10 minutes will be allocated for this item

Report and recommendations as to the committee’s budget allocation

The Constituency Manager (Wirral West) reported upon the Constituency Committee Budget 2015/2016 and sought the views of the Committee as to the process for taking forward expenditure in relation to the Constituency Committee’s budget allocation for 2015/2016. The budget was made up as follows:

·  £15,000 for tackling anti-social behaviour;

·  £40,000 Your Wirral Fund;

·  £50,000 core Constituency Committee budget;

·  £10,000 environmental budget.

The Committee was also asked to note that, for 2015-16, the Constituency Manager had been allocated an operational budget of £5,000 to be used to support core constituency engagement activities and for general expenditure.

Anti-Social Behaviour Budget

The Chair suggested that with Upton ward and specifically Woodchurch being the constituency hotspot for ASB, the majority of funding should go to this area but with each ward having some resource to be deployed as necessary. He suggested the funding could be split £10,000 to Upton ward and £5,000 split between the other wards.

A Member suggested that there was a need to ensure that, when allocated, this funding augmented expenditure on any services rather than being used to replace it.

Resolved –

(1)  That an ASB Panel be established (with representation from one member per ward, to be determined by the Committee) to make recommendations about the use of the Committee’s budget and that it be used to augment services not replace them.

(2)  That the ASB Panel is supported by the Constituency Manager and attended by the Head of Corporate and Community Safety and partners as appropriate, including Merseyside Police.

(3)  That the Committee delegates decision-making in respect of this budget to the ASB Panel in conjunction with the Chair of the Committee given the need to expedite decisions quickly taking into account seasonal factors.

(4)  That a report on progress and expenditure to date is considered by the Committee when it next meets in October.

Your Wirral Fund

The report of the Constituency Manager set out the terms to be adhered to in respect of this grant of £40,000 provided by Magenta Living, with a maximum grant of £2,500. An amount of £50,000 had also been ringfenced for Wirral wide projects (delivered in two or more of the constituency areas). With regard to this fund, decisions were taken by the respective Chairs of the Constituency Committees.

Councillors Jeff Green and Stuart Whittingham declared personal interests in this item due to them being Board Members of Magenta Living.

Resolved –

(5)  That the process for allocating the Your Wirral Fund is the same as adopted in 2014-15, i.e. that a Wirral West Your Wirral Panel is established comprising one councillor per ward, that applications are welcomed in respect of all seven Your Wirral themes, and that the Chair (or deputy) represents Wirral West on the Wirral-wide Panel.

(6)  That the Your Wirral Fund is opened for applications on Monday 20 July with a closing date of Monday 14 September and that the Wirral West Your Wirral Panel meets subsequently to review these applications.

(7)  That the Committee considers the recommendations of the Wirral West Your Wirral Panel in relation to which applications should be funded at its meeting in October.

Core Budget

The Constituency Manager suggested that given the grant opportunities currently available to Wirral West groups, as detailed elsewhere on the agenda, it was proposed that the Committee defer the timetable for the Community Fund to take this into account (subject to the Committee’s approval as to the continuation of the general approach set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report). This would enable groups to target their grant applications as effectively as possible working with the ongoing support of the constituency team. It was also proposed that a review of the process for allocating the Community Fund was undertaken to further develop the involvement of local communities in the decision-making process.

The Chair suggested that this deferment would enable the Constituency team to plan some more holistic events to engage with the community.

The Constituency Manager stated that Members would be consulted over a revised timetable with a view to re-opening the Community Fund after Christmas.

The Chair, having always found the Administration to be very reasonable, commented that he was sure any underspend could be carried over.

Resolved –

(8)  That the Committee agrees to continue with the broad framework now established in respect of the Community Fund, i.e. £10,000 per ward with an opportunity for local groups to bid for funding (and any remaining monies to be allocated at the discretion of ward councillors).

(9)  That, in line with the Committee’s aspiration of continuous improvement, the Constituency Manager and Constituency Engagement Officer review the process for allocating the Community Fund to further develop the involvement of local communities in the decision-making process.

(10)  That the Committee is provided with an update on process and timescale for allocating the Community Fund when it next meets in October.

Environmental Budget

The Constituency Manager reported that Council at its meeting on 24 February, 2015 had allocated £40,000 to support communities to help clean up their neighbourhoods, £10,000 per constituency.

Resolved –

(11)  That the constituency team undertakes consultation with residents and community stakeholders to identify locations or issues in the constituency which might benefit from the use of this funding and that this information is presented to the Committee in October alongside possible options for expenditure.