Agenda item - Recommendations of the Grant Working Party: 24 June 2020 - Overview of Community Chest 2020/2021 and proposed changes to the 2021/2022 scheme; and Locality Budgets 2019/2020 (Report No: CAB/WS/20/044)

Report No: CAB/WS/20/044

Portfolio Holder: Cllr Robert Everitt Lead Officer: Davina Howes

Chair of the Working Party: Cllr Jim Thorndyke

RESOLVED:

That due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Community Chest: 2020/2021

1. In these exceptional circumstances, the £3,500 allocation of Community Chest funding in 2020/2021 to Our Special Friends now be used to pay core costs for one year only, as detailed in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044;

2. the following nine organisations that received Community Chest funding in 2020/2021, be given an extension to fulfil the outcomes and outputs of their projects which were committed to as part of the award for 2020/21, as set out in paragraphs 3.7 and 3.8:

a. Bury Drop in

b. Haverhill Community Trust

c. The Befriending Scheme

d. Second Chances Support Group

e. Suffolk Mind

f. Bury Theatre

g. Turner Hall

h. Newmarket Day Centre

i. The Erskine Centre

3. The ways in which some organisations have adapted their approach in response to COVID-19 in order to continue to offer a service be noted, as set out in section 4 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044.

Community Chest: 2021/2022

4. The amended timeframe for applicants and decision-making process, as set out in paragraph 5.2 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044, be noted to allow applications to be submitted by a deadline of 30 October instead of the usual 30 September; and

5. the proposed revised guidance for applicants to Community Chest in 2021/2022, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/WS/20/000, be approved for the reasons set out in paragraph 5.3.

Councillor Locality Budget Scheme: 2020/2021

6. In these exceptional circumstances, the Council’s Councillor Locality Budget Guidance be amended to enable projects awarded funding in 2019/20 and the early part of 2020/2021 to be completed beyond the current deadline, which currently required funding to be spent within a 12-month period, as detailed in paragraph 6.1 of Report No: CAB/WS/20/044.

The Cabinet considered this report, which sought approval for a number of recommendations presented by the Grant Working Party following its meeting held on 24 June 2020.

Community Chest funding supported many voluntary and community organisations in West Suffolk each year. In January 2020, Cabinet agreed with the recommendations of the Grant Working Party and financially supported 22 organisations for 2020/2021.

Following a brief introduction by Councillor Robert Everitt, Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities, Councillor Jim Thorndyke, Chair of the Grant Working Party was invited to bring matters to the attention of Cabinet.

At its meeting, the Working Party had noted the headline data that had emerged via Community Action Suffolk COVID-19 Impact Survey (at Appendix A to its report) which indicated the critical nature of the voluntary and community sector across Suffolk. The CAS report recognised that many organisations were having to make some difficult decisions about the services they offered as a direct result of COVID-19 and how they could operate in the future.

At the start of this crisis the Families and Communities team proactively made contact with all of West Suffolk Council’s Community Chest funded organisations, along with other organisations which supported the communities. Support and guidance had been provided, together with signposting to additional funding resources where needed. In addition, organisations had been linked into the wider work that had been undertaken around new volunteering opportunities, safeguarding and working differently.

As a result of the engagement exercise, officers had ascertained that only 15% of organisations had paused their projects but had every intention of working with the Council to find a practical and safe way to deliver their projects, once further clarity was provided by Government on the next phase. This left one organisation feeling unable to fulfil the project to which they originally committed, this being Our Special Friends (OSF) which was awarded £3,500 for an Animal Companionship Practitioner. They had requested the Community Chest funding be used to pay core costs, so they could survive this challenging time and continue with the support they currently offered.

The Working Party had considered it appropriate to recommend that the funding be allocated towards funding OSF’s core costs for one year only as it recognised these were exceptional circumstances. Emphasis was placed on not setting a precedent for funding core costs and whilst the scheme was flexible, the principal purpose of Community Chest was to provide funding towards specific projects.

The Working Party had also considered whether to allow a number of organisations that had received Community Chest funding in 2020/21, an extension of time to achieve the outcomes and outputs to which they originally agreed. These nine organisations were listed in the report.

Given the current circumstance the Working Party had considered it was reasonable to honour this. The Council would still expect quarterly performance returns and would continue to have open dialogue to offer support. Members also considered that an interim update on progress of the nine organisations’ projects should be presented to the Working Party in January 2021; however, it was acknowledged that some projects may take more than a year to complete given the difficulties and challenges currently faced.

Having noted examples of how some organisations had changed their working practices as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, as set out in section 4 of the report, the Working Party had then considered proposed options for potential changes to the Community Chest application process for 2021/22 in light of the challenges posed by COVID-19.

The biggest challenge for potential Community Chest applicants was the changing landscape due to COVID-19, resulting in many unknowns for the future. The Working Party had recommended that the closing date should be moved from 30 September 2020 to 30 October 2020, hopefully allowing time for further clarity and stability around recovery. This would however, mean the usual decision-making process would need to be delayed slightly with final Cabinet approval being sought in February 2021 rather than January.

The Community Chest guidance had also been reviewed in light of COVID-19 and the Working Party considered it sensible to remove section 3.3, point 19 of the existing guidance, which stated core funding was not usually supported through Community Chest. As outlined above, some organisations were struggling financially during this period, so it would be beneficial for many to broaden the core funding element for the 2021/2022 financial year only. Many of the voluntary and community sector were the backbone to preventative support for West Suffolk’s residents, so the Working Party considered it prudent to support these organisations through this challenging climate. The proposed revised version of the guidance was attached as Appendix A.

The Cabinet then noted the present situation regarding funding allocated from the Councillor Locality Budget Scheme in 2019/2020.

169 projects had been supported by locality budget funding within West Suffolk in 2019/2020; however, 72 of these had been delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. The Council’s current Councillor Locality Budget guidance stated that the funding needed to be spent within a 12-month period; however, it was clear that the 72 projects that had been delayed would potentially require additional time to be completed.

The Working Party had considered that in these exceptional circumstances, it was prudent to extend the current deadline for those already funded beyond the 12-month period. Project organisers would be given the option to return the funds if they felt unable to spend it as intended, which would result in this funding being allocated back into the Council’s central grant budget.

Having acknowledged that the current climate for West Suffolk’s voluntary and community sector was challenging, the Cabinet recognised that by accepting the recommendations of the Grant Working Party, this would provide some means in which the Council could support them through this difficult time.