Agenda Item No_____13_______
BIG SOCIETY FUND: UPDATE REPORT
Summary:
This report examines the operation of Big Society Fund
in the first six months since its launch. It outlines the
nature and outcome of applications to the Fund to-date
and evaluates the effectiveness of the scheme in
achieving its objectives so far
Options considered:
This is an update report with no substantive
recommendations. Whilst many options exist in relation
to the future operation of the fund, it is suggested that
this review take place later in the financial year when
the Service level Agreement is to be reconsidered.
Conclusions:
The Big Society Fund has provided financial support to
a wide range of community oriented projects which will
undoubtedly help in achieving the purpose of the Fund:
to help build strong communities in North Norfolk. In
general the fund has been a success and minor
procedural or administrative issues have been
satisfactorily addressed throughout this initial
operational period. The future operation of the Fund
should be determined towards the end of its first year of
operation, alongside an evaluation of the effectiveness
of Norfolk Community Foundation in fulfilling the
requirements of the Service Level Agreement.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
1. A politically balanced working group comprising
of two Cabinet and two Scrutiny Members is
established to work with officers to review the North
Norfolk Big Society Fund.
2. A report is presented to Cabinet in March,
identifying whether or not the Big Society Fund
should be continued in the next financial year and if
so, the most appropriate way for this to be
implemented.
Reasons for
Recommendations:
This will enable consideration of the first three quarters
of the Fund’s first year of operation to be evaluated,
alongside the review of the SLA.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW
(Papers relied on the write the report and which do not contain exempt information)
Service Level Agreement between NNDC and Norfolk Community Foundation
BSF Prospectus
Big Society Board Terms of Reference
Report/ minutes of Cabinet (31/1/12); O& S Committee (6/2/12); and Full Council
(22/2/12)
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Cllr Trevor Ivory
All
Contact Officer, telephone number and email:
Rob Young/ Sonia Shuter, 01263 516162, robert.young@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
1.1
North Norfolk Big Society Fund has been operating since 2 April 2012 in line
with the agreed prospectus (included as Appendix A). The fund is
administered on behalf of the Council by the Norfolk Community Foundation
(NCF) under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which is in place for two years
from the Commencement Date. Applications for grant from the Fund are
considered at quarterly meetings of the Big Society Board (for applications of
£10,000 or less) and Cabinet (for applications of more that £10,000). So far,
two rounds of applications have been completed; the third round for
applications closed on 9 November 2012 and the fourth closes on 11 January
2013.
1.2
This report outlines the purpose of the Big Society Fund and the means by
which it has been operated. It outlines the grant applications submitted so far
and the levels of grant approved and includes a commentary on the perceived
effectiveness of the grant scheme so far in achieving the objectives set for it
by the Council.
2.
Operation of the Fund
2.1
The figures relating to the applications to the Fund are given below. Many of
the projects that have been funded so far have begun to be implemented and
the mid-term monitoring report, undertaken four months after the decisions on
the first round of applications (included as Appendix B) outlines their
progress.
2.2
The Fund has been well received; the first two rounds resulted in 68
applications requesting funding of over £650,000.00, exceeding the total
annual budget of £450,000 (including administration costs). There are various
reasons why the Fund might be receiving so many applications, one of which
could be the generally reduced levels of funding opportunities available from
other grant sources. Also because the Fund has no upper grant limit it is
attractive to organisations seeking a large grant, in a single application; there
being no requirement for match funding. Another significant reason may be
that the Fund has a very broad purpose; most projects and initiatives could be
perceived to some extent as contributing towards improving social and
economic wellbeing and therefore are theoretically eligible.
2.3
To ensure an efficient and effective process for both the grant applicant and
the Council, any application submitted to the Big Society Board or Cabinet
should contain all the required documentation and supporting evidence in
order that an informed decision can be made. Fifteen applications totalling
over £160,000 have not been presented for consideration, or a decision has
been deferred, due to insufficient information or supporting evidence. This is
an issue which has been raised with Norfolk Community Foundation who are
managing the grant process on the Council’s behalf through a Service Level
Agreement.
2.4
Even if an application does meet the prospectus criteria this does not mean it
will be awarded a grant. The extent to which the project will meet the Fund’s
priorities is a key consideration as well as its potential to be sustainable. This,
combined with the need to ensure Fund expenditure remains within its
allocated budget, has meant that applications totalling over £290,000 have so
far been refused.
