget and Partnerships Officer for all her work on the Local Initiatives Fund programme.

Reason for decision – To assist in developing and sustaining a healthy voluntary and community sector in Islington.

Other options considered

None.

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted

None.

AGREED recommendations

Reasons for decision – as specified in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED

(a) That one free hire of Islington Assembly Hall be allocated to the following organisations for Summer 2017:

·         MoveMe Dance

·         Breakin’ Convention

·         Solace Women’s Aid

·         Cubitt Education

·         IMECE Women’s Centre

·         Baluji Music Foundation

·         Body & Soul

(b) That the following two applicants be held in reserve, in the event of the inability of the applicants in resolution (a) above to negotiate dates and times for use of the Assembly Hall:

·         North London Cares

·         Arachne Greek Cypriot Women’s Group

Reasons for decision

The scheme provided an opportunity for the Council to support local organisations through free use of the Assembly Hall

Other options considered

None

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted

None

AGREED recommendations

Reasons for decision – as specified in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted – none

The Chair had agreed that this item be considered as urgent business in order that discretionary rare relief could be paid to the organisations concerned as soon as possible to enable them to continue their activities to support residents. 

RESOLVED:

(a) That discretionary rate relief in the sums indicated below be awarded to the following organisations, up to 31 March 2020:

·         The seven delivery sites managed by Awesome CiC viz:

Barnard Park Adventure Playground -                      £298.00

King Henry’s Walk Adventure Playground -           £1,621.00

Cape Adventure Playground -                                 £4,531.00

Cornwallis Adventure Playground -                         £1,066.00

Creche at Three Corners -                                         £222.00

Three Corners Adventure Playground -                 £3,110.00

Waterside Adventure Playground -                        £1,422.00

·         Highbury Community Nursery -                                  £653.00

·         Arsenal in the Community – The Arsenal Hub -      £9,853.00

                                                                                --------------

                                                          Total:           £22,776.00

(b) That the application from Think Forward be deferred, pending further information from the organisation in relation to the proportion of Islington beneficiaries

(c) That the applications from Arebyte and the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain be rejected.

(d) That the Council’s 2016/17 budget, the existing Discretionary Rate Relief commitments, the anticipated impact of revised business rates on the cost of Discretionary Rate Relief to the Council, as detailed in the report, be noted and that there be no further applications for Discretionary Rate Relief until April 2020.

Reasons for decision – Awarding discretionary rate relief to charitable and non-profit making bodies was a cost effective way of supporting local organisations and helped to sustain a healthy voluntary sector.  A few of the organisations who had applied for discretionary rate relief were not eligible under the Council’s criteria. The Discretionary Rate Relief budget was now fully committed until 2020.

Other options considered

None

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted

None

 (b) That the applications from the British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross and Clay  Time Pottery be rejected on the basis that they do not meet the Council’s criteria for discretionary rate relief.

Reasons for decision – Awarding discretionary rate relief to charitable and non-profit making bodies was a cost effective way of supporting local organisations and helped to sustain a healthy voluntary sector.  A few of the organisations who had applied for discretionary rate relief were not eligible under the Council’s criteria.

Other options considered

None

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted

None

AGREED 1. Recommendations

2. That officers draft a letter to Councillor McGlone, the Chair of London Councils’ Grants Committee, for consideration by the members of the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee, expressing this Council’s strong support for the role of a pan-London grants scheme.

Reasons for decision – as specified in the report

Other options considered – none

Conflicts of interest/Any dispensations granted – none

RESOLVED:

(a) That London Councils’ Grants Committee proposed budget of £8.899m in 2017-18, as detailed in the report of the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety, be noted

(b) That Islington’s estimated contribution of £201k in 2017-18 be approved, a decrease of £19k on last year’s contribution, excluding the one-off £12k rebate on the 2016-17 contribution.

(c) That officers draft a letter to Councillor McGlone, the Chair of London Councils’ Grants Committee, for consideration by the members of the Voluntary and Community Sector Committee, expressing this Council’s strong support for the role of a pan-London grants scheme.

Reason for decision

The Council’s subscription contributed towards the funding of many London-wide organisations, providing a range of services, which benefited Islington residents.

Other options considered

None.

Conflicts of interest/note of dispensations granted

None