Agenda item

Details of the Voluntary Sector Grant Funding for 2016/17 to 2019/20 is to be presented to the Panel.

With the aid of a report by the Head of Community Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Voluntary Sector Grant Funding 2016/17 to 2019/20 report was presented to the Panel. Members were informed that the Council’s three year funding arrangement with the voluntary sector was ending on 31st March 2016 and the report sought the views of Members to inform a future funding arrangement.

In addition the Panel was told that funding for the Voluntary Sector Grant is being considered as part of the zero based budgeting of the main Council budgets and formed an integral part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). Members were informed that the Council’s current financial objective was to reduce all budgets by around 38% by March 2020 which would therefore be likely to result in an overall reduction of the voluntary sector budget.

The Panel was presented with five options for future voluntary sector funding budgets, which are:

·  Option 1 – make no change to the level of funding, currently at around £236k, allocated by the Council to the voluntary sector;

·  Option 2 – reduce the budget over the term of the MTFS, such that in year 4 the reduction of 38% is achieved;

·  Option 3 – reduce the budget in year 1 but then provide an equal annual payment equivalent to the same total amount of spend as Option 2;

·  Option 4 – reduce the budget to the value of the MTFS in year 4 with immediate effect; and

·  Option 5 – stop funding the Voluntary Sector with immediate effect.

Members noted that for the three years up 2015/16 the Council have provided grants to the following voluntary sector organisations:

·  Rural Cambridgeshire Citizens Advice Bureau;

·  Disability Information Services Huntingdonshire;

·  Hunts Forum for Voluntary Organisations;

·  Care Network;

·  Huntingdon Volunteer Centres; and

·  Huntingdon Shopmobility.

The Panel had been advised of three options with regards to the allocation of funding for the voluntary sector.

·  Option A was the continued funding to all the organisations that the Council funds;

·  Option B sought to reduce the number of organisations funding directly by the Council and engage with umbrella organisations that through their funding supports others; and

·  Option C was developing a joint commissioning approach for voluntary sector services at a District level with Cambridgeshire County Council.

The Panel expressed their concern that the options report had not been submitted earlier, following the initial review of this issue at the October meeting of the Panel, as it does not give Members the requisite time to fully consider the options available. In addition the Panel thought it was unfair that the Voluntary Sector would only be given a month’s notice before a potential reduction in funding following consideration of the budget in February.

Members had further concerns that the options report did not contain the effect a reduction of funding would have upon the organisations in receipt of voluntary sector funding. Furthermore the Panel would like to have seen the advantages the work of the organisations has upon the District in terms of outcomes for local residents.

The Panel discussed the merits of forming a working group to investigate the funding options with the condition that the funding for the voluntary sector organisations continues at the current level for 2016/17. Members expressed a preference for the Council to set the priorities it wants the voluntary sector organisations to achieve, allocate funding and then invite voluntary sector organisations to bid for funding. The Panel,

RESOLVED

i)  not to recommend any of the options presented in the report.

ii)  to recommend to Cabinet that funding for voluntary sector organisations remains as it is for the next 12 months in order for work to be carried out and completed on finding an alternative funding arrangement which can be in place for 2017/18.

iii)  to form a working group to investigate alternative funding options with the group reporting back to the Panel by June 2016.