COUNCIL GRANTS COMPARISON The Review of Public Administration and Local Government Reform, the development of community planning, the Social Investment Fund, and other political and administrative changes in Northern Ireland mark a unique opportunity to reassert the principles of community development and good relations and, in particular, where these sit within local authorities. In recognition of this opportunity, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland has recently completed a substantial research project through its Causeway Communities Engagement Programme. This series of 5 ‘In-Brief’ publications summarises the findings from this research and some of the policy implications. This series of 5 In-Brief publications has been completed through the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland’s Causeway Communities Engagement Programme. The Causeway Communities Engagement Programme (CCEP) is a pilot initiative to build community capacity and engagement in selected areas in each of the four Council areas involved in the proposed Causeway Coast & Glens Council (Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady and Moyle). It began in January 2012 and is scheduled to run until December 2014. The Programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland. The key aims of CCEP are: — Developing relationships and capacity, sharing and learning, meeting local needs; — Addressing future political and administrative changes; — Linking local communities and groups with agencies and Council functions; — Tackling community tensions and divisions; — Addressing the legacy of the conflict; — Sharing the process model and policy lessons with other Council areas and policy makers. There is a huge variation in community development and good relations grants and support programmes across the current 26 District Councils. Following phone interviews with staff from each Council, this short publication presents some of the differences in terms of the amounts available to community groups for good relations projects, seeding grants, community festivals, whether funds are available towards core/running costs and whether they specifically fund community arts initiatives. In the run up to the reform of local government, these differences will be even more noticeable across the newly amalgamated Councils. The final section of this paper shows differences within and between each of the 11 new Councils. Seeding Grants Council Max Amount Derry £1000 Armagh £500 Ballymena £500 Coleraine £500 Craigavon £500 Strabane £500 Larne £400 Moyle £400 Newtownabbey £300 Antrim £200 Ballymoney £200 Banbridge £200 Down £200 Dungannon £200 Fermanagh £200 Lisburn £200 North Down £200 Carrickfergus £150 Ards £100 Castlereagh £100 Limavady £100 Belfast No set max Cookstown No set max Magherafelt No set max Newry No seeding grants Omagh Under review until April 2013 Community Support Grants Council Max Amount Belfast £10,000 (plus £5,000 Policing and Community Safety small grants; £10,000 Arts and Heritage grants) Dungannon £10,000 Newtownabbey £7,750 (5 different schemes combined) Lisburn £5,500 groups operating out of community halls/commercial; £4,250 groups operating out of community house/flat or weekly hired premises; premises; £2,500 groups with no premises Strabane £5,500 (Combination of 3 possible grants) Newry £5,000 (plus capital support of up to 1/3 total costs and up to £100,000) Derry £5,000 (Service Level Agreements above this amount) Antrim £5,000 Ards £5,000 Ballymena £5,000 Carrickfergus £5,000 Craigavon £4,000 Armagh £2,000 (Regeneration grants of up to £60,000 (capital) and £20,000 (revenue) available where 75% of funding is already secured) Down £2,000 (total of various grants programmes, including £750 running costs, £500 activities) Coleraine £2,000 Limavady £2,000 North Down £500 Ballymoney £200 Moyle £150 small grant (infrastructure fund for capital of 20% cost up to £10,000 max; technical assistance grant up to £7,500 for this) Banbridge No set max amount (capital is supported up to £10,000, up to 75% capital value) Cookstown No set max Fermanagh No set max Magherafelt No set max Larne No support grant scheme (good relations and community arts grants) Castlereagh No support grant scheme (good relations and community arts grants) Omagh Under review until April 2013 Festival Grants Council Max Amount Derry £15,000 Belfast £10,000 (min amount = £2,500) Moyle £7,500 for large events, £1,000 for small festivals Larne £5,000 (max of 75% total costs) Strabane £5,000 (min amount = £500, max of 50% of total festival cost) Newtownabbey £5,000 (max of 75%) Castlereagh £5,000 Coleraine £5,000 Newry £5,000 Lisburn £3,500 (75% of total) Armagh £2,000 Limavady £2,000 Antrim £1,500 Ballymoney £1,500 Dungannon £1,500 Carrickfergus £1,000 Magherafelt £1,000 North Down £1,000 Fermanagh No set max (£700 is max for Small Grants) Down £500 (Up to £5,000 for tourism events grants) Ballymena £500 Craigavon £500 Omagh £500 Ards No set max Banbridge No set max Cookstown No set max Good Relations Grants Council Max Amount Dungannon £8,000 Strabane £5,000 (up to 75% of eligible costs) Derry £5,000 Newtownabbey £5,000 Lisburn £3,000 Ards £2,000 Castlereagh £1,000 Coleraine £1,000 Fermanagh £1,000 Limavady £1,000 Omagh £1,000 North Down £1,000 Craigavon £1,000 Down £500 Moyle £400 Antrim No set max Armagh No set max Ballymena No set max Ballymoney No set max Banbridge No set max Belfast No set max Carrickfergus No set max Cookstown No set max Larne No set max Magherafelt No set max Newry No set max Does the Council cover core costs? Yes No Antrim Armagh Ards Ballymena Belfast Ballymoney Carrickfergus Banbridge Coleraine (up to 75%) Castlereagh Derry Cookstown (Enabling Fund does) Down Craigavon Dungannon Larne Fermanagh Magherafelt Limavady Moyle Lisburn North Down Newry Omagh (currently under review) Newtownabbey Strabane 54% Yes46% No Does the Council specifically fund community arts initiatives? Yes No Antrim Ballymena Ards Coleraine Armagh Down Ballymoney Magherafelt Banbridge Moyle Belfast North Down Carrickfergus Castlereagh Cookstown Craigavon Derry Dungannon Fermanagh Larne Limavady % Lisburn 77 Newry Newtownabbey Omagh Strabane Yes23% No Differences between New Councils’ Community Support Grants (Max Amounts) Amalgamating councils Differences between New Councils’ Good Amalgamating councils Relations Grants This series of 5 In-Briefs includes the following research: • An analysis of the Local Government Reform delivery structures; • Results of a survey of local community organisations on the current needs and priorities of the sector; • Results of a survey of Council community development and good relations staff on their knowledge and experiences of the RPA, community planning and the Social Investment Fund to date; • Details of all 26 District Councils’ grants policies, analysed in terms of what they will and will not fund and the amounts available per Council area; • Analysis of the membership of all the Social Investment Fund Steering Groups, including a breakdown of political parties, statutory agencies and types of voluntary and community interests represented. For a copy of any of these publications or to further discuss the project, please contact: Kat Healy Policy, Research and Evaluation Officer 028 7137 1547 / [email protected].