To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Bowden and Sharpe.

To receive any Declarations of Interest.

Cllr Bateson – Declared a personal interest as she works with the Ascot District Day Centre and helps to fundraise on their behalf. Cllr Bateson did not take part in the vote to allocate funds.

Cllr Saunders – Declared a personal interest as he had his wife were material funders of the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. However, he did not take part in the vote to allocate funds.

Cllr Stretton – Declared a personal interest as she had just been co-opted as a trustee of the Maidenhead Heritage Trust. Although Cllr Stretton had not yet attended any of the Trusts meetings as yet, she did not take part in the vote to allocate funds. Cllr Stretton also declared an interest as last year (2015) she had sat on the Board of the Maidenhead Festival although, she had not attended any of their meetings this year. Cllr Stretton stated she had come to Panel with an open mind.

To confirm the Part I Minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 18 August 2016 be approved.

The Panel considered the award of Council grants to local organisations for the relevant quarter and agreed that they be recorded in Part I.

Officers explained the process of monitoring groups and organisations that received funding from the Borough’s Grants Panel which helped to ensure the money awarded was spent properly.

Any new organisations applying for Grant Aid Funding will be asked for invoices and proof of spend.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That:

i) the grants as detailed below be approved.

Revenue Grants

BUDGET:  £18,455

That with regret, the following applications were refused:

The Salvation Youth Trust

Windsor & Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra

Capital Grants

BUDGET: £4,131

Kidwells Park Trust Grants

BUDGET: £4,550

Members requested officers to look into increasing SLA funding for those organisations which received SLA funding annually but then approached the quarterly grants panel for further funding throughout the year to prevent them from needing to do so. Members said they would speak with organisations and then liaise with their Lead Members prior to the Annual Grants Panel in January 2017.

Officers were asked to liaise with local organisations to help identify if further funding requests would be requested moving forward and if so, to see if an SLA would be a more appropriate way forward for funding organisations.

Members also requested that where the council funds the purchase of equipment through Capital Grants, the equipment should then be made available for use or hire by other community groups.