2.5
The Norfolk Community Foundation manages several grant funds, some
generic and some with a specific geographic or thematic focus. Part of their
role is to ensure that grant applications are directed to the most appropriate
grant fund. To date six applications submitted to the Big Society Fund which
have been refused or deferred, have been awarded grant funding of
approximately £24,000.00 from alternative funds managed by Norfolk
Community Foundation.
2.6
The table below provides information on the number of applications received
and funding requested for both under and over £10,000. It also demonstrates
the amount of funding requested overall and the outcome of the applications,
whether they were approved, refused, deferred or withdrawn.
Total applications
Grant requested
Applications
approved
Funding
approved
Applications
refused
Funding refused
Applications
deferred
Applications
withdrawn
Under £10,000
57
£335,094.16
20
£112,577.00
Over £10,000
11
£319,938.78
5
£80,000
Total
68
£655,032.94
25
£192,577.00
26
£153,702.00
2
£139,372.00
28
£293,074.00
7
£33,397.00
4
£35,418.16
1
£37,350.00
3
£63,216.78
8
£70,747.00
7
98,634.94
Details of the applications which were either refused funding or offered less
funding than they requested are included as Appendix C.
2.2
The distribution of the fund (geographically and thematically) following the first
two rounds of operation is illustrated in the diagrams included as Appendix D.
3.
Budget
3.1
The Big society fund was set up with £450,000 from the ‘second homes
Council Tax’ returned to NNDC under an agreement with Norfolk County
Council. The fund identified £200,000 of capital and £250,000 of revenue,
from which the management fee of £27,000 is taken (for the SLA with NCF).
3.2
The budget table shows a breakdown of the total Capital and Revenue
funding awarded for grants under and over £10,000 as well as the amount of
funding that could potentially be allocated to eight deferred applications. It is
clear that currently applications for capital grants significantly exceeded those
for revenue and a transfer of funding from revenue to capital is likely to
enable the Fund to consider capital grant applications in the final two rounds.
3.3
Budget Table
Grants Awarded
May
Under £10,000
Over £10,000
September
Under £10,000
Over £10,000
Revenue
Admin Fee
Total
Revenue
Revenue Remaining
Deferred Revenue Grants
Remaining Revenue less
deferred grants
Capital
£27,289
£0
£52,858
£58,000
£10,430
£0
£22,000
£22,000
£27,000
£64,719
£154,858
Capital
£185,281 Capital Remaining
£43,238 Deferred Capital Grants
Remaining Capital less
£142,043
deferred grants
£45,142
£27,509
£17,633
3.4
The third round of the fund closed to applications on 9th November 2012.
Sixteen applications totalling £107,125.24 were received requesting funding
of under £10,000. Five applications totalling £151,995.00 were received
requesting funding of over £10,000. These are currently being assessed to
ensure they meet the Funds criteria and contain required supporting
documentation. The North Norfolk Big Society Fund Board will determine the
grants under £10,000 on Friday 14th December 2012 and Cabinet grants
over £10,000 on Monday 7th January 2013.
4.
Commentary
4.1
The fund was set up with the purpose (as set out in the BSF Prospectus) of
helping to build strong communities in North Norfolk. It aims to help
communities to develop new and innovative projects which will improve their
social and economic wellbeing. The prospectus identifies the outcomes (i.e.
benefits or impacts that can be recorded now and/or in the future) that the
Council would expect to evidence as a result of investment from this fund as
including:
• People working together to achieve benefits that can be both
appreciated by and have real positive impacts for the whole
community, or sections of it that have particular needs
• People who feel part of their community and have a sense of
belonging and responsibility for the good and long-term benefit of the
wider community
•
•
•
Communities and/or local groups who feel empowered to make a
difference and make improvements to the lives of those who they
support in the locality
An increased number of people volunteering and getting involved in
their local community to achieve greater levels of activity aimed at
improving and sustaining opportunities for the wider community
Local economic benefits that can create employment and training
opportunities for those most in need.
