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# Councillor calls for early review of Lichfield and Burntwood micro grants scheme
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillor-calls-for-early-review-of-lichfield-and-burntwood-micro-grants-scheme/
- Published: 2021-12-16T09:22:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-12-14T19:13:40.000Z
- Description: A councillor has called for an early review of a community micro grants scheme in order to ensure money is being put to good use.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, News

A councillor has called for an early review of a community micro grants scheme in order to ensure money is being put to good use.

The call came from Cllr Steve Norman, leader of the Labour opposition group, in the wake of controversy surrounding climate change funding at Staffordshire County Council.

Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd was [handed a six month suspension](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/burntwood-councillor-handed-six-month-suspension-by-conservative-group-over-funding-for-tree-planting-project/) by the Conservative county council group after it emerged he had been awarded £924 for a tree planting project that never went ahead.

Cllr Norman told a meeting of Lichfield District Council that the situation showed why the local authority’s own systems needed to be reviewed.

![Cllr Steve Norman](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/norman-steve.jpg)

Cllr Steve Norman

> “Earlier this year members expressed their concern over the operation and oversight of the Community Fund Scheme, where elected members could support up to £300 in grants for local organisations, particularly over the initial proposal for the grant money to be paid into personal bank accounts of councillors to be then paid out to the applicant.  
>  
> “Now recent events with the operation of the county council’s own climate change grant scheme have prompted some members to want an early review of the scheme rather than wait until the end of this council term.  
>  
> “Can I ask the leader if he would support an early report to the overview and scrutiny committee?”  
>  
> Cllr Steve Norman, Lichfield District Council

Issues surrounding the original plan to pay the money to councillors for distribution saw Cllr Joanne Grange say it was [a risk she was not prepared to take](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/lichfield-councillor-says-she-will-not-accept-money-direct-into-bank-account-as-part-of-new-grants-scheme-plan/), with the move eventually being [scrapped in favour of an alternative administration scheme](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/controversial-plan-to-pay-micro-grant-funding-into-personal-bank-accounts-of-councillors-set-to-be-scrapped/).

Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of Lichfield District Council, told Cllr Norman that any decision on an early review of the grants initiative would be one for the chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee to decide on.

> “The Lichfield District Council Community Grant Scheme has boosted local good causes with over £10,000 of funding, decided by locally elected councillors and awarded directly to voluntary organisations.  
>  
> “If the chairman of overview and scrutiny wishes to bring a report on the success of this scheme, and to assure members that the governance is robust, he would have my full support in doing so.”  
>  
> Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council