Agenda item

Report attached to be presented by Sally Young.

The Board received a presentation from Sally Young, who had been asked to report on the current contribution of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Gateshead.  There is a perception that the VCS is being asked more and more to complement existing services, and this raises some concern about their capacity to provide this support.

The Board were advised that there are likely to be between 700-1000 groups, activities and organisations making up a complex VCS in Gateshead which employ between 3000-4000 people working alongside a number of volunteers.  A further 500 charities are not based in Gateshead, but provide activities within the area.  It is estimated that 34% of Gateshead residents volunteer.  It was noted that the majority of VCS funding does not come from the public sector, for example, one charitable organisation with a turnover of £300,000 received £10,000 from the LA.  It is estimated that 7 out of 10 VCS organisations saw an increase in demand for services in the past year.

The Biggest Challenges highlighted include:

·         The impact of welfare reform

·         Increased poverty in communities

·         Reduction in provision of statutory services

·         Having to pay for things that were once free

·         Lack of jobs / employment opportunities / sanctions

In terms of organisational challenges the following were highlighted:

·         Funding

·         Recruitment and retention of volunteers, especially in terms of volunteers being asked to take on additional work in areas they are not necessarily familiar with

·         Coping with increased costs

·         Maintaining sustainability

The role of the VCS in improving health, wellbeing and

care has developed enormously in the last twenty-five years. It has multiple roles, often dependent on the size and nature of the organisation; these include:

•          As a service provider

•          As a mechanism for bringing patients, users, and carers together e.g. support groups, peer experience

•          As an advocate for individuals, groups and communities who are often excluded

•          Through the use of volunteers to enhance services and experiences

•          As a partner in decision-making

•          As a source of information, knowledge and expertise on particular communities (e.g. contributor to the JSNA)

•          As an improver of the physical environment

•          As a campaigner for environmental and other improvements

However most of these activities require capacity and resources, whether it is goodwill, time, space, volunteers, finance etc. and there is a concern, that VCS organisations will be expected to substitute for paid public sector staff. The shift towards social prescribing is of increasing concern as resources seem to be invested into sign-posters / navigators/ directories indicating where services are, but not into the services themselves.  A clear definition of social prescribing isn’t available and leads to inconsistencies.

There have been some successful examples of asset transfers from the public sector to voluntary organisations, but these take time and a lot of resources. Initially public sector (mainly council) staff were able to invest time in these and provide support and a safety net, however the more recent transfers are not as sustainable.

Experience has demonstrated that what makes local organisations work well is the involvement and support of local people. This can take time, involve community development, be focussed on a need, and the end result has got to be what that community wants. The contractual cycle can sometimes conflict between what a commissioner wants to purchase and what an organisation believes is necessary for delivering to its community. Artificial structures parachuted in, that don’t have local ownership or buy-in, are unlikely to work.

In 2010, the Government proposed the opening up of public sector contracts to the voluntary sector. These included major contracts on the Work Programme and the Criminal Justice system. In reality, the vast majority of these contracts are now delivered by private sector international companies e.g. Serco, A4E and G4S and the voluntary sector has had a few painful experiences as end providers. A number of medium-sized organisations do not feel able to bid for public sector contracts as these have become larger and often the requirements are onerous and disproportionate to the contract value. As public sector funding has shrunk further, a number of organisations (voluntary and private), are removing themselves from social care provision. Very recently Lifeline, a major charity (£60million) providing drug and alcohol services (albeit not in Gateshead), went into receivership. 

The amount of volunteering in Gateshead is much higher than the UK, with Gateshead Council reporting that “34% of Gateshead residents regularly taking part in an activity”. There is clearly a strong base to build upon, and councillors and council officers are involved with and aware of the sector. Newcastle CVS has built up a good rapport with a number of voluntary and community organisations in Gateshead.

There have been major shifts in public sector organisations with more to come, and this has meant a loss of some partnerships, relationships and understanding of each other’s challenges and difficulties. This could be the right time to forge a new relationship, refresh the Gateshead Compact (which is a statement of the relationships) and work together across the wider partnership to improve health and wellbeing in Gateshead.

In terms of Next Steps, Sally felt that there was a need to look at relationships between the Local Authority, the Voluntary Sector and other statutory partners to regain and rebuild the trust.  It was also felt that there was a need to look at whether there was real investment in the voluntary sector and to look at what the sector can offer.  It was also suggested that procurement processes be looked at to see if in some cases they can be simplified.

RESOLVED - (i)         That the information in the presentation and report be noted.

                        (ii)        That a half-day session be organised to re-define and relationships with the VCS, including the Gateshead Compact