Agenda item

Mr G Cooke declared an interest in this item as a Trustee of the Fusion Health Living Centre in Maidstone, a recipient of funding from the County Council’s Public Health budget.

1.            Mr M Hill, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, introduced the item and highlighted the comprehensive nature of the strategy for which the Cabinet Committee’s support was being sought, and the need to support the voluntary sector as a vital partner in service delivery.

2.            Mr Whittle and Ms Jackson responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    asked about the work of the Voluntary and Community Sector steering group, Ms Jackson advised that the group, which was not part of the County Council, acted as the local forum to engage with the sector on a wide variety of issues, including the sector’s infrastructure needs. Mr Whittle undertook to email the details of the make-up and working of the group to Members after the meeting. This was welcomed as transparency around the relationship between the Council and the voluntary sector and how decisions were made was important;

a)    concern was expressed that, as the operating models of various voluntary sector bodies varied, the strategy may not be able to be applied to them all in the same way.  The strategy would need to recognise the diversity of the sector and protect its independence.  Charities were also supported by donations, and it was important that they be able to continue to do so within the strategy. Mr Whittle confirmed that the strategy applied to the whole voluntary sector, not just those bodies from whom the Council commissioned services;

b)    a view was expressed that, to help Members’ understanding of the bodies and funding processes involved, it would be helpful if future reports were to include a glossary of terms;

c)    asked how voluntary bodies would receive feedback on the effectiveness of the services they delivered on behalf of the council, Mr Whittle advised that monitoring and feedback was part of the commissioning services and was thus part of a separate process to the strategy;

d)    the Chair suggested that a Member briefing on the relationship between the Council and the voluntary sector and the funding and service delivery processes would be helpful.  Other Members asked that such a briefing include funding, the reciprocal support that each sector gives to the other, the extent to which the Council was reliant on the voluntary sector and how the two could ensure that the county was adequately covered in terms of service delivery. Mr Whittle advised that the strategy did not deal with service commissioning but set out an enabling framework within which future commissioning activity could occur; and

e)    responding to a question about seed funding, Ms Jackson added that funding given to the voluntary sector was indeed intended as seed funding, to help the sector to access support it would not otherwise be able to access. Crowdfunding was another way for the voluntary sector to attract funding, as part of a two-year pilot.  Mr Whittle added that this was not yet included in the budget allocation as sufficient detail was not yet available, but the strategy would provide leverage for voluntary organisations to access this type of funding.   

3.            It was RESOLVED that:-

a)  Members’ comments on the revised strategy and consultation, set out above, be noted;

b)  the committee agree that the Civil Society Strategy be adopted, that the infrastructure budget be allocated in accordance with the strategy framework, and any decisions on expenditure be made by the relevant Cabinet Members; and

c)    the proposal to take forward the actions from the Select Committee on Loneliness and Social Isolation be noted.