Issue - meetings

To consider a joint report of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Councillor for Reform & Governance.

A central commitment in the Council’s Growth and Reform Framework is to foster growth in our communities as well as our economy, recognising the critical value that resilient and connected communities have in enabling local people and business to be successful and to grow.

Within the Cabinet’s response to the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) pressures (presented by Cabinet on 15 August), an updated Working with Communities (WwC) working paper was presented which reiterated the Cabinet’s ambition and progress in working to achieve this. This was followed by a discussion at CRMG scrutiny in September which introduced an investment model which seeks to enable the growth of social movements and resilience within our communities.

This report presented to Cabinet is the latest in this series of updates and outlines a proposal to proceed with a ‘beta’ phase of a new Community Investment Fund. This beta phase would inform the decision to proceed with the delivery of a 2 year pilot commencing in 2018.

Cabinet is recommended to:

•        comment upon the proposals outlined within this report, including:

- The approach, ethos and principles of the Community Investment Model;

- The associated funding considerations and next steps;

•        commit existing resources to the Beta phase and development of the model; and

•        agree in principle, subject to the outcome of the Beta phase, to receive (in early 2018) a reserve request to fund the two-year pilot proposed above and within the accompanying presentation.

Officer contact: Holly Rae, 0161 474 3014, holly.rae@stockport.gov.uk

A joint report of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Reform & Governance was submitted (copies of which had been circulated) updating the Cabinet on progress with the Working with Communities work stream and setting out a proposal to undertake a ‘beta’ phase of a new Community Investment Fund as a prelude to a possible 2 year pilot starting in 2018.

The Cabinet Member for Reform & Governance emphasised that this proposal furthered the Cabinet’s stated ambition of working better with the community, and its commitment to early interventions to reduce more costly later demands on services. It was also emphasised that the proposals would not make an immediate impact on the Council’s savings requirements, although longer term the investments from the fund would realise a return. It was further acknowledged that the details of the governance of the fund would also need further consideration.

RESOLVED – That progress with the Working with Communities Programme be noted and

·         the proposals outlined within this report be endorsed, including:

-       the approach, ethos and principles of the Community Investment Model;

-       the associated funding considerations and next steps;

·         existing resources be committed to the Beta phase and development of the model; and

·         agreement in principle be given, subject to the outcome of the Beta phase, to receive (in early 2018) a reserve request to fund the two-year pilot proposed above and within the accompanying presentation.

To consider a report of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Reform and Governance.

The proposals in this paper, and outlined further within the supporting presentation build out from this working paper and in particular focus upon the opportunity to introduce an investment model which seeks to enable the growth of social movements and resilience within our communities. At the heart of which is a collaborative ethos between the Council and local communities which seeks to shape how we collectively address challenges and priorities within our Borough.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Holly Rae on 0161 474 3014 or email: holly.rae@stockport.gov.uk

The Cabinet Member for Reform and Governance submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) in relation to proposals supporting the recent presentation to this Scrutiny Committee focusing upon the opportunity to introduce an investment model which sought to enable the growth of social movements and resilience within communities.

At the heart of the proposals was a collaborative ethos between the Council and local communities which sought to shape how together the challenges and priorities within our Borough are addressed.

The Cabinet Member for Reform & Governance (Councillor David Sedgwick) attended the meeting to present the report and answer members’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:

·         In response to a question asking who would be determining applications for funding, Councillor Sedgwick stated that he believed there needed to be a democratic oversight of the decision making process.

·         It was suggested that the estimated resource cost of administering the ‘Stockport Investment Fund’ (£160,000 over two years) was significant.

·         In relation to the monitoring and evaluation of applications and grants awarded, it was suggested that the good practice in relation to the administration of the Brookfield Shires Trust should be shared.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.