Applying for a Grant from Shirland & Higham Parish Council
Section 137 Grant Funding
If you would like to apply to the Parish Council for grant funding please read the summary below and download the grant application form. Please contact the Clerk if you have any queries.
Section 137 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 is a statutory power. It gives council’s the power ‘to incur expenditure for purposes not otherwise authorised.’ It is only used when there is no other specific power available; it is a ‘power of last resort’, it must benefit some or all inhabitants, not an individual, nor can it be made retrospectively.
S137 was amended in s36 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The amendment stipulates that expenditure and benefit must be balanced.
S137 payments are index-linked. Financial records of the Council will show a separate account for S137 spending. A donation to the Royal British Legion for a wreath is one example of s137 expenditure or a donation towards the cost of cutting trees in the Churchyard is another.