The committee report highlights that since 2021, more than 120 grants have been awarded with a value of more than £2.8 million.

In addition, an underspend of £400k from earlier in 2023 will be added to a previously agreed amount of £500k by the council bringing a final award fund of £900k available for the fourth and final phase beginning in October 2023.

The awards were granted following public votes on where communities wanted to prioritise where a dedicated budget should be spent – more commonly known as participatory budgeting. Allocation of the funding to each council ward was based on child poverty figures.

To date, more than 55k eligible votes have been cast in the process.

The report also highlighted some examples where Community Choices has made a real difference to a number of groups who have now been able to deliver better offerings to their communities.

These include:

• Bo’ness Cars 4U where a free hospital transfer service was offered to cancer patients who would have difficulty in getting to appointments.
• Falkirk Golf Club who made their clubhouse and course more accessible for buggy users with a new ramp and paths around the course.