Bedford’s House of Industry Estate trustees have agreed a three-year funding deal worth more than £262,000 for Citizens Advice Bedford (CAB).
But they delayed a separate request for a £15,500 vehicle grant after councillors raised concerns about the applicant charity’s financial position.
The trustees, made up of Bedford borough councillors acting in their role as corporate charity trustees, met this week (Tuesday, 4 November) to consider three grant requests from the charity’s funds.
The House of Industry Estate supports residents facing hardship, poverty or distress, and holds more than £500,000 in reserves for charitable purposes.
Bedford Credit Union
A separate one-off request for £15,000 from Bedford Credit Union was approved unanimously.
The money will fund new software for the organisation’s website and mobile app, which officers said would make services more accessible for residents with lower incomes who rely on smartphones rather than laptops.
The Credit Union had confirmed that face-to-face support would continue.
Trustees also approved a three-year partnership agreement with CAB. The deal, worth £262,211.48 over the term, will fund two full-time advisers, supervisory support, and local outreach work.
The organisation will provide key performance data and regular reports to trustees.
Councillors noted that CAB currently faces high demand for help with debt and financial problems. More than 3,800 Bedford residents sought help from the service last year, with the complexity of cases increasing by around 178% over five years.
The report to the Trustees said that CAB had written off almost £642,000 of debt for local people in the most recent year.
Members heard that a longer-term partnership would give greater certainty to the organisation and avoid repeated one-year grant applications.
ProgressAbility
A request from ProgressAbility for £15,500 towards a used vehicle to expand its services was deferred.
It was recommended that the trustees award 60 per cent of the cost, reflecting the proportion of beneficiaries living in Bedford borough.
However, members questioned whether the organisation could continue operating sustainably with only £50,000 in reserves while employing nine full-time and four part-time staff.
Trustees also sought clarification on the charity’s reserve policy, details of its wider funding sources, and whether the project could proceed if only a partial award was made.
The applicant had said the remaining cost would need to be raised separately and that any delay would postpone the expansion of its programme.
Trustees voted to delay a decision until additional financial information is provided. Subject to satisfactory answers, responsibility for approving the grant may be delegated to the committee chair before the next scheduled meeting in January to avoid delaying the project.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
