357. PRESENT
Councillors:
- Mr R Hawlor (Chair)
- Mr W Service (Vice-Chair)
- Capt J Flood
- Mr L Elias
- Mrs E Hards (for Mr B Cooper)
Officers:
- Mr S Carter (Deputy Town Clerk)
358. APOLOGIES
Councillors Mrs J Murphy (personal), Mr K Murphy (personal), Mr B Cooper (personal) and Mr P Hayward (sick).
359. DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS
Members were reminded to declare any personal or prejudicial interests on any item on the agenda in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct.
There were no declareations of interest.
360. MINUTES
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 20th October 2008 be approved and signed as a true and correct record.
(a) Referring to Minute 265 (c) Councillor Mrs E Hards asked if there was any progress on the Didcot Under 13s Youth Club?
It was RESOLVED to adjourn the meeting to allow Councillor Mrs L Hood who was in attendance to address the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 11.
Councillor Mrs L Hood stated that the Junior Under 13s Youth Club had opened for the first time on Wednesday 7th January 2008 with 18 young people in attendance which was a promising start.
Councillor Hood went on that they hoped to publicise the Youth Club which takes place every Wednesday afternoon and attract more members.
Clerks Note: The Junior Under 13s Youth Club will be asked to provide a report for the next meeting of the Arts and Grants Committee on 30th March 2009.
It was RESOLVED to reconvene the meeting.
(b) Referring to Minute 265 (b) Councillor Capt J Flood asked whether there had been any further correspondence from the Methodist Church regarding their grant?
It was explained that the £500 granted to the Methodist Church was dependent on them securing the other finances before it would be paid, and that there had been no correspondence from them yet.
Clerks Note: The Junior Under 13s Youth Club will be asked to provide a report for the next meeting of the Arts and Grants Committee on 30th March 2009.
361. DIDCOT ARTS FORUM (DAF)
It was RESOLVED to adjourn the meeting to allow DAF to address the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 11.
The minutes of the DAF meeting 12th November 2008, financial statement and expenditure forecast were circulated to members.
DAF reported that they had made a loss of £1,125 on the Ivy League show, the first time they had ever made a loss on an event. They went on that the reasons that this event was not as well attended as previous events were unknown. DAF also reported that tickets for Chas and Dave on 14th February 2009 had almost sold out.
DAF explained that they were expecting a number of grant aid applications to be submitted by local groups and were therefore seeking £2,000 from the Committee from the budget heading 2163 Didcot Arts Forum. The Chair, Councillor Mr R Hawlor asked that DAF provide a breakdown of upcoming costs to be submitted at the next meeting of the Arts and Grants Committee on 30th March 2009 so the committee can consider the request.
It was RESOLVED to reconvene the meeting.
NOTED
362. FINANCIAL STATEMENT
The financial statement for month 9 was circulated. There were no questions.
NOTED
263. GRANT AID APPLICATIONS
(a) TRAIN
Funding for the Detached Youth Worker
It was explained that the Committee had £3,152 set aside under budget heading 2175 Grant Detached Youth Worker for this application. It was noted that TRAIN were seeking a contribution of £3,200
RECOMMENDED that that the Council grant aid £3,200 to TRAIN towards the cost of providing a Detached Youth Worker.
Code 2175 (£3,152) and Code 2161 (£48) – Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, section 19 (Power to provide staff).
364. LIVE AND LOCAL TOURING SCHEME, REPORT ON THE PRISONER OF ZENDA
A report including a financial statement was circulated regarding the performance put on through the Live and Local Touring Scheme, The Prisoner of Zenda.
It explained that the performance had been very well received and that the attendance of 68 people had been a lot better than last year’s production. Publicity for this event had been much better with posters around the town and a competition run both in the Didcot Dynamo and on the Town Council’s website.
The expenditure on the event was £670 with ticket receipts of £327 resulting in a total loss of £343. This loss was to be met by the £800 committed to the event by the Arts and Grants Committee on 21st July 2008 (Minute 139 refers).
The report concluded by stating that the Live and Local scheme would be running again in 2009 and that the committee would need to consider whether to promote a performance once the ‘Show Menu’ was published.
NOTED
365. CORRESPONDENCE
(a) Letter of thanks from a local resident regarding the funding of the book, Didcot Heroes Remembered
NOTED
(b) Notice from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) advising that the appropriate sum for the purposes of section 137(4) (a) of the Local Government Act 1972 for town and parish councils in England for 2009/10 is £6.15 (2008/09 was £5.86)
NOTED
The Meeting commenced at 7.30pm and closed at 7.55pm
Chair
