Three charities operating in Bedford borough have been awarded a share of £40,000 from the House of Industry Estate, a trust managed by Bedford Borough Council, which serves as their corporate trustee.
The trust gets its income from land in the Borough, and a Trustee Deed governs the use of this income, which must be ‘used exclusively to assist residents of Bedford Borough who are in need, hardship or distress’.
At last night’s Trustees of the House of Industry Estate Management Committee (Tuesday), it was agreed that grants should be awarded to three organisations.
The grants were awarded after detailed debate on each application.
Beyond Detention
Beyond Detention, a Bedford-based charity supporting people held at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, asked for £10,000 to fund phone credit for detainees.
The group said in a report that detainees are issued only basic handsets with no credit, making it difficult to stay in touch with lawyers or family.
Lee Phanco, interim monitoring officer, said: “This averages out at around £7.93 per person. So, it’s a relatively small amount for each individual that will be assisted.”
Mr Phanco was asked if Yarl’s Wood detainees could be classed as Bedford Borough residents.
He replied that a former monitoring officer’s advice was that, as the detainees didn’t have any other residence at the time they were detained, they are Borough residents.
Cllr Sue Oliver (Labour, Kempston North) said: “If you can imagine how you feel when you can’t find your mobile phone. Now, just imagine you’re in a strange country, you don’t speak the language, you’ve just been put in a detention centre, you know nobody.
“I can’t think of anything more distressing, and therefore I think this is very worthwhile [candidate] for a grant,” she said.
Bedford Blues Foundation
Bedford Blues Foundation requested £20,000 to expand its Tackle LIFE programme, which supports young people at risk of school exclusion.
The committee heard that if awarded the grant, it would enable the foundation to work with two additional schools and support around 60 young people over the academic year.
Committee chair, cllr Henry Vann (Lib Dems, De Parys) said: “The key aspect [of this] is that schools are involved in the referral to this programme.
“The children will be identified as genuinely needing support, and I think that’s a really, really, valuable element of this programme,” he said.
Link to Change
Link to Change, a local charity that supports children and young people at risk of sexual or criminal exploitation, applied for £10,000 to help cover staffing and project delivery costs.
The charity said its trauma-informed 1:1 and group work is “vital” for children experiencing multiple vulnerabilities, including abuse, poverty, and mental health issues.
Without the funding, the charity warned it may need to scale back support, leading to “longer waiting times and reduced capacity to respond to high-risk cases”.
Financial assistance from the House of Industry Estate is available throughout the year, subject to funds being available, and grants are normally only awarded to registered charities.
The House of Industry Estate guidelines on Bedford Borough Council’s website set out the criteria and eligibility for awards.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
