FIFE COUNCIL
Levenmouth Area Committee
27 May 2009
Agenda Item No.
LOCAL COMMUNITY SAFETY FUND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GRANT FUNDING
1.
Introduction
1.1
The purpose of this report is to present applications for community safety grant
funding for decision by Committee.
2
Local Community Safety Fund
2.1
The Local Community Safety Fund has been set up by Fife Community Safety
Partnership to provide funding for projects which provide relevant activities,
services or equipment aimed towards:
 Tackling the causes of crime and antisocial behaviour
 Reducing the opportunity for crime to be committed
 Reducing concerns and perceptions of crime in the community
 The promotion of safer communities in Fife
2.2
The Local Community Safety Fund replaces three grants previously
administered by Fife Community Safety Partnership, namely the Local Action
Fund, Community Safety Projects Fund, and Youth Diversion Budget.
2.3
£200,000 is available to Fife, of which £35,000 is allocated to the Levenmouth
committee area.
2.4
Under Fife Council funding conditions, grant applications for £5,000 and above
must be considered by the local Area Committee. Applications under £5,000 can be
considered under delegated powers, by the Head of Local Services and the Chair
of the local Community Safety Co-ordinating Group.
3
New Applications
3.1
The following applications have been assessed by Partnership staff against the
above criteria, also taking into account:
- Innovation and a multi-agency approach;
-
How the community set to benefit will have continued interest and
involvement;
-
Evidence of community consultation with the target beneficiaries,
elected representatives and partner agencies;
-
How the project meets clearly evidenced local needs and priorities;
-
If the project has attracted a significant proportion of match funding or
resources from other sources; and
-
The short- and long-term community safety outcomes for the local
community.
3.2
Project
Youth at Kennoway
The Strip (Fife)
Street:Live
Levenmouth Youth Initiative
Levenmouth Summer Programme
Total
Sum
Requested
£5,866
£7,936
£10,000
£8,920
£9,358
£42,080
Recommendation
£1,665
Reject application
Defer at present
£2,000
£5,050
£8715
3.3
Full recommendations are available in the Appendix.
3.4
A number of smaller projects under £5,000 were approved by the Area Community
Safety Co-ordinating Group of 12th May 2009:
Project
Sum
Requested
Kids Aff the Street – Community £1,460
Wardens summer sports activities
Levenmouth Youth Achievement £2,614
Group for young people at risk of
offending
Nominated Neighbour leaflets for £300
older/vulnerable residents
Shed Safety initiative for households £2,450
at risk of burglary
Levenmouth Business Forum start- £385
up information packs
Total
£7,209
Awarded
£560
£1,430
£300
£2,450
£385
£5,125
4
Conclusion
4.1
If all funding recommendations are approved, the balance remaining for
Levenmouth area will be £21,160.
5
Recommendations
5.1
It is recommended that elected members approve the recommendations set out for
project funding.
Jim Findlay
Head of Local Services – North Fife
Report contact:
Lyndsey Maricic
Policy Officer
Fife Community Safety Partnership
Kingdom House, Saltire Centre
Glenrothes
08451 55 55 55 ext 446 138
Lyndsey.maricic@fife.gov.uk
Appendix – Funding Applications
Youth at Kennoway – submitted by Vicky Wilson, Fife Council Community
Services
1
Requested - £5,866
Recommended – £1,665
This proposal is for a summer project for young people in Kennoway.
The Kennoway youth café operates 4 evenings per week during school term time,
and funding has been requested to allow the café to offer indoor and outdoor
activities during the summer holidays.
The outdoor programme is geared towards 15 – 18 year olds using the facility,
who are becoming volunteers at the café. The sessions, including a residential
break in partnership with Kirkcaldy YMCA, would be limited to 12 young people.
Indoor activities including music, cooking, arts and IT will be open to all local
young people – approximately 50 per session.
Details of funding requested
Activities at Lochore(£50 per session x 3), Camping at
Pitlochory (600), Largs residential (1500)
Transport costs (to venues) x 6 wks
Refreshments and lunches for residential
Volunteer expenses (travel reimbursement)
Award registration and booklets (NC and YAA)
Music equipment Hire
Materials for prog (arts, cooking, sports, comp
software, video equip)
Tutors (sports, arts, video x 2 hrs x 6 wks)
3 youth workers x 18 hrs x 2 wks (residential)
Total
Amount
£2,250
£550
£200
£35
£130
£125
£1,000
£540
£1,036
£5866
Community Services has committed £2,349 in the form of staff time.
While summer programmes offer positive activities for young people, reducing the
risk of antisocial behaviour and youth disorder locally, it is not clear how the
proposed residential will meet community safety aims.
It is therefore recommended that funding is awarded to the sessions planned for
all local young people. This will include the hire of music equipment, and providing
materials and specialist tutors – a total of £1,665.
2
The Strip (Fife) – submitted by Allan Munro, The Strip (Fife)
Requested - £7,396
Recommended - £0
The Strip (Fife) is a youth project which aims to rehabilitate young offenders and
other young people ‘at risk’ through learning skills in car maintenance.
A group of four young people aged 16-24 are currently involved in the project,
focusing on the repair and customisation of a car recovered from a breaker’s
yard.
Funding of £7,396 is requested for rent and utilities to enable the project to
continue in its venue at Whitehill Industrial Estate, Glenrothes. While Rathbone
contribute £300 to the running of the project, the lack of funding from elsewhere
means that without a grant, the project will end immediately.
