Policies and procedures

This Grant Policy was adopted at a meeting of Rippingale Parish Council held on 20 September 2012. The Policy was last reviewed &updated on 14th March 2023

Policy Statement

1. Section 137 (s.137) of the Local Government Act 1972 is a statutory power.  It gives council’s the power ‘to incur expenditure for purposes not otherwise authorised.’  It is only used when there is no other specific power available; it is a ‘power of last resort’. Any expenditure under s137 must benefit some or all inhabitants, not an individual, and cannot be made retrospectively.

2. S137 payments are index-linked and the amount per electorate is published ahead of the following financial year; for example, the figure for 2019/20 financial year was £8.12. 

3. A grant is any payment or donation made by the Parish Council to an organisation for a specific purpose. The purpose of a grant awarded by the Council is to support local community initiatives that are not, as a matter of course, funded by the Council.  For example:

    a. A donation to the Royal British Legion for a poppy wreath.

    b. Refreshments at the Annual Parish Meeting. 

4. Any grant awarded by the Parish Council must:

    a. be “in the interests of or will directly benefit the area or its inhabitants ...”; and

    b. “the direct benefit should be commensurate with expenditure”. 

Grant Scheme

5. Rippingale Parish Council has a small grants scheme which offers grants to community groups.  The amount of money available for grant purposes will be resolved annually in the budget of the Council.  The information will be published in the Newsletter.

Eligibility

6. Applications will NOT be considered from:

    a. Individuals

    b. A political party

    c. Organisations intending to support or oppose any particular political party or to discriminate on the grounds of race, religion or disability.

    d. Private organisations operating as a business.

    e. Upward Funders – i.e. where local groups forward funds raised to a central HQ for redistribution.

    f. Organisations with significant unrestricted reserves.

7. The Grant’s use or purpose must be to make Rippingale a better place to live in, work in or visit.  It must benefit people who live in the Parish.  The benefit could include, but is not limited to:

    a. Providing a service

    b. Providing activities

    c. Enhancing the quality of life

    d. Improving the environment

    e. Promoting Rippingale in a positive way.

8. The Council will consider applications for small scale capital expenditure such as purchase of special equipment.

9. Only one grant will be awarded to an organisation in any one year, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

10. Applications will NOT be considered for:

    a. Projects which benefit single individuals or private business projects.

    b. Projects that are the prime statutory responsibility of other government bodies.

    c. Projects that simply replace existing facilities with no significant improvement.

    d. Projects that improve or benefit privately owned land or property.

    e. Projects that have already been completed or will have been by the time the grant is issued.

    f. Prize money.

    g. Revenue expenditure – i.e. expenditure that covers day to day running expenses such as rates, gas or electricity costs; grounds maintenance; salaries; or rent/hire costs.

Application Procedure

11. Organisations requesting assistance should submit the following information:

    a. A completed application form, see Annex A.

         i. Applications must be addressed to the Clerk at the official council address, and not to individual councillors or the Chairman.

    b. Confirmation that it complies with its equality obligations.

    c. Copy of accounts and Balance Sheet for last financial year; or a Budget Forecast for new initiatives.

    d. Copy of their written constitution, together with details of the organisations aims and purpose.

    e. In completing an application, the organisation consents to the personal data being used and published by the Council in its documents and website in line with its Privacy Notice.

Assessment Procedure

12. A completed grant request must be received at least two weeks before a Parish Council meeting for consideration at that meeting. 

13. Each application will be assessed on its own merits.  To ensure that there is a fair distribution of available funds, the Council will take into account the amount and frequency of any previous awards.  Account may also be taken of the extent to which funding has been sought or secured from other sources or fund-raising activities. 

14. No commitment to award grants in future years will be made.

15. The Council may make any award subject to such additional conditions and requirements as it considers appropriate.  The organisation will receive notice of the outcome of their application within three weeks of the Council meeting.

Successful Applications

16. The acceptance of the amount granted, and any additional conditions and requirements imposed, must be received in writing prior to any payment being made.

17. The payment details must be provided in writing to the Clerk.

18. Any grant awarded must be acknowledged promptly by the organisation, stating the amount granted.

19. Any grant awarded must be acknowledged in writing promptly by the organisation.

20. Organisations are required to advise their users/members that a grant has been received from Rippingale Parish Council.

21. The grant must only be used for the purpose for which it was awarded unless the written approval of the Parish Council has been obtained for a change in use.

22. Any unspent portion of the grant must be returned to the Parish Council as soon as possible but no later than 12 months following the award.

23. The Parish Council reserves the right to request feedback or receipts to demonstrate how the money has been spent and/or to inspect the outcome of the expenditure.

Loans

24. The Parish Council will not seek loan applications. The loan procedure will only be issued when specifically approached by a community organisation. 

25. The eligibility criteria for grant apply to a loan request.

26. Upon receipt of a loan application, the Clerk will place this on the first available agenda for the council to accept/reject the principle behind the application, and whether or not the council regards it as being something they could potentially support.

27. At the Meeting, the council will resolve to either reject the application, or instruct the Clerk to seek relevant additional information on the council’s behalf, to present at the next meeting. In addition to the information required for a grant application, other required relevant information is:

    a. Amount of loan required.

    b. Reason for loan.

    c. Period for which loan is requested.

    d. Method of repayment, e.g. monthly or quarterly.

    e. Whether the request is for an interest-free loan.

    f. Security offered to cover the loan.

    g. Current and historical accounts and other appropriate financial information.

28. The Council will then resolve to approve/reject the application. The Clerk will notify the applicant in writing within 3 weeks of the Meeting.

29. If the loan is approved, a contract will be drawn up, ensuring the agreed points are included, such as the rate of interest, repayment method and period. This must be signed by the Council Chairman and Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), and the equivalent roles with the applicant organisation.

Annex A to Rippingale Parish Council Grant Policy