Issue - meetings

Councillor Subedar submits a report advising the Cabinet of the potential financial implications of progressing the eight bids already accepted by the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), for which £3.5 million has been earmarked for Leicester, in respect of ‘Space for Sport and Arts’. The Cabinet is asked to; approve the development of the initial bids so that the grant of £3.5 million can be pursued; approve the commitment to incur up to £297,500 in fees to prepare the bids on an ‘at risk’ basis as there are no funds available to meet such costs should any overspend occur; note and approve the estimated ongoing increase in school revenue funding resulting from the additional buildings and note that free standing equipment cannot be funded from within these grants. 

Councillor Subedar submitted a report advising Cabinet that the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) had awarded £3.5m to Leicester for eight bids to provide facilities in schools for sports and arts. In order to develop the lottery bids, the authority would need to incur fees which had not been included in the current budget; accordingly the report sought approval to incur the cost of these fees on an “at risk” basis.

The Director of Education explained that successful bids would mean that the development fees were reimbursed and that the DCMS had been very supportive of the bids. He further clarified that the ongoing revenue costs of successful bids would be incorporated into the fair funding scheme of delegation to schools by way of a growth bid.

Cabinet members welcomed the opportunity provided by the lottery bids and asked for a further report on how the authority would fund the cost of fees in the bids were unsuccessful. It was also requested that the report assess the bids’ impact on the Council’s VAT threshold.

RESOLVED:

(1)       that the development of the initial bids be approved in order to pursue the £3.5m of grant available;

(2)       that commitment of up to £297,500 in fees be approved in order to prepare the detailed bids on an “at risk” basis as there were no funds available to meet such costs within the departmental revenue budget and compensating savings would have to be found to meet any resultant overspend;

(3)       that the estimated ongoing increase in school revenue funding resulting from the additional buildings be noted and approved;

(4)       that it be noted that free standing equipment cannot be funded from these grants; and

(5)       that a further report be submitted in the event that any capital or revenue costs may not be contained within departmental resources, or any adverse impact arises on the Council’s VAT threshold.