Purpose

1. A key priority, expressed both by elected
Members and by communities upon extensive consultation, is ensuring
that UKSPF/RPF funding supports communities that have been
historically under-represented in the provision of public
investment This includes many rural communities in our District.
While there is a limit, dictated by both the agreed Investment Plan
and the outcomes in our contract with Central Government, on the
amount of investment that we are able to contribute to community
and parish projects, we wish to ensure that this funding is both
protected and maximised as far as is practicable.

2. There has been significant demand in this area, a significant
proportion (around half) of the 206 Expressions of Interest
received for the fund across the Partnership to January 2024 have
concerned community and parish projects. These expressions of
interest range from immediately investable projects, projects that
still require further development, and ideas for the future. The
decision to open LCF GRASSroots to these applications on a
delegated basis (to process applications for funds on behalf of the
Council) has been broadly proven to be a successful one, with a
range of high-quality projects that meet UKSPF outcomes being
approved through this route.

3. To administer the Scheme, LCF adopt a short-form single
application form for applicants and have appointed a dedicated
Grant Manager, who has led on the scheme from inception and
provides a single point of contact for applicants seeking funding
in South Holland for parish, community and Village Hall projects
(occasionally buttressed by support from the UKSPF/RPF Programme
Team where technical advice on the UKSPF Programme is required
and/or where a matter is referred directly to the Council).
Feedback to the Council on the process and support provided from
applicants has generally been highly positive.

4.. The Grants Panel, which consists of representatives of the
public, private and third sector, drawn from across the South and
East Lincolnshire Partnership area, has worked well. The Panel has
always been quorate and participants have remarked upon the quality
of discussion, with comprehensive papers and minutes being produced
in support of each. Panels have generally met quarterly. With the
increased allocation proposed in this paper, it is anticipated that
they shall meet slightly more frequently to service the requirement
for an increased rate of grant disbursement.

5. Over the course of six months, the GRASSroots Programme has
successfully committed and/or distributed the vast majority of
funding initially allocated for South Holland. Of the
£360,620 initially allocated, only £83,997 now remains
in the Fund (as of 24/1/24). The quality of applications has been
particularly strong, with projects supported including Gosberton
Youth Centre, Lutton Parish Council, Tydd St. Mary Parish Council
and Boxes of Hope. Without additional support, it is highly
probable that the Fund would have to close for applications at the
end of the Financial Year.

6. The performance of the UKSPF and REPF Programme more widely in
relation to Communities and Place/REPF outcomes has allowed for
these additional funds to be allocated to this activity without a
negative impact on the District’s agreed Investment
Plan.

7. Similarly, the GRASSroots scheme has also been successful in
encouraging Parish and Community projects to raise additional
funding in support of their project, with the average grant
intervention rate across the Partnership being around 70%, thus
making a positive contribution towards the UKSPF Programme’s
target for leveraged additional investment. In South Holland,
intervention rates have generally been slightly higher (closer to
80%) and as a consequence, a focus of the expanded scheme will be
to work with parishes, village halls and community groups to
encourage them to raise additional match funding to improve this
even further.

8. The cost of scheme administration has been slightly less than
the comparable cost of administering these grants ‘in
house’ and has allowed the UKSPF/RPF core Programme team to
focus on grant appraisal and the management of larger projects and
contracts. The cost of administering any expansion of the
GRASSroots scheme, charged at a flat rate of 8% of any increase,
represents outstanding value for money to the taxpayer and with the
scale of the proposed expansion, takes the total cost of delivering
this scheme significantly below the cost of administering this
scheme within the Council.

9. The expectation is that this additional package of support,
offered by LCF and the Council in combination, will enable the
District to achieve its core contracted outcomes in key areas such
as: increasing the number of volunteers in the District; increasing
visitor numbers to the District; increasing community engagement
with arts, culture and heritage; improving residents’
perceptions of place and reducing perceptions of crime.

Recommendation: To proceed upon the basis of awarding
£350,000 to the Lincolnshire Community Foundation through the
UK Shared Prosperity and Rural Prosperity Fund for the purposes of
expanding the delivery of the ‘GRASSroots’ grant scheme
for parish councils, village halls and community projects.

Decision

To award funds of
£350,000 to the Lincolnshire Community Foundation (LCF) for
the GRASSroots project.

Reasons for the decision

Considerations and conclusions
for this investment are made within the text of this report,
including the options appraisal below.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 -
Proceed as per the recommendation of this Report
 
Under
this option, additional funds will be allocated to the LCF
GRASSroots project, enabling further
grants to be given to Parish Councils, Village Halls and Community
Spaces. This will allow for the continuation of the grant scheme
throughout calendar year 2024, as well as the disbursement of grant
funding to a minimum of 13 additional community projects. This will
allow successful projects to bring forward additional delivery in
local communities and for additional communities to receive support
from UKSPF/REPF.
 
Option 2
– Do nothing
 
Under
this option, the GRASSroots scheme
shall continue to operate as agreed in June 2023 without any
additional funding or support. Given the level of commitment, it is
likely that the Fund would close before Summer 2024, with fewer
community, parish and village hall projects supported. The UKSPF
Fund would have to seek alternative means of distributing these
Funds, which would likely be less efficient and a risk of Programme
underspend in Communities and Place would emerge. Consequently, the
benefits as set out within the report will not be
realised.