I have a growing concern about the use of public money within the parish and how year on year the council increases the precept but does not ringfence projects. Unfortunately I am on the parish council and despite protestations year on year this falls on deaf ears. In 2005 the council commissioned the parish plan which was recently completed and this higlighted the underuse of many of the facilities. It was suggested that we sell off some of these as they were a drain on finances but to date this has not happened and all that has happened is the precept has increased to support these facilities. The biggest drain is the village hall. Clubs and WI used to regularly use these but sadly clubs have folded along with the WI. The village hall now holds a small satellite doctors surgery for people from the surrounding villages and is an area where people can collect prescriptions but this is part time, around 8 hours a week. When the post office closed in February a group of volunteers came forward to try to get a "community shop" up and running which effectively became the reinstatement of the village post office and it was suggested that it be set up in the village hall. The post office opened in the village hall this month and is now open for 23 hours a week not Fridays or Saturdays and with the exception of Monday, only mornings. It sells cards and post office services and it is a commercial enterprise. The council protests it is a valuable service for the community although closed Saturday (which suggests it supports a small group rather than the community as a whole) and in order to get it up and running the parish council who own the village hall knocked the hall about to make an area for the post office and did not charge for this - it cost in the region of £3000 and was not budgeted for from the precept. However the volunteers did fundraise to get a post office counter, and new doors for the part it is renting from the hall but the rent and rates, set at £50 a month for the 23hours a week, might bearly cover the running costs with regards heating and lighting. It is charged the same amount as the doctors surgery but quite how this will be justified to the auditors when reconciling the heating and lighting is a concern. This year the council has suggested raising the precept to pay for new curtains, chairs and kitchen for the village hall although it is considering going for funding despite the sizeable reserve. Having some understanding of fundraising, should the council have some idea of who should be using the hall for the future in order to justify going for funding and what projects/money it has ringfenced for the future? Should we be charging a commercial rent for the post office in order to make it a viable option and save having to increase the precept by 5% to accommodate this burdensome millstone, and should we have billed the post office for the remedial work we did and finally could we be criticised for using public money badly in so far as we have not consulted the entire parish regarding the use of the post office (it was stated that some people were surveyed but it would appear these people were in the main village not the peripheral villages) Year on year the council increases the precept and does not ringfence money for projects but gets side tracked by other issues and hence never achieves its goals. Is this open to criticism by the public that we increase the precept to support underused buildings but then spend the money on other projects which occur during the year. To date the parish council has not paid any attention to the issues raised in the parish plan, nor have they consulted with the local high school which is planning on gaining sport status and to become a community building, encouraging the public to use it more, to the extent that it is also piloting opening a proper local library service. Concerns are that any funding or grants would therefore be diverted to this area rather than a village hall which is only for occasional weddings, parties for which there is already a social club and pubs with facilities. If the council listened to what was going on locally and consolidated its services and amenities it would not have to raise the precept year on year chasing projects which have not been well researched or business cases for! I would welcome your comments regarding the rent/rates and also passing on the charges to the post office and how the council could make better use of public funds with regards the village hall as no money has been allocated to advertise it other than in the local village paper which limits the use somewhat! Perhaps you could offer some suggestions as to what the council should be doing regarding ringfencing projects - if needs be, send someone along to help them achieve their goals! Thanks

Any grants for trips to Eastern Europe to view pre-war heritage sites. youth between 16 -18 in London HAckney

Hi looking for grants for 15 - 18 year old youth in Hackney to learn skills to enter employment and also funding for us to act as a link between employers and employees to reduce unemployment rates

I have been a very satisfied user of the Ruralnet Computer Expert service but I am unsure where to direct this enquiry. So, something of an introduction is called for as it will give a background. I spent a lifetime as a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Thirteen years of that was spent flying the Bristol Britannia, four-engined, transport aircraft. The last flight of any Britannia was by one of our old aircraft which had been leading a civilian life subsequent to the RAF disposing of the fleet as a result of defence cuts. Eleven years ago XM496 flew into Kemble, near Cirencester. Since then it has been preserved by a team of enthusiasts. A measure of that enthusiasm is that the whole of the outside of the aircraft was re-painted, back to its RAF livery, by hand roller! I lend my support by acting as a guide on days when the aircraft is open to the public. The only income for the project is donations. In hope, collection boxes are place around the aircraft on those open days. Special appeals for help with particular expenses are made. There are signs that another level of income might be reached with the aircraft being moved to a more public location, attracting visitors other than just on airfield open days. The possibility of selling items related to the aircraft (badges, hats, T-shirts etc) is being investigated. The question is, would the Bristol Britannia XM496 Preservation Society benefit from registering as a Charity? If so, how should this be tackled? I hope you are able to get the general picture of my enquiry. Any help you can provide would be much appreciated.

Wanting to apply for a second specialialism Applied Learning. Have you any examples of a successful bid?

How do I put together a funding proposal?

We are a community transport company and have an elderly bus that needs replacing - any thoughts on funding to buy a newer second hand minibus

I have received an enquiry about possible help with funding two girls (16 and 17)to obtain dance teacher qualifications. Both are in full time education at present. We live in a rurally isolated area with no access to this type of training. They have been offered the chance to train locally, with a trainer coming from Sunderland to teach. They were looking at help with the costs of hiring a venue, lessons and contribution to travel costs for the teacher. Would they be able to access skills for jobs funding, or maybe Princes Trust?