Agenda item

Community Investment Fund

Decision:

That the following changes to the Community Investment Fund be approved:

 

1.  A single officer would be responsible for the end to end management of the Community Investment Fund process with authority to approve/reject applications and control and report on the status of each project.

 

2.  Reports would be submitted to the Capital Monitoring Board, on a quarterly basis, on the spending of the fund and the amount remaining.

 

3.  Projects requiring specialist design, engineering input and/or planning permission/consultation need to be submitted by 31 August; other projects needed to be submitted by 31 January.  To support this information would go out to all Ward Councillors about the launch of each year’s fund giving them all the information they would need about criteria, timetable and how to apply.

 

4.  Cabinet noted that work to assess financial liabilities on the Council as a result of budget pressures was ongoing and as a result the pause on revenue allocations remained in place.

Minutes:

The Director of Finance & Resources introduced a report that sought approval for changes to the process for the co-ordination, monitoring and delivery of projects funded through the Community Investment Fund (CIF).

 

The fund was introduced to give ward councillors the opportunity to directly impact on their communities by investing in relatively small projects that would have a positive impact in their wards.  The proposed changes of the process were designed to improve stability and consistency with one individual officer taking responsibility to strengthen the management of the fund and communicate with councillors.  Reporting arrangements would also be improved with quarterly updates to the Capital Monitoring Board.  It was proposed that projects requiring significant design or engineering be submitted by Members by 31st August each year to provide a realistic delivery timescale by the end of the year.  All other projects would need to be submitted by 31st January.

 

The Cabinet welcomed the proposed changes and agreed that they be implemented from 1st April 2020.  Members emphasised the importance of clearly communicating the new processes with ward councillors prior to the implementation of the changes.  It was noted that the pause on CIF revenue funding in the current year remained in place due to the pressures on the revenue budget caused by the Slough Children’s Services Trust overspend.

 

Resolved –  That the following changes to the Community Investment Fund be approved:

 

a)  A single officer would be responsible for the end to end management of the Community Investment Fund process with authority to approve/reject applications and control and report on the status of each project.

 

b)  Reports would be submitted to the Capital Monitoring Board, on a quarterly basis, on the spending of the fund and the amount remaining.

 

c)  Projects requiring specialist design, engineering input and/or planning permission/consultation need to be submitted by 31 August; other projects needed to be submitted by 31 January.  To support this information would go out to all Ward Councillors about the launch of each year’s fund giving them all the information they would need about criteria, timetable and how to apply.

 

d)  Cabinet noted that work to assess financial liabilities on the Council as a result of budget pressures was ongoing and as a result the pause on revenue allocations remained in place.

Supporting documents: