Agenda item

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

The Committee received and considered the report of the Deputy Town Clerk detailing requests for the award of Grants and Subsidised lettings.

Discretionary Grants

Members had heard earlier in the meeting during Public Participation from the representatives of Windrush School, 1^st Witney Rangers, Lowland Resue Oxford and Be Free Young Carers concerning their respective grant applications.

Prior to the Committee considering Discretionary Grant Applications for the 2024/25 financial year the Leader of the Council reminded members of the amount of Grant funding that remained in the budget (£17,000) and that a further grant window would open in January 2025, therefore it would be necessary to view the grant requests with this in mind.

Windrush School – Members felt that rather than fund a salary, they preferred to fund equipment or training to existing staff to help with the needs of the children up to the value of £1,000. Therefore, they made no official award and asked that Officers request that the school submit a revised request should they wish.

1^st Witney Rangers Girl Guides – It was proposed by Cllr Cherry and seconded by Cllr Edwards-Hughes that the award be increased to £1,000. Members were unanimous in support for the social value the opportunity the request would provide for young people. Members also asked Officers to make offer of the Council’s Halls to the group to host fundraising events so that they may be considered for subsidised lets.

Lowland Rescue Oxford– It was proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Crouch that an award of £2,500 be made. Members were unanimous in support and thanked the group for what they did, particularly recently in Witney.

Be Free Young Carers – Members considered the reach of the group which was intended to cover the whole West Oxfordshire area. They agreed that as Witney held approx. 40% of the young people in the district then the award should reflect that data. Members were unanimous in their agreement to award £2,000. Members also requested that the council write to the Witney schools to highlight the award and encourage them to engage with the group.

A Member raised and it was agreed by the Committee that it was clear from all four applications received and the representations given, that Mental Health featured in all which is a representation of the pressures that all sections of society were facing.

Subsidised Lettings

The Committee was unanimously in agreement for the request from the Mayor of Witney for subsidised letting of the town council halls totalling approx. £300 to support his charity fundraising efforts in 2024/25.(The mayor having removed himself from the meeting whilst the item was considered)

Members also considered additional subsidised letting for Witney Fairtrade Action Group, Witney Traffic Advisory Committee, CoHSAT and Oxfordshire County Council these were unanimously approved.

Other Grants

The Committee considered an extra ordinary grant award for Witney Town Band which was agreed unanimously approved. The Committee asked Officers to extend the offer of free use of The Leys or Corn Exchange for the Band to use for a future fundraising event following an update from the Deputy Town Clerk to advise that their fund reserves were low.A Member also asked that if they knew of any opportunities at which the Band could play for a fee that they should be forwarded to the Band.

Members considered the draft policy criteria for the Council’s 50^th Anniversary Grants. The Committee agreed to delegate to Officers in conjunction of the Chair of the Committee for agreement of these small awards. They also asked that a photo of how the individual grant awards were spent so that these may be used to publicise the grant scheme.

Finally, Members were pleased to receive correspondence from Witney Day Centre, West Oxfordshire Citizen Advice and West Oxfordshire Community Transport for the grant awards they had previously received.

Resolved:

1.      That, the report be noted and,

2.      That, Windrush School be contacted and a revised grant application be requested for Play Therapy equipment          and,

3.      That, the sum of £1,000, be awarded to 1^st Witney Rangers Girl Guides and,

4.      That, the sum of £2,500, be awarded to Lowland Rescue Oxford and,

5.      That, the sum of £2,000, be awarded to Be Free Young Carers and,

6.      That, the subsided lettings applications for Witney Fairtrade Action Group (£199.50), Mayor of Witney (approx. £300), Witney Traffic Advisory Committee (£78.50), CoHSAT (£157) and Oxfordshire County Council (Lettings discounted by approx. 48%) be approved and,

7.      That, the extra-ordinary grant of £1,000 be approved for Witney Town Band and,

8.      That, the Councils 50^th Anniversary Grant Aid policy be approved and,

9.      That, the awarding of the 50^th Anniversary Grant Scheme be delegated to Officers in conjunction with the Chair of the Policy, Governance & Finance Committee and,

10.   That, all grants be awarded under the General Power of Competence and that the recipients be asked to acknowledge the Council’s financial contribution in their promotional literature and provide pictorial evidence of their spending and,

11.   That, the correspondence from Witney Day Centre, West Oxfordshire Citizen Advice and West Oxfordshire Community Transport be noted.