From May onwards you will no longer be able to get grants from the Marlborough Area board for running costs, to fund events or to fund educational, youth or care trips – which are termed ‘revenue costs’. Instead grants will only be available for ‘capital costs’ and these will now need a considerably greater amount of ‘matched funding’.
The new rules will apply across Wiltshire. But in addition the Marlborough Area Board grant pot will be reduced by £3,000, but with some recompense for this loss in other funding – see below. The grant ‘pot’ for the Marlborough Area Board for 2013-2014 is £42,064.
There are two major changes in the new Area Board rules for grants. First, matched funding will now be required for bids over £500 rather than over the previous threshold of £1,000. Secondly the restriction to ‘capital costs’ will mean a major change in the type of applications that can be accepted.
Although the Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council, Councillor John Thomson wants the grants scheme for 2013-2014 to “support volunteering, community involvement and addressing community priorities”, the scheme will only fund “capital projects that deliver enduring community infrastructure improvements – such as new equipment, facilities or environmental improvements.”
It seems clear that one aim of the new rules is for the grants scheme to pay for more work on village halls: “In 2023/14 applications for village hall funding will come to the area board for consideration.”
Another priority is to “encourage young people and people with disabilities to become more actively involved in sports, outdoor activities, recreation, arts and volunteering” – but only via the main grants scheme by way of ‘capital costs’.
All projects over £500 will now need fifty per cent matched funding. Put starkly this means that if a project costs £600, the Area Board can only award £300 towards it.
This will, of course, favour organisations with robust fund raising streams which can find the matched funding.
However, it is the move to award grants only for ‘capital costs’ and never for ‘revenue costs’ that will have the greatest impact on the kind of organisations that can benefit from Area Board grants. Small charities with no need to incur ‘capital costs’ – with no headquarters, computers or other equipment at all – will simply be ruled out.
Hire of rooms, hire of coaches, running costs such as IT licences and sports equipment will not be funded: “It is the pitch or facility which is the capital part, not the kit being used by club members/community”.
Strict definitions of what is a ‘capital cost’ and what is not are still open to advice from the Council’s finance department. But the outline guide sets out the bald classification: “Capital expenditure includes: the acquisition or creation of a new asset” and/or “the ‘enhancement’ of an existing/fixed asset.”
It goes on: “A fixed asset is usually tangible (can physically touch/see them) such as: Building (village hall sports club house): Land, for development, and playing fields; ICT equipment (computers); Vehicles, plant and machinery.”
A guide seen by Marlborough News Online spreads over two pages to refine and define those terms. It is certainly clear that grants will not be available for costs that “merely maintain the asset”. And the eyes of barrack room or council chamber lawyers will brighten at this definition:
“An ‘enhancement’ refers to works that SUBSTANTIALLY increases: the useful life of an asset, the market value of an asset, the extent to which the asset can be used.” We may look forward to arguments among Councillors as to whether an application meets the ‘substantially’, ‘useful life’, ‘market value’ and ‘extent of use’ criteria.
One other change being brought in is that the application process will in future be completely electronic. No paper applications will be accepted.
However some funding is being given out to Community Area Partnerships. Except that the Marlborough Area does not have a Community Area Partnership.
An extra £8,400 of extra funding – which can be used for ‘revenue’ costs – will go to fund projects that support priorities raised by the Marlborough Area Plan drawn up last year by the Marlborough Area Development Trust. It is yet to be decided how this money can be applied for and who will decide how it will be allocated.
One person who runs a small charity – ‘on a shoestring’ – expressed great anxiety that their sort of work with vulnerable adults would not meet these new criteria and wondered how the new and much smaller ‘revenue’ fund would be given out: “It’s important that the right sort of people are getting these funds”.
There is also a £1,500 fund to support the work in the Marlborough area of Wiltshire Online such as the digital literacy campaign.
The deadline for grant applications to be considered at the first meeting of the new year (May 28) has now passed. The deadline for applicartions to be considered at the Area Board meeting on July 16 is June 4.
For assistance with definitions of capital/revenue etc contact the Marlborough Community Area Manager, Andrew Jack at Andrew.Jack@wiltshire.gov.uk or 01225 713109.