The Wandsworth Council Grants Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee is scheduled to meet on 6 November 2025 to discuss recommendations for the Community Spaces and Inflationary Pressures Grant Fund. The Sub-Committee will consider applications for funding from various organisations and make recommendations accordingly, with final decisions delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive. This fund aims to support the council's response to the cost of living crisis by providing financial assistance to community spaces and food projects, as well as organisations facing increased demand due to inflationary pressures.

Community Spaces and Inflationary Pressures Grant Fund

The Sub-Committee will consider recommendations for the Community Spaces and Inflationary Pressures Grant Fund 2025/26, which was established to support the council's ongoing response to the cost of living crisis. The fund, drawing from the council's Cost of Living Fund, aims to support voluntary sector organisations by:

boosting the current offer of community spaces and food provision in Wandsworth with a view to build capacity and sustainability, to enable people to keep warm and fed during winter and beyond and reduce isolation.

The report pack states that the fund also aims to support core programme costs for organisations struggling with increased demand due to the rising cost of living.

The Community Spaces and Inflationary Pressures Fund Guidance Notes 2025 outlines two key priorities for the fund:

• Priority 1: Funding for Community Spaces and Food Projects with a focus on building capacity and sustainability.
• Priority 2: Funding core programme costs for organisations who are struggling with inflationary pressures due to proven increased demand on their services.

The report pack states that a total of £250,000 is available for distribution, including £50,000 for capacity building support. According to the CSIP Grant Fund Paper No.25-345, 21 applications were received, requesting a total of £277,285. Council officers have assessed the applications and are recommending grants totalling £193,710 to 14 organisations.

The Recommendation Forms detail the officer assessments and recommendations for each applicant. Some of the organisations being considered for funding include:

• Age UK Wandsworth, which is seeking £7,160 to host free weekly group sessions for residents aged over 60 at the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre.
• Carney's Community, which aims to provide free hot meals to young people and adults at their site in Petworth Street. They are seeking £15,000.
• Community Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services (CDARS), which is seeking £11,398 to deliver a weekly community dinner at their centre in Cedars Road.
• Crosslight Advice, which is seeking £15,000 to meet rising demand for their debt advice and money skills programmes, with face to face appointments expected to take place at Ascension Church in Balham.
• Earlsfield Foodbank, which is seeking £15,000 towards core staff costs to support their service offer from October 2025 to September 2026 at St Andrew's Church, on Garratt Lane.
• Home-Start Wandsworth, which is seeking £15,000 for their Connect@Home project, a weekly lunch club at Home Community Café in Earlsfield.
• Katherine Low Settlement, which is seeking £14,886 for a project to support Wandsworth residents aged 50 and over, with a particular emphasis on those below pension age, at their centre on Battersea High Street.
• Living Truth CIC, which is seeking £14,852 to expand their weekly After-School Food and Social Club and improve the accessibility of their Advice, Advocacy and Support Services.
• Power 2 Connect, which is seeking £14,985 to continue their weekly digital drop-in sessions at six libraries across the borough and extend access by distributing additional devices and data.
• Rackets Cubed, which is seeking £15,000 to deliver their social supermarket, community cuppa mornings, and solidarity suppers at the Roehampton Community Box.
• St John the Divine Earlsfield, which is seeking £11,302 to establish a weekly drop-in café at St John the Divine (SJTD) church in Earlsfield.
• Tooting Community Kitchen, which is seeking £15,000 to continue running their Monday and Wednesday Lunch Club services at The Scouts Hall in Tooting.
• Vineyard 61 Church, which is requesting £14,127 to continue delivery at their Balham Hub, a weekly community space hosted by the United Reformed Church.
• Junction Community Trust (Wandsworth Foodbank), which is seeking £15,000 to support their guest engagement team and home deliveries.

Some applications have not been recommended for funding by council officers, including:

• CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers Ltd), which requested £10,000 to meet a shortfall in funding due to increased rental costs at their new site, St. Albans Church in Furzedown.
• Estate Art CIC, which requested £15,000 to provide a warm space and offer food at Manresa Clubroom on the Alton Estate, Roehampton.
• Skilful Network CIC, which is seeking £14,700 to deliver their After-School Food, Activity, and Advice Club at multiple locations across the borough.
• Sound Minds, which requested £7,148 to provide a free hot lunch on Tuesdays to their members with serious mental illness.
• STORM Family Centre, which requested £14,964 to deliver breakfast and lunch clubs at the STORM Family Centre.
• The Furzedown Project, which requested £13,550 to deliver Warm and Well community sessions at Streatham Bowls Club.
• WK Foundation, which requested £14,973 to provide weekly Friday lunches for vulnerable residents at the Well Kneaded Restaurant.

Other Items

The agenda for the meeting includes:

• Declarations of Interest: Councillors are required to declare any interests related to the items being discussed.
• Minutes: To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 9th September 2025.