Decision details

The Ward Councillors' Empowerment Fund is an 18 month funding programme commencing on the 1st of October 2019. Every B&NES Ward Councillor will be allocated the sum of £2,000 to distribute in their ward. There will be a need to show local engagement for the project. In the parished areas Councillors must demonstrate the support of their local Parish Councils in drawing up proposals. There are no limitations on members pooling funds and within the city of Bath there might be issues and projects that could benefit from such an approach.

The Cabinet Member agrees to

(1)  Approve the introduction of the Ward Councillor Empowerment Fund as set out in the report

(2)  Agree a one-off sum of £118,000 for the initiative from the council’s one-off budget allocation for 2019/20

(3)  Agree to the scheme details as set out in the Guidance Note for the delivery of the scheme set out in Appendix 2 of the report, with the exception that the phrase “Each application must be a minimum of £500” in 5 of the Guidance Note be replaced by “Each application must be a minimum of £200”.

(4)  Agree the application process and timeframe for delivery set out in 3.4 of the report

(5)  Delegate to the Director of Partnerships and Corporate Services decisions relating to individual projects within the framework set out in this report and appendices

The decision has been made to help and empower Bath & North East Somerset elected members support projects that address the concerns and needs of their local communities. It will do this by providing funding of £2000 for each elected member for them to allocate to fund such projects, either in a single ward or across multiple wards if agreed by the relevant local members.

The decision differs from the recommendation in that the minimum amount for each separate application is to be set at £200 rather than £500. This particular aspect of the decision has been taken following consideration by the decision-taker that this reduction in the minimum amount will allow for greater flexibility for ward members across the area to support smaller local initiatives which benefit their local communities.

Consideration was given to this report being presented to full Cabinet but it is considered appropriate that it be a single member decision.