Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Environmental & Community Health.

(Councillor A Hansard, Executive Councillor for Housing and Public Health was in attendance for this item).

Pursuant to Minute No. 09/ 20, the Panel considered a report by the Head of Environmental and Community Health Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) containing details of the performance of voluntary organisations in Huntingdonshire who received funding from the Council via service level agreements. By way of introduction, Councillor Hansard reminded the Panel of the Cabinet’s decision in 2007 to move from a system of open applications for grant aid to a commissioning model and introduce agreements, with one exception, for a 5 year period.

The Council’s Community Manager, Mr D Smith, then outlined the background to the current performance framework, which was designed to link the funding provided to local organisations to the priorities set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan – Growing Success and the objectives of the Cambridgeshire Local Area Agreement. Information was also provided with regard to the management of the agreements and Members were informed that all organisations were monitored against a set of agreed performance indicators and other organisational criteria on a quarterly basis. Members’ attention was also drawn to the only indicator where the performance target had not been achieved in the previous year, which related to the provision of a Shopmobility service in St Ives in 2009/10. This was the result of funding not being secured.

Discussion ensued on the terms of the agreements between the District Council and voluntary organisations. Members queried whether consideration would be given to moving to three year agreements, particularly in light of the ongoing Government Spending Review. In response, the Community Manager drew attention to recent proposals by Cambridgeshire County Council and NHS Cambridgeshire to introduce a single funding agreement for the Councils of Voluntary Services across Cambridgeshire. Members were also advised that under the proposals three year agreements were the standard length of agreement but the model developed by the District Council had been identified as a good practice model by both District Audit and Go-East. The use of three year agreements would be considered when the negotiations took place on their renewal.

With regard to performance indicators within the report, comment was made on the number of cases dealt with by the Disability Information Service Huntingdonshire in the previous year. Members were advised that the reduction in the number of cases dealt with was not the result of reduced demand and could be attributed to the adverse weather conditions in the early part of the year. Comment was made on the success of some organisations in securing additional funding and whether this provided an opportunity for a reduction in the District Council’s funding. In response, Members were advised that whilst the levels of funding involved could be re-negotiated at the end of the current agreements, the District Council’s funding was used to cover core costs and it was likely that the organisations would be unable to attract additional funding should this be withdrawn. Following a question concerning the validity of the performances reported, the Community Manager explained that targets were based on performance in the previous three years and all targets were increased by 10% each year. In the event that organisations consistently underperformed, the Council retained the option to terminate agreements. Having noted that a number of voluntary organisations were instrumental in helping the Council to achieve some of its objectives, it was

RESOLVED

that the contents of the report be noted.