Agenda item

To receive the final report of the Voluntary Sector Task Group.

(Report to follow)

The Committee received the final report of the Voluntary Sector Task Group, the outcome of the review being presented to it by Councillor Pat Witherspoon, Chair of the Group, and former Councillor Roger Hill.

Members were informed that the key objective of the review had been to assess the Council’s grants process and ensure that it was a robust, transparent process that was fair to all recipients. As a consequence of the review the Group had developed ten overall recommendations which covered the broad scope of the grants process, the Council’s relationship with the voluntary sector and volunteering more generally.

Among the more significant recommendations were proposals that the timescales for the Council’s grants process be amended to enable voluntary sector organisations to plan constructively for the year ahead, that the geographical spread of the client base be taken into account in scoring applications, that the Framework Agreement for the Provision of Debt and Budgeting Advice to be delivered within the Locality areas in Redditch should be supported by the Council for the foreseeable future and that the Council should build upon the work it carried out in engaging with and bringing together voluntary sector organisations.

The Executive Committee thanked the Group for a good report and expressed its support for the recommendations that it contained. A number of minor amendments were agreed during consideration of these recommendations, as follows. Given the corporate nature of the apprenticeship budget and the desire to retain an equitable situation for all service areas it was agreed that recommendation 4 be qualified to avoid committing this funding to one particular post. In respect of recommendation 8 it was agreed that this suggestion be taken forward as part of the wider staff awards ceremony. Despite there being widespread Member and Officer support for recommendation 9, the resource implications of implementation led the Committee to agree only to consider the introduction of a Redditch Hour on social networking sites in conjunction with local businesses and Voluntary and Community Sector organisations within the Borough.

RESOLVED that

1)        the following should be addressed in relation to the Council’s grants programme:

a)       the timescales for the Council’s grants process should be reviewed to ensure that decisions are made in sufficient time to enable Voluntary and Community Sector organisations to plan constructively for the year ahead;

b)       the geographical spread of the client base for Voluntary and Community Sector organisations should be taken into account by the Grants Panel as part of the scoring process when considering applications for grants;

c)       the template for the Council’s application form for Council grants should be reviewed;

d)       action points should be recorded at meetings of the Council’s Grants Panel;

2)        the following actions should be taken in respect of the members of the Grants Panel:

a)    formal training should be provided to Members of the Grants Panel;

b)   wherever possible members of the Grants Panel should visit Voluntary and Community Sector organisations that have been awarded larger project grants as part of the monitoring process.  These visits should take place before the second instalment of funding is provided to the organisations;

3)        the implications of the Local Government Transparency Code 2014 should be considered by Officers to ensure that the Council’s grants process is amended as and when required.  Officers should ensure that any changes that are made to the process in response to these

requirements take account of local needs;           

4)        the Council should consider employing an apprentice to support the work of the Grants Officer.  Consideration should be given to sharing this apprentice with a Voluntary and Community Sector organisation;      

5)        the Framework Agreement for the Provision of Debt and Budgeting Advice to be Delivered Within the Locality areas in Redditch should continue to be supported by the Council for the foreseeable future;

6)        an informal working group of Council Officers should be formed to discuss and share knowledge about current joint working with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations.  These informal meetings would also provide an opportunity for different teams to identify further opportunities to work with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and highlight any duplication of work;

a)     dedicated space should be introduced on the Council’s intranet to allow Officers working with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and / or volunteers to share information;

7)        the following actions should be taken in relation to the Staff Volunteering Policy:

a)       the policy should be refreshed and promoted;

b)        a taster list of local volunteering opportunities should be advertised on the “Briefcase” section of the Council’s intranet for the consideration of staff.  In particular, consideration should be given to advertising volunteering opportunities that would help to address the Council’s strategic purposes;

8)        a Staff Award should be created to recognise the voluntary work carried out by members of staff and incorporated within the existing Staff Awards Ceremony;

a)    the work of local Voluntary and Community Sector organisations to each other as well as potential customers;

b)   volunteering opportunities to local residents; and

c)    a prize giving awards ceremony should form part of this event. 

This event could potentially be aligned to existing events that are already take place.