Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 29^th October 2018.

The notes of the meeting held on 29 October were received. It was agreed to add details of the awards granted for 2019/20 to the notes for the item on Strategic Grants.

The Project Developer gave a presentation on the proposal to run a Council Lottery.  The proposal would establish a sustainable stream of funding to good causes within the District and enable the Council to increase the budget for the community grants scheme.

The presentation outlined how such a lottery would work; 60% of income would go to the good causes, either direct or via the Council’s Community Grants Scheme.  An external lottery management company (ELM) would run the scheme through a dedicated website and give advice to both the Council and good causes. A proportion of the monies coming to the Council would cover the costs of running the lottery, but as income increases it was anticipated this would be a small percentage of the funding received.

Local good causes would be encouraged to join the scheme and ticket buyers could nominate an organisation to receive their contribution.  It was noted that the most successful Council lotteries were those with the most local good causes on board.

Subject to approval by Cabinet, the intention was to launch the Lottery in July 2019.  The Lottery would therefore be a legacy for the Year of Culture as organisations receiving grants for the Year of Culture could join the scheme to help them in the future.

Members noted the potential income that could be generated with examples from other councils, including Aylesbury Vale, which had raised £140,000 in two and a half years and given funding to 180 good causes. The presentation also outlined the set up and ongoing costs of the project and a number of risks.  Officers considered that these risks could be managed and would be shared with the ELM. 

Members raised a number of points including staffing implications during the set up and running of the scheme, in particular marketing. Members were advised that additional staff would not be required and the scheme would be self-funding. Given the importance of promoting the scheme, Members suggested that the marketing budget should be increased from that proposed in the presentation.

Concerns were expressed that the Council could be seen to be encouraging gambling.  The Cabinet Member and other Members of the group recognised the importance of promoting the Lottery as a means of raising money for local charities and community groups.  The Director of Community Services confirmed that the Council would work with the ELM to monitor the number of tickets bought by individuals and the registration process would help to safeguard against underage subscribers.

The Cabinet Member agreed that after the first year the scheme should be reviewed. The group were supportive of the proposal and the proposed next steps, which included presentation of the Cabinet Member’s report to Cabinet on 24 January.    

To note the Forward Plan extract (if any) for the Community and Wellbeing Portfolio

The extract from the Forward Plan was noted.