devon.gov.uk

Councillors

Locality Budgets

Each County Councillor has an allocation of £10,000 per year to enable them to respond to local needs in their divisions, supporting projects or activities that benefit the communities they represent.

There are eight Locality Committees, representing the eight district areas of Devon.  All County Councillors sit on these Committees.

County Committees discuss specific service and community issues and projects within each district, and make recommendations to the Council’s Cabinet.  They encourage access by the public to the council and its services, and monitor the Council’s performance in delivering local public services.  They also encourage close working between Devon’s County, City, District and Borough Councils.

We have also put together a Guide to Councillor Locality Budgets.

You can find out more details of grants approved by Councillors by viewing their individual profile pages.

What kind of project or activity can receive locality budget funding?

The intention is that the funding adds value to projects that are beneficial to local communities, and that further the Council’s strategic objectives.  Projects are diverse, reflecting the needs of local communities.

A wide range of organisations can apply for funds.  There are principles that will help Councillors in deciding whether projects and activities are eligible for locality budget funding:

  • Can the project or activity be easily funded from another source?Locality budget funding is an ‘investment of last resort’.
  • Is the project or activity consistent with the Council’s strategic objectives?
  • How would the funding bring added value?  Could it leverage match-funding from other sources, for example?
  • Does the project or activity have appropriate levels of auditing and accounting procedures in place?
  • Could the funding encourage working in partnership with other local groups?

There are conditions, and situations when locality budget funding can not be used.

Examples where locality budget funding is being used include projects that are well supported by local people but that need some funding in order to progress.  The Council has match-funded lottery or other funding applications, which have then resulted in more significant levels of funding.  The fund has also helped pay for equipment, special events or building repairs, for local voluntary and community groups.

Larger projects are also supported and on occasions Councillors have combined their budgets in order to support more expensive projects that benefit more than one division.

How do I apply?

It’s easy.  There’s a form available from your local Councillor.  Please contact him/her in the first instance.  There are three parts to the application form, which should be completed by you and your local councillor.

What happens then?

The application will be considered at the earliest opportunity, and you will be informed of the outcome.  If your project or activity is eligible for locality budget funding, the Council will, after payment, request feedback about the benefits achieved and ask for confirmation that the whole payment has been used for the agreed purpose.

The Council’s Media and PR service will be interested in local publicity about projects and activities that are supported with locality budget funding.  They can be contacted by email to media@devon.gov.uk or telephone 01392 382173.

**Prohibitions

There are situations when locality budget funding can not be used.  These are:

  1. Reinstating a cut in service or activity arising from an earlier policy decision of the County Council or other public body (see modification detailed below for the scope of this current prohibition)
  2. As ongoing yearly commitments, unless specifically agreed by the Executive in advance
  3. Funding to benefit individuals or privately owned businesses.

Prohibition 1 above has been modified by the current Administration to read as follows:

  1. Reinstating a cut in service or activity arising from an earlier policy decision of the County Council or other public body, excepting where any one-off funding is required to mitigate the immediate impact of any service reduction where a creative alternative solution has been found, that in other respects meets the operating principles, provided also that there is no commitment upon the Council or Member to provide ongoing support (see examples a – c below*)

*a. Reduction in subsidies have caused a bus service to be withdrawn, Members may wish to fund a local community transport association or fare car scheme to develop their database of contacts and advertise their services in the area that has been affected by a reduction in bus services.

b. A voluntary organisation has had a cut in funding and wants to re-locate to share premises with another voluntary organisation to reduce overheads. The local Member might contribute to the cost of re-location (removals and minor works).

c. The local Member grants funding via their locality budget to support the training and development costs associated with training volunteer youth workers supporting the removal of sessional youth worker support from a parish’s youth club.

The Community Strategy Team can provide support and guidance on ensuring that the principles of this scheme are met.