Newby & Scalby Town Council is pleased to provide an update regarding grant funding awarded to the Council in January 2023, and subsequently returned to the Woodsmith Foundation in February 2024.
In January 2024, Newby & Scalby Town Council discovered the apparent misuse of a substantial grant that it had been given by a local charitable organisation.
The grant had been given for a particular project at the Council’s Community Hub and was subject to specific terms and conditions. The Council discovered that the former Head of Hub and Community Services, who was supervised by the then Chairman, had apparently not complied with the terms and conditions and the charitable organisation had queried the use of its grant.
Newby & Scalby Town Council appointed an independent consultant with considerable experience in local government practice to investigate the grant application process, Council governance practices, project delivery and associated matters. The investigation’s findings are set out in the “MAONI” report.
The Council determined the report to be confidential because it contained staff and employment information, but an application was made to the Information Commissioner’s Office by a local resident for disclosure of the report and the Commissioner has now decided that it is in the public interest to disclose the report, subject to deletion of some personal information.
Recommendations of the Maoni report and how these have been implemented:
1. Repayment of the Grant
The Woodsmith Foundation grant was conditional upon various things including the implementation of a detailed monitoring and evaluation framework and reporting. As these conditions were not met, the Council accepted the recommendation of the Maoni report and negotiated a repayment of £16,557.28 to the Foundation.
The lack of compliance with the grant conditions for year 1 meant that the Woodsmith Foundation withdrew the second phase of the grant scheduled for 2024.
2. Line Management Arrangements
The Maoni report also clarified the need for appropriate staff management structures. Accordingly Council confirmed that the Clerk/Proper Officer was the only officer authorised to manage staff, and no employees should be managed by any single councillor, not even the Chairman.
This change was agreed by Council on 10/01/2024, [Minute 16/24.2 refers] and formal notification was issued to all staff confirming their correct line management arrangements.
3. Publication of Reports
The report also recommended that the supporting papers to the agenda on Council’s website be updated where necessary to ensure all supporting papers were available – work to achieve this is ongoing.
4. Approval of Funding Bids
The report concluded that actions taken in respect of this grant were carried out solely by the Head of Hub and Community Services and the then Chairman, without any formal delegated authority from Newby & Scalby Town Council.
All Councillors have since been reminded of the importance of following correct governance procedures, including Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and work is ongoing to review/update. The role of the Clerk remains essential in ensuring compliance with all regulatory frameworks applicable to Local Councils.
5. Governance and Training
To strengthen governance practices, the Yorkshire Local Councils Association delivered a training session for all sitting Councillors on 11th July 2024.
Further training and oversight measures will continue to be implemented to support effective Council operations.
Yorkshire Local Councils Association (YLCA) provide regular training courses and councillors are encouraged to maintain their competence and understanding of Local Council governance.
And finally ….
Council remains committed to maintaining professional standards, transparency within the bounds of necessary confidentiality and responsible management of public and grant funds and will continue to uphold confidentiality in accordance with its own Standing Orders and the delegated authority of its Review and Staffing Committee (both available here).
Access the FOI Decision Notice here
Access the MAONI report here