‘ DECISIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TOO BLINDLY’
Appeal for cash award decisions to be rejected
COMMUNITY representatives say they should have been included in talks with council staff over crucial cash awards for charities as another 50 groups miss out.
Glasgow City Council has introduced the Communities Fund to replace the old Integrated Grant Fund ( IGF) and allow more third sector organisations to access money.
But more than 130 city- wide applications were turned down on Thursday when more than £ 14m was awarded to 74 projects.
Now, 54 groups in the south of the city have also been refused funding. There had been 126 applications, totalling over £ 27m, for almost £ 10.5m – which will be shared between 72 groups.
A council officer said funding panels – including community and voluntary sector reps – had been planned to discuss draft recommendations.
However, these could not be held due to “Covid and other reasons”.
Proposed allocations were put to the South Sector Community Planning Partnership on Tuesday.
Patricia Ingram, a community representative, said panel meetings should have been held.
“We could have done it in some way,” she said. “I think decisions have been taken too blindly.
“Things have changed, and I think we should be deferring this until we can have a better look at what’s going on.”
Ms Ingram, of Hutchesontown Community Council, suggested the recommendations should be rejected, adding: “This is too important.”
But a council officer said the IGF ends on September 30 and failing to approve the funding could “jeopardise” projects.
“If it doesn’t go through today and there are no alternative proposals then those organisations would be at risk,” he said.
Ms Ingram’s amendment failed as a majority of councillors and partners approved the funding allocations. Cllr Stephen Dornan abstained.
She criticised the decision to arrange meetings when there isn’t “time for doing anything else”.
“These meetings should be in place at a recommended time that gives plenty of notice if we don’t recommend things.
“Decisions are being made that aren’t right.”
Patrick McGrath, representing the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations, also voted against the recommendations. He said council officers had “almost a thankless task” but noted “quite a number” of housing associations were not allocated funding.
“I think it does raise a question about the strategic role of community- based housing associations in communities,” he said.
“In many communities, it was housing associations that continued to operate and did a lot of anti- poverty work over the last few months.”
Labour’s Bailie John Kane, who supported the recommendations, said the whole system had been “pretty flawed”.
“We as a group should be putting our hands up and saying we got this pretty wrong. We have not enabled the level of community discussion to take place that we originally planned for.”
Councillor Rhiannon Spear, SNP, said not one application in her Greater Pollok ward had been successful but acknowledged it had “not been an easy process”.
“I will do everything within my power to ensure those that have not made the cut within my ward have access to other funds,” she said.
A £ 4m transitional fund was announced by the city’s SNP administration last Thursday. This will be available to the advice sector, violence against women organisations, communities of interest and equalities groups who missed out on Communities Fund money.
Recommendations for the transition fund are expected to be published by the end of this week.
Council officers are looking at all the organisations which had been funded by the IGF and “had scored well but couldn’t be recommended for funding” during the Communities Fund assessment.
There will be “no open bidding process”, an officer confirmed.
The Communities Fund process will now be reviewed to “learn lessons” ahead of the next funding round in 2023.