4.2
It is too early to determine the extent to which the operation of the fund has
helped to achieve these outcomes. This will only really be possible once the
projects have been fully implemented and operational for a period of time;
however, an analysis of the nature of the successful applications will show the
likelihood of these expectations being met. Both Cabinet and the Big Society
Board have been cognisant of the provisions set out in the prospectus in
determining applications to the Fund; and where it was felt that outcomes of
this nature were not likely to result, then such projects were either directed
towards funds that more closely matched to their outcomes or support was
offered in order for the project to be tailored more closely towards the aims of
this scheme (for resubmission).
4.3
As Members can see from the figures, a great many applications for a wide
variety of projects have been received so far. Both Cabinet and the Panel
have been keen to ensure that the fund is metered out across the whole year
and they have therefore tried to ensure that the eligibility criteria and evidence
requirements set out in the Prospectus have been sufficiently adhered to
before determining whether to grant funding. Where applications have
provided insufficient supporting information the applicants have generally
been asked to undertake further evidence gathering prior to resubmitting the
application for re-consideration. NNDC has set up an SLA with Voluntary
Norfolk and this has enabled expert support to be provided to those
organisations which may lack the expertise in providing the kind of evidence
required.
4.4
A frequent reason for grants not being approved (on first submission),
particularly for larger amounts of money, has been the absence of a
substantiated and viable business case. Without sufficient evidence of a
project’s on-going sustainability, the Council is rightly cautious about projects
becoming dependent upon the Fund because this would most likely lead to
the failure of the project should future support from the Fund not be
forthcoming. The Council (and NCF as its agent for the administration of the
Fund) should therefore continue to maintain its commitment to the provisions
set out in the Prospectus and should not entertain applications that are not
sufficiently supported by evidence. Applications that are reported for decision
by either the Board or Cabinet should satisfy the eligibility criteria and be
sufficiently evidenced; failure on either account should result in the application
being deferred until such time as these provisions are satisfied.
4.5
Certain minor procedural matters have come to light during the operation of
the fund and these have been able to be addressed through a mixture of:
• amendments to internal procedures (such as circulating a summary of
all applications to all Members);
• decision of the Council (such as the appointment of substitute
Members to the Board); and
•
discussion with NCF (such as defining our respective roles in relation
communication with applicants.
4.6
Other, more fundamental, issues have been raised along the way, such as:
• the appropriate ceiling for grant awards – there is currently no limit;
• whether or not applications should continue to be considered by
Cabinet – or whether they should all be determined by the Board;
• the criteria against which applications should be considered
• how the scheme can be used to foster greater liaison and better
relations between NNDC and local organisations, including town and
parish councils;
• whether the Fund, or elements of it can be better tailored towards
meeting identified community needs – perhaps through a
‘commissioning role - (certain types of projects have certainly been
prevalent); and
• whether better value for money could be attained from the scheme’s
operation.
4.7
It is suggested that no fundamental changes to the scheme should be made
until it has operated for at least the first year; as prospective applicants will be
familiar with the current modus operandi and may well be gearing up
submissions based upon that. It should not be assumed that the Fund needs
to stay the same, however, throughout the two-year period of the SLA. The
effectiveness of the Fund and its administration/implementation process
should be properly evaluated towards the end of the year and a report be
brought to Cabinet (at its meeting in March) recommending the way forward
for the next financial year. The SLA will similarly need to be reviewed and if
necessary alterations negotiated (bearing in mind either party may terminate
the agreement by giving not less than six month notice).
4.
Conclusion
The Big Society Fund has provided financial support to a wide range of
community oriented projects which will undoubtedly help in achieving the
purpose of the Fund: to help build strong communities in North Norfolk. In
general the fund has been a success and minor procedural or administrative
issues have been satisfactorily addressed throughout this initial operational
period. The future operation of the Fund should be determined towards the
end of its first year of operation, alongside an evaluation of the effectiveness
of Norfolk Community Foundation in fulfilling the requirements of the Service
Level Agreement.
5.
Implications and Risks
No issues currently identified
6.
Financial Implications and Risks
Applications are exceeding expenditure available. Ongoing monitoring is
required to ensure that the Fund does not exceed the allocated budget. A
transfer of some funding from revenue to capital may be necessary to support
the final two grant rounds.
7.
Sustainability
No issues currently identified
8.
Equality and Diversity
No issues currently identified
9.
Section 17 Crime and Disorder considerations
No issues currently identified