This meeting was about decisions on the renewal of Service Level Agreements for two local parks, funding awards that had been made to Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations under delegated authority, and a performance report about the council funded Mayor’s Community Grants Programme (MCGP) for the Voluntary and Community Sector.

Renewal of Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Tower Hamlets Council officers recommended the Grants Determination Sub-Committee renew two SLAs.

Mudchute Park and Farm

Officers recommended that the council approve the renewal of the SLA for Mudchute Park and Farm for £31,000 from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The Mudchute Association is a registered charity, established in 1977, that manages and maintains Mudchute Park and Farm. The report says that the Council’s Legal Department advised that the service level agreement should be treated as a grant.

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

Officers recommended that the council approve the renewal of the SLA for Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park for £31,900 from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park are a registered charity, established in 1990, that manages and maintains the park. The report says that the Council’s Legal Department advised that the service level agreement should be treated as a grant.

Funding awarded to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)

Tower Hamlets Council officers provided an update on the funding that had been awarded to Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations under delegated authority since the last meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Emergency Fund

Since the previous meeting, Tower Hamlets Council officers had approved two Emergency Fund grants under delegated authority. The Emergency Funding is grant support from the Council to local VCS organisations based in Tower Hamlets who are facing a significant loss of council funding or an unforeseen emergency. The report pack included the following table listing the grants awarded:

Community Benefit Rent Reduction

Since the previous meeting, Tower Hamlets Council officers had not approved any grants under the Community Benefit Rent Reduction (CBRR) scheme. The scheme provides rent reductions of up to 80% for VCS organisations leasing council premises.

Small Grants Programme

The first round of the Small Grants Programme 2023–2027 had closed on 28 June 2024, and the decisions were due to be made in the coming months. The programme provides £800,000 of annual grant funding between November 2023 and March 2027 to small VCS organisations in Tower Hamlets.

Mayor’s Community Grant Programme (MCGP) Performance Report – Apr-Jun 24

This report provided an update on the MCGP for the period April to June 2024.

Overview

Of the 110 projects funded by the MCGP, 106 were classed as GREEN, 3 classed as AMBER and 1 classed as RED. The Red, Amber, and Green (RAG) rating is used to give an ‘at-a-glance’ rating of project performance. Green means the project is on track, Amber means there are issues that can be resolved with support and Red means there are serious issues that pose a risk that the project will not meet its lifetime aims, objectives and targets.

Limehouse Welfare Association

Limehouse Welfare Association had received a Red RAG rating for two consecutive reporting periods for its LWA Community Language Bengali and Arabic Support Programme because it had not delivered any of the classes it had been funded to deliver. No payments had been made to the project because of the lack of delivery, and the report sought a decision from the Sub-Committee on how to proceed with the project. The report included two options:

1. The project activity and targets could be revised to take into account the delayed start. This would include reducing the lifetime grant funding of £76,533 to £67,200 due to the non-delivery between November 2023 and June 2024.
2. The project grant funding could be withdrawn. Any spend on the activity in July would be reimbursed, and new activity would be commissioned to deliver the activity to residents in the area.

Theme updates

The report included a brief summary of the performance of the five MCGP themes during the reporting period:

• Theme 1 Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis: 6 projects were on track. 4,467 people had participated in the theme's projects. £600,016.55 of debt had been written off.
• Theme 2 Accelerate Education: 15 projects were on track, 1 was classed as Amber and 1 was classed as Red. 691 people had participated in the theme's projects.
• Theme 3 Culture, Business, Jobs and Skills: 27 projects were on track and 1 was classed as Amber. 1,053 people had participated in the theme's projects.
• Theme 4 Invest in public services: 30 projects were on track. 1,953 people had participated in the theme's projects.
• Theme 5 Empower communities and fight crime: 16 projects were on track. 1,498 people had participated in the theme's projects.