Issue - meetings

Annual Grant Awards 2026/27

Meeting: 13/01/2026 - Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee (Item 5)

Annual Grant Awards 2026/27

Committee is asked to consider the Annual Grant Awards for 2026/27.

Report to follow.

Additional documents:

26&27 Grants Committee Report, item 5 PDF 591 KB View as HTML (5/2) 71 KB
Confidential - Final Appendix A Summary of Applications 26-27 , View reasons restricted (5/3)
Appendix B - Details of Spelthorne Buildings in Community Use, item 5 PDF 138 KB
Addendum to the Annual Grants Awards Committee Report for the Financial Year 2026, item 5 PDF 188 KB View as HTML (5/5) 14 KB
Equality Impact Assessment Template - Grants 12 January 2026 , View reasons restricted (5/6)

Decision:

The Committee resolved to:

1. Recommend to Council to agree to the recommendations of the Grants Panel regarding the proposed recipients of the 2026/2027 community grants

2. Note the significant decrease in grant budget for 2026/2027

3. Note the other support that Spelthorne Borough Council provides to the voluntary/charity sector

4. Note that any underspend from the Council Grants budget and Better Neighbourhood Grants will not be carried forward to the next financial year

5. Note that the Panel have recommended that there will be no award to sport and art agencies due to the budget cut

6. Recommend that the underspend of £3,400 in 2025/2026 is awarded in 2025/2026 to a charity offering mental health support to young people, and that £2,000 is awarded to a charity providing a river based social activity for those with disabilities.

Minutes:

The Committee considered recommending that Council agree the recommendations of the Grants Panel regarding the proposed recipients of the 2026/2027 community grants. The grants budget had been significantly reduced from previous years due to a projected budget gap, and there was an underspend from 2025/2026 that the Grants Panel recommended be split between two charities as it could not be carried forward.

The Committee noted that though the grants budget had been reduced, councillors had the option to utilise their Better Neighbourhood Grants towards charities. The Committee recommended that councillors with leftover Better Neighbourhood Grants be contacted and advised of charities that their grants could go towards. Some members of the Committee expressed concern over the reduction in grant budget, and were advised that the amount was in line with grants budgets at other Surrey authorities, and the reduction met the Best Value Directions to ensure the Council’s future financial sustainability.