‘Use it or lose it’ plan for community fund criticised

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

Council leaders have been urged to rethink plans to claw back unspent cash from a community fund for local volunteer groups.

Some members of a Caerphilly Council committee said they should have had a say on the cabinet members’ plans to pump the unused money back into the local authority’s general fund.

The Community Empowerment Fund contains more than £3,000 for each councillor to support voluntary work within their wards.

In July, however, cabinet members said there were sizeable underspends, which “benefit no communities”.

Deadline

The cabinet agreed to set a deadline of September 30 for ward councillors to submit any applications for the money – with any unclaimed funds after that date being returned to the council’s coffers.

Four members of the council’s corporate and regeneration scrutiny committee, however, have called in that decision, which they argue was made “without proper consultation”.

Committee member Cllr Lindsay Whittle, of Plaid Cymru, said he “commended” the fund and feared unspent money would “disappear”.

Cllr Colin Mann, also Plaid, told the meeting many applications to the fund faced “unavoidable delays” because volunteer groups also relied on other sources of income, with complex or drawn-out processes involved.

He urged the council to show “some flexibility” in its handling of applications.

Paperwork

Cllr Gary Enright also supported a cabinet rethink, telling colleagues an allotment group in his ward had taken seven months to navigate the paperwork when applying for the fund.

“I understand there is a significant amount of money to save”, he said, in reference to the council’s forecast of a £45 million budget gap over the next two years.

But he said the Community Empowerment Fund was “money in the bank – it’s not going anywhere [if it’s unspent]”.

Cllr Judith Pritchard, invited to address the committee, said some applications face red-tape delays while waiting for a decision.

In a report, council officers said they were “not aware of any excessive delays in applicants gaining leases of licences to access the grant”, however, and offered several compromises for applicants.

Other committee members also offered their thoughts on the matter.

Labour councillor Denver Preece suggested applicants should all be given a simplified form to complete, to avoid any “topsy-turvy” issues with the funding process.

Cllr Walter Williams, also Labour, said he would prefer to “keep the money” within the Community Empowerment Fund if it went unspent.

The committee agreed to write to the cabinet members, asking them to reconsider their previous decision.