Agenda item

To consider the report and provide Officers with guidance on whether the Committee deem it necessary for the Council to go further in providing support to the community.

1.    That a Warm Community Spaces Fund / Community Food Fund be launched with authority for the decision making on allocating the grants delegated to the Head of Community Services.

2.    That criteria and decision making on allocating grants for further funds that are related to inflationary pressures be delegated to the Head of Community Services.

45.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 117-126, sought to highlight the impact of the current level of inflation and some of the known difficulties faced within communities. In addition, Members were provided with a supplementary report that detailed Gloucestershire County Council funding which had been secured to support community venues over the autumn and winter months. The Executive Committee was asked to launch a Warm Spaces Fund / Community Food Fund and delegate decision making on the allocation of grants to the Head of Community Services as well as to agree that criteria and decision-making on allocating grants from further funds related to inflationary pressures be delegated to the Head of Community Services.

45.2           The Head of Community Services explained that the intention of the report was to enable conversations about inflation and what the Council may or may not want to do. He had drafted the report but the issues were so far reaching that the whole Management Team had had an input. The initial report set out the current situation that existed and the fact that, despite various central government interventions, the impact of inflation was likely to negatively impact individuals within the Borough. The report also outlined the various interventions that had been made by the government and the local interventions the Council, supported by partners, had within its remit to support the community. In addition, Members were advised of the work that Council Officers were already undertaking with partners in support of the community and the Committee may wish to ask Officers to do more in terms of exploring further options. Paragraph 5.3 of the report set out some areas where the Borough Council could have a significant impact including: co-ordinating a focused response with the Borough’s strategic partners for example, housing partners, Department of Work and Pensions, Citizens’ Advice and other voluntary sector partners, maximising support and impacts on people and communities; providing warm spaces for people to shelter, keep warm and socialise; supporting people to make the best possible choices about how they used the income they had; providing additional direct and indirect financial support, including through the various hardship schemes; supporting people if they were struggling to cope and, as a minimum, ensuring the Council’s actions did not exacerbate problems further; and providing visible and high-profile leadership for the Borough.

45.3           In terms of the supplementary report, the Economic and Community Development Manager explained that the Council had only recently secured funding from the County Council which was the reason for the late circulation of the information. Community venues were proposed to play a crucial role and become warm hubs for people to congregate during the colder months - residents may look to those hubs for warmth, meeting people and therefore performing a key role in the community in also reducing social isolation. However, it was understood that those venues may struggle to pay for rising utility bills and may be cutting back on their opening hours. As the Borough was made up of many rural communities, community venues were often the first place residents would turn to for support or activity – those centres could provide somewhere warm and safe for residents as well as providing services such as hot meals across the coming months – they would also have the potential to link in with other support services such as foodbanks, community pantries and external organisations like the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The proposal was for one-off funding of £500 grant per venue and those bodies who managed and ran community venues would be asked to submit a short expression of interest form to the Council to apply for funds. By using this route, the Council would be targeting those most in need, whilst having the dual impact of also enabling people to congregate together and take part in activity – this model may also prove to be more sustainable and enable similar activity to continue in the future. Only non-profit organisations would be eligible and it was thought that community centres, village halls, church halls and youth clubs would apply. It was proposed that venues could use the funding to pay for utility bills; provision of food (for free or at low cost) within the community venue to help support vulnerable people, or those struggling to pay their utility bills e.g. lunch clubs; to put on activities at the community venue for free or at a low cost; and to open up the venue more frequently and therefore allow greater community access to a warm space. The proposal was that Officers would carry out an initial assessment and then recommend to the Head of Community Services to agree to the funding request. In addition, a smaller amount of funding had been secured from the County Council to initiate community pantries and other food projects in the Borough – those played a vital role in helping communities to access food at an affordable cost in their community. There was potential for further future funds to be provided to the Council to support residents who were facing inflationary pressures. Therefore, to enable funds to be distributed to the community as quickly as possible, it was recommended that authority be delegated to the Head of Community Services to develop criteria and allocate future funding in consultation with the Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Community.

45.4           During the discussion which ensued, a Member noted that there were going to be huge impacts for people on fixed rate mortgages which were just expiring and they would be unable to find affordable fixed rates going forward due to the massive increase in interest rates. In response, the Head of Community Services explained that the Council was seeing temporary accommodation costs increasing due to increases in interest rates. There was a specific pot of money but that would not last too long and Councils would continue to lobby the government about what it could do to support the community. There was approximately £20,000 left in the grant scheme, £55,000 in the warm spaces fund and £30,000 for community pantries. A Member advised that Northway Parish Council had looked into introducing a community pantry but was unable to do it as a Parish Council as they had to be run by volunteers from within the community. There was also an issue about the food as it could not be placed in the temporary accommodation which was earmarked for it as it needed planning permission – she felt the chances of being able to roll out a pantry were quite low due to such difficulties. She was also concerned about community spaces being made available for a small additional sum which may not cover costs and about the Warm and Well Scheme, which did not cover double glazing or enable solar panels on terraced housing unless they were in conjunction with other things like air source heat pumps. In response the Economic and Community Development Manager explained that a lot was reliant on volunteers in the community – they were good at providing support at a local level and the Council could help to bring them together. The warm spaces in community funds would offer support for energy costs which may mean venues were able to open longer/provide more things – as well as linking people together who may then be able to bring more forward. Members felt this would be a good idea and getting the message out now would allow venues to plan for when the temperatures dropped which should be helpful. Officers were currently compiling a list of eligible venues and would work with the Communications team to spread the message. Accordingly, it was