Agenda item

1.            The Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, Mr M Hill, introduced the report and highlighted the excellent response of the voluntary sector in supporting the people of Kent, despite the loss of income it faced as a result of the pandemic. A new Strategic Partnership Board had been established and would meet for the first time shortly. Ms Jackson added that a consultation on a draft Civil Society Strategy  had been undertaken pre Covid and finished in   April 2020, however further development of the strategy had been suspended due the pandemic but would now be revised.

2.            Mr Hill, Mr Oakford and the officer team responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    the new Strategic Partnership Board would meet monthly and report to the Cabinet Committee every six months. Its memberships would include the chair of the VCS recovery cell put in place as part of Covid recovery arrangements and representatives ofKCC, district Councils and the NHS .  Mr Hill undertook to share the new Board’s terms of reference with the Cabinet Committee once these had been agreed at its first meeting;

b)    crowdfunding was welcomed as a good proposal and should involve experienced existing organisations as well as new ones. Asked if Members would be able to participate in workshops about crowdfunding, so they could help local residents to understand the process, Ms Jackson undertook to involve them in the communications and engagement; 

c)    asked about Kent Savers, which aimed to avoid families using doorstep lenders, Ms Cooke advised that this sought to identify households which needed immediate financial help;  

d)    many voluntary organisations were supported by the County Council by means of subsidised leases and sponsored property arrangements, and the County Council needed to be sensitive to their financial difficulties if and when these arrangements needed to be reviewed.  Mr Hill advised that he tried to ensure they were offered the best deal possible.  Mr Oakford added that he hoped to be able to increase funding available to local bodies via community and Members’ grants in future years, depending on future budget circumstances;

e)    asked for clarification of match funding in relation to Crowdfunding, if the County Council would always meet match funding commitments and if this funding would have any conditions, Mr Hill undertook to look into this and report back to the Cabinet Committee.  Ms Jackson stated that there would be a broad set of outcomes against the fund to identify projects that it would support but these would not be overly prescriptive. Mr Whittle added that details of crowdfunding arrangements could be shared with the committee when ready, either before or at its next meeting;   

f)     asked to comment on the financial standing and viability of some of the larger charities and hospices in Kent, in relation to whatever support the County Council could give them, Mr Hill advised that hospices were covered by a specific Government grant but the new board could look into financial risks and sustainability in the voluntary sector. Details about hospice funding could be shared with the committee, along with an update on the impact of the second wave of the pandemic; 

g)    asked about the scope to survey voluntary sector organisations to assess their financial standing, Mr Whittle advised that the Kent Community Foundation may have suitable information which the County Council could access and the Partnership Board would look at this;

h)    asked who would decide how to spend the £1.7m emergency assistance fund, and how the additional funds mentioned in paragraph 2.4 of the report had been allocated, Ms Cooke advised that allocation of the emergency assistance fund was a decision for the Leader of the County Council, taking views from voluntary sector organisations and district councils.  The additional funding had been allocated to districts to help local families in need. The County Council would be able to monitor how this funding had been spent and share this information with the Cabinet Committee; and

i)     voluntary sector organisations worked very closely with the health and social care sectors, and Members working with these sectors needed to be included in, and kept up to date with, the information requested by earlier speakers. Ms Jackson undertook to ensure that other Members and committees were briefed on the issues raised.

3.         It was RESOLVED that the information set out in the report and in response to questions and comments be noted, including the further information requested for future meetings of the committee.