Halstead Town Council have a new round of grants awards coming up. Applications to be submitted by 30 June 2023.
Grant awarding policy and procedure
Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows local authorities, including Parish Councils, to incur expenditure which will bring direct benefit to their area or any part of it, or to all or some of its inhabitants.
The Town Council has the power to award a grant to an organisation for a specific purpose which will benefit the town and its residents. At its annual budgeting meeting, it will decide on the amount to be set aside to award as grants to deserving organisations. The organisation to which this award is made should not be directly administered by the Council, and it should be able to demonstrate a clear financial need. The grant must be in the interests of the area and its inhabitants and should be commensurate with expenditure. It must provide a service, improve the environment or have some other positive impact on the people of Halstead.
Such grants cannot be awarded to:
- Private individuals
- Commercial organisations
- Purposes for which another local or central government department must provide
- Upward funders, where local fundraising goes to a central HQ for redistribution
- Political parties
- Religious organisations, unless for a purpose which does not discriminate on grounds of belief
This list is not exhaustive and may be added to at the Council’s discretion.
Only one application for a grant can be made by any one organisation in any one financial year. A grant awarded in one year cannot be assumed to continue into the next financial year, and must be reapplied for each year. Nor can a grant be made retrospectively.
A second round of applications may be held if the first does not exhaust the funds.
Application Procedure
Applications for grants open on 1 April, at the beginning of the financial year.
Organisations seeking financial support for amounts up to £500 are required to submit by 30 June at the latest in the year of their funding requirement:
- A completed application form
- The number or percentage of members that belong to the organisation and that live in the Halstead urban area
- Details of any restrictions placed on who can use/access their services
- Confirmation of clear written aims and objectives and a separate bank account controlled by more than one signatory
All grants awarded will be subject to regular report back to Halstead Town Council on progress and community benefit.
Evaluation of applications
Once all applications have been received, the decision on awarding grants will be made at the next available Council meeting, usually in July. Other applications received at other times of year may be considered on an emergency basis at the Council’s discretion.
Each application will be assessed on its own merits, and the Town Council reserves the right to refuse a grant application which it considers inappropriate or against the objectives of the council.
Successful applications
A grant award must be used only for the purpose stated on the application form. If the organisation is unable to use all or part of the monies for that purpose, that part of the money must be returned to the Council.
The organisation must advise their users/members that the equipment has been purchased with a grant from the Town Council. Any equipment purchased must be insured at the expense of the users.
The organisation receiving the grant is asked to report at the following Annual Town meeting how the grant has been used.