Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director, Communities and Environment

The Committee received a report from the Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service to provide an update on the current position within the service and highlighted some of the work which will be undertaken and to highlight some of the key and current issues facing the voluntary and community sector.

In May 2016 Newcastle CVS was invited to provide interim voluntary and community infrastructure support to organisations in Gateshead.  Newcastle CVS provided a full service in Gateshead which finished on 31 July 2018 with a new contract starting in August 2018.

From 2016 – 2018 there has been formal contract performance monitoring, monthly meetings with commissioning officers and reports every six months to the Corporate Resources OSC.  During this time there has been:

·         Delivery of contracts – exceeding targets

·         Active engagement in the Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Board, Gateshead Health and Care System Board, Deciding Together/Delivering Together and other health initiatives

·         Publication of Gateshead specific reports – ‘Doing Good in Gateshead’ and ‘GaN Canny’

·         Development and Delivery of OurGateshead

·         Active engagement in the Gateshead Awards

·         Active engagement and dissemination of information on Gateshead Thrive/Anti Poverty Work

• Involvement in 2017/18 and 2018/19 Gateshead Council budget processes, including dissemination of information, organising meetings, writing a full response
• Regular meetings with councillors and Gateshead Council officers and partners active in Gateshead
• Extension of all written and digital materials to include Gateshead
• Development and delivery of the Gateshead Voluntary Sector Leaders Group
• Attendance and (appropriate) involvement at Gateshead Council committees, events and initiatives
• Development of the Blue Stone Consortium, formerly the Gateshead Commissioning Exchange and Newcastle Consortium, to take on the Public Health England contract for Well Newcastle Gateshead.
• Engagement with funders e.g. Community Foundation (Tyne Wear and Northumberland) and Big Lottery highlighting the lower levels of investment in Gateshead.

Future services will include:

• Changes to the staff team - the Newcastle CVS support and development team is currently going through a programme of restructuring in order to deliver the new infrastructure contracts in Gateshead and Newcastle, within a reduced budget and offering a more generic service; in line with the contract requirements.
• Development and enhancement of networking opportunities for the voluntary and community sector, including a new Gateshead VCS network
• Delivery of a one-day event for Gateshead’s voluntary and community organisations
• Newcastle CVS is currently consulting on a name change to reflect its position in Gateshead
• Newcastle CVS will change its governance structure in order that Gateshead organisations can become full members (rule change to be agreed at the CVS AGM on 12 November, to be held at St Mary’s Heritage Centre, Gateshead)
• The new infrastructure service will be managed jointly across Gateshead and Newcastle by a single manager, separate workers and shared skills
• Greater engagement of external specialist providers e.g. The Media Trust, Association of Chairs etc
• Continuing development and promotion of the OurGateshead website
• Development, update and rewrite of the Gateshead Voluntary Sector Compact
• Annual key facts briefing for Gateshead
• Participation in Gateshead Council review of Information, Advice and Advocacy Services
• Engage in and respond to the Council’s budget consultation process
• Development and coordination of a training programme for the voluntary and community sector. This programme to be developed in consultation with the Gateshead Neighbourhood Management and Volunteering Team
• Provision of a funding advice service to focus on raising awareness of non-public grant sources of income and revenue
• Representation of sector at key forums including the Gateshead Health and Wellbeing Board, Gateshead Community Safety Board, Gateshead Strategic Partnership Steering Group and others – either directly or by supporting others.
• Ensure the breadth and diversity of the voluntary and community sector is represented and reflected
• Provision and translation of policy information (local and national)
• Responses to emergent issues
• Provision of monthly sector news and advice email

Some of the key and current issues facing the sector include:

• The impact of welfare reforms (affects users, carers, volunteers and staff)
• Increasing levels of debt and poverty (affects users, carers, volunteers and staff)
• Reduction in council support – funding through contracts, grants and capacity
• Short term contracts with multiple extensions
• NHS moving to larger (and lower value) contracts which are not economic to run
• Changes in Big Lottery Funding – levels of funding, and Reaching Communities
• Reduction in access to social care and diversion to the voluntary and community sector
• Reductions in mental health services and diversion to the voluntary and community sector
• Governance issues for volunteer trustees and management committees
• Increase in service users and carers
• More competition for grants from Trusts and Foundations
• Recruitment and retention of staff (many voluntary organisations can afford only the legal Living Wage and minimum terms and conditions of service)
• Reduction in income generation – people can’t afford the fees, charges, subs etc
• Cost pressures affecting all organisations – rental, utilities, inflation etc
• Increasing levels of loneliness and isolation as formerly free / low cost public services are removed or introduce charges
• Organisations that rely on donations have a poorer population to ask 

The Committee thanked Sally for the tremendous work done on behalf of Gateshead, it was noted that there had never been so much confidence in the service we are being provided with.

RESOLVED -  That the information contained within the report be noted.