The project appears to be effective in terms of the evaluation carried out in
summer 2008, which was part funded by the Youth Diversion Fund. However, it
does not link in with local community police or youth justice partners in its
selection of participants. It is also unclear if appropriate ongoing support is offered
by these partners to ‘graduates’ of the scheme.
There is a possible issue regarding the location of the project venue versus the
grant funding area, although all current participants are from Levenmouth. In
addition to this, the Local Community Safety Fund is designed to help establish
projects, rather than providing ongoing running costs or premises for existing
projects.
It is therefore recommended that funding is not awarded to this project. The
project leader has been advised to contact Fife Council’s funding and monitoring
team regarding longer-term financial planning, and will be asked to consult with
local police and youth justice services to discuss the viability of the project in the
future.
3
Street:Live – submitted by Ally Hunter, Kinetic Group
Requested - £10,000
Recommended – defer application at present
This proposal is for a financial contribution towards the operation and expansion of
Levenmouth’s Street:Live activity programme throughout 2009/2010. Street:Live
encourages young people to develop and participate in positive local activities,
addressing the reluctance of young people to attend existing community venues.
The success of the existing Street:Live Friday night football initiative for youth
engagement has led to the development a number of new projects directed by and
for young people, including graffiti art, mountain biking and media.
Funding of £10,000 has been requested towards the cost of a full-time project
worker for 2009/2010 to co-ordinate the various Street:Live initiatives.
Since the start of the financial year, Street:Live has been awarded a total of
£111,870 from partners, of which £52,870 has been confirmed from the local Area
Budget, and a further £59,000 from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Lloyds TSB.
While Street:Live has been proven to be a worthwhile project, it is recommended
that funding is not awarded at this stage, given the limited funding available to the
Levenmouth area for community safety and the recent awards to the project from
related local budgets. As noted in previous applications, the purpose of the fund is
for specific activities or initiatives, rather than ongoing staff costs.
It is therefore recommended that the project receives no funding at this stage, but
that the application is reviewed later in the financial year by the Community Safety
Co-ordinating Group subject to any funding remaining for the area.
4
Levenmouth Youth Initiative – submitted by Gemma Garrie, Levenmouth Youth
Initiative
Requested - £8,920
Recommended - £2,000
This proposal is for summer activities within a youth café in Leven, which provides
a safe environment for young people in the area.
The venue, within Carlow Hall, Durie Street Leven, has recently been refurbished,
including renovation of the kitchen and toilet facilities, games equipment and an
internet café. The youth café currently works with over 80 young people per week
on projects including an interactive website, open nights, school groups and a
weekly young parents group.
Funding has been requested for a summer project involving the creation and
production of a film on current community issues, branding of the centre and
ongoing staff costs.
Details of funding requested
Branding and design of youth centre logo and signage
Sessional workers for 12 weeks
Community Film in a week
Six month salary for development worker
Total
Amount
£1,600
£920
£2,400
£4,000
£8,920
The project has requested a further £2,500 in funding from the Sky Youth Action
Fund, and Fife Council Small Grants towards the sessional workers and a
photography project.
While the community film project will offer 20 young people a positive activity over a
week of the summer holidays, the cost relative to the number participants appears
high. However, the value of the film would be enhanced by making sure it could be
made available to all local young people, youth groups and representatives to raise
awareness and possibly assist with decision making.
The branding of the youth centre logo does not fit with the criteria of the Local
Community Safety Fund, and as noted previously, the fund is aimed towards oneoff projects, not ongoing staff costs.
It is therefore recommended that funding for staff costs is not awarded at this stage.
This position should be reviewed by the Community Safety Co-ordinating Group
later in the year on the basis of the extent to which the youth café is meeting local
community safety priorities.
In the meantime, it is suggested that £2,000 be awarded to provide the community
film, as this type of activity is not provided by other youth groups offering summer
provision. This award should be on condition that the film will be shared among
local agencies and elected representatives once complete.
5
Summer Programme – submitted by Levenmouth Youth Strategy Group
Requested - £9,358
Recommended - £6,350
Funding has been requested for a programme of six events to take place
throughout the summer.
Led by the Levenmouth Youth Strategy Group, the events will offer a range of
sports activities from 1pm to 5pm on Fridays at various locations around
Levenmouth. Approximately 50 – 100 young people will be able to take part at each
session. The events will be run in conjunction with the Street:Live programme, with
Bluelight discos also taking place into the evening on three occasions.
Local health service staff will be available to offer advice and ask questions, and an
information guide will be created and distributed to participants.
Details of funding requested
Sessional health nurse – 2hrs x 6 weeks
5000 wallet sized info leaflets
Water and healthy snacks (50 yp x 6 weeks)
Transport hire and mileage
Equipment – bibs, cones, prizes
DJ (Bluelight) x 3 session
Sports coaches
Venue hire x 3 weeks (contingency for weather)
Climbing wall x 4 events including relevant staff
Total
Amount
£258
£3,500
£600
£200
£1,000
£450
£600
£150
£2,600
£9,358
£3,790 has been confirmed in the form of staff time from youth workers, community
wardens and police officers. It is suggested that, in addition, sessional health staff,
venue hire and transport is provided in-kind from the services involved.
Community Services and Community Wardens should negotiate the use of sports
equipment and staffing to provide the activities at the Friday events, alongside
regular sessions proposed by the wardens.
Local agencies have noted that instead of hiring a climbing wall, the group should
make use of an existing climbing facility available to the Sea Cadets corps.
It is therefore recommended that £5050 is awarded to provide the leaflets, half of
the equipment costs, three Bluelight DJ sessions and sports coaches. This is on
condition that the leaflets will be distributed to all young people and will consist of
information and advice relevant beyond the summer period.