Have your say on changes to community grants

Local councillors used to award grants to local community groups and charities at the Area Forum meetings. Now the forums have been scrapped, the ruling Conservatives are replacing community grants with a scheme of "Member Awarded Funding". This means each councillor would be given a small sum of money to spend locally - for grants to groups, matched funding for local projects or topping up local council services.

Your Focus Team still believes that the Area Forums, where councillors came together in public to make decisions across an area, were a more transparent method of awarding funding. Unfortunately the Conservatives disagree. If you are involved in local community activities, please take the time to look at the details of what's proposed and have your say before 15 July.