Agenda item

Annual Report on the Grant Funding provided to the Voluntary Sector / Voluntary Community Sector response to the current COVID-19 Pandemic

To receive the reports of the Cabinet Member for Communities & Neighbourhoods. The Annual Report on the Grant Funding Provided to the Voluntary Sector outlines the Council’s financial contributions towards the voluntary and community sector during the year 2019-20 and the VCS response to the current COVID-19 Pandemic presents the findings of an intelligence gathering exercise about the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the VCS in Gloucester, and  sets out proposals of how Gloucester City Council can support Gloucester’s VCS in moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minutes:

11.1    The Cabinet Member for Communities & Neighbourhoods, Councillor Watkins, introduced the two reports and highlighted key elements. Firstly, she explained that the Annual Report on the Grant Funding Provided to the Voluntary Sector considered the grant funding of the previous year and outlined the successes and outcomes.  She explained in further detail the activities to which grant funding had been provided which now included COVID-19 funding in response to the ongoing pandemic. Councillor Watkins added that the Committee was being asked to endorse a continued approach for a further year using the budget available and in the format that has been used. She expressed her thanks and gratitude to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) of whom she was proud for the work carried out during the peak of the pandemic. Lastly, she stated that the City could not have operated without the work of these individuals.

 

11.2    Turning to the VCS Response to the Current COVID-19 Pandemic, she outlined that this report was the cumulation of research carried out by Officers and it was a fantastic piece of work. The research had been carried out through an intelligence gathering exercise looking at the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the VCS in Gloucester. She added that the qualitative feedback was useful and provided information on some of the concerns within the sector, the things which the sector wanted to do more of, and how the Council can further help the sector. From this, a series of recommendations had been made, which included providing funding to more grass-roots organisations to help cover the costs of lost income and any adaptations required to enable the organisations to reopen their activities to the public, support and advice from the business sector to the VCS, and increased publicity initiatives and support for the sector. She added that a Community Recovery Strategy report which would be considered before the Committee and would provide further detail on some the areas covered. Finally, she stated that the research was an extensive piece of work and she welcomed any feedback from Committee Members.

 

 

11.3    Councillor Pullen submitted that the Councillor Community Fund  (Councillor Community Fund) was now more streamlined and it was easier to access the funds which he welcomed. In response to this, Councillor Watkins stated that she was pleased that the process was more streamlined. Addressing Councillor Pullen’s question on whether interventions should be made with regard to how Councillors allocate the CCF, she outlined that it is an issue which had been debated in the past, and ultimately, Councillors had discretion to decide which causes they allocated the funding to. In line with the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, it was apt that Councillors should work with the community to decide how the money is allocated based on what is important to the community.

 

11.4    Councillor Stephens echoed the thanks and gratitude to the VCS for the work carried out during the pandemic. In response to his question on whether any VCS organisations were facing closure as a result of the impact of the pandemic, Councillor Watkins advised that the Council would likely to be aware if a VCS organisation was facing closure due to the pandemic. The Council remained in contact with the VCS and was able to keep up to date with how organisations were doing for example either through the research carried out for the VCS Response to the Current COVID-19 Pandemic and when organisations applied for funding. Moreover, she added that there were other funding opportunities from partners such as Barnwood Trust and the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner of whom VCS organisations were either in contact with or were being signposted to by the Council. Thus, she believed that the situation was manageable for the time being, however, it was important to not be complacent. Moreover, Gloucester City Council‘s Recovery Fund would aid those facing financial sustainability and help to fill any gaps particularly for smaller organisations. Councillor Watkins also encouraged Members to keep speaking with VCS organisations and to make the Council aware of any issues. Councillor Stephens was informed that Officers would provide a written response to his question about the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund and the VCS in Gloucester.

 

 

11.5    Councillor Haigh pointed to page 3 of Appendix B which referred to the pandemic as an ‘existential threat’ to the VCS and recommended that this is kept under constant review. She added that she welcomed the Gloucester City Council Recovery Fund and other sources of funding, however, she stressed the importance of ensuring funding is allocated appropriately. In her view, this would imperative as VCS organisations start their regular community work alongside COVID-19 related work. She stated that this would be a particular challenge for the organisations, for example, in relation to ensuring that they have enough staff and volunteers to deal with both aspects. Councillor Watkins agreed with this and highlighted that the Community Recovery Strategy report would consider how the Council works with partners to ensure that VCS organisations are coping well. Moreover, the pandemic had highlighted the importance of community work in terms of prevention. It was an issue which the Council would likely have to revisit for example considering whether more investment is needed in the VCS from the Council itself as well as partners. 

 

11.6    RESOLVED; - that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee NOTE the reports.

 

 

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