Agenda item

Purpose: To inform the Executive of the outcome of the recent Executive Member Strategy Board on working with the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise sector and present recommended actions for approval to progress.

Resolved that:

·         the recommended actions be approved as set out in this report (listed as follows):

• Establish a project to develop a strategic approach to working with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector that reflects a number of key points identified by Members in the Strategy Board.
• Project to be governed by the Corporate Programme with agreed actions contained within a cross service project, with identified resources and agreed time frames. 
• Undertake a high level mapping exercise of VCSE provision to inform the development of the emerging strategy - what is being provided, to who and where, levels of income/spend, capacity and support for the Council Strategy – scope and resources to be identified/agreed as part of the overall project.
• Commission a Local Infrastructure Organisation (LIO) in a process that will require careful consideration of the context of current arrangements which are outside of Council funding.  Source of revenue budget to be identified/agreed.

·         Ownership will sit within the Resources Directorate for the period of development, supported in the project by the other Directorates, VCSE sector representatives and overseen by the Leader.

·         the current situation in relation to Corona virus and the impressive response of the VCSE through the work of the Community Hub be noted.  This will undoubtedly reshape the relationship of the Council with the sector and therefore the proposed recommendations may need to be revisited to reflect this when the time is right.  As the situation is so fluid they have been left ‘as is’ for the purpose of progressing this report.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 7 May 2020, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 9) which advised of the outcome of the recent Executive Member Strategy Board on working with the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector and presented recommended actions for approval to progress.

Councillor Lynne Doherty introduced the report which followed on from the ‘Community Solutions Fund’ item. She stated that West Berkshire was very fortunate in having a very active and diverse VCSE sector. The willingness of residents to volunteer had become even more pronounced now than ever before, with over 3,000 residents stepping up to help their communities.

Local charities were often best placed to deliver real and tangible work and the Council wanted to work in partnership with them.

It was recognised that there were varying skills held within the VCSE sector and there was therefore a need to re-establish an umbrella organisation for the sector that could provide independent support to all. This report sought approval of the proposals listed in paragraph 4.1 of the report which included establishing a project for this work, map existing provision and commission a Local Infrastructure Organisation (LIO) using the Community Solutions Fund to do so. Further development would take place in liaison with the VCSE sector.

It was considered timely to signify this intent and progress this at this stage given the excellent examples of community response that had been experienced. Approval of this report would provide a strategic view to build on the momentum of recent weeks.

Councillor Graham Bridgman added to the words of praise from the Leader to the many volunteers and volunteer groups who had stepped forward to help their communities through the work of the Community Hub. West Berkshire’s volunteers had led the way in comparison to other areas and he gave his thanks to them for all their efforts. It was important that this was built upon.

Councillor Owen Jeffery echoed the thanks to the hundreds of volunteers for their work, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. He agreed this needed to be maintained and long term relationships built. The Community Hub needed to be retained and expanded upon. He was supportive of the proposals and added that the Liberal Democrats would be a critical friend moving forward.

Councillor Doherty gave thanks for these words of support. The intention was to strengthen arrangements with the VCSE sector and the progress of this would be closely monitored.

Councillor Erik Pattenden added that this very impressive support had come from West Berkshire residents within a short period of time. He queried whether, as a result of lessons learnt in recent months and of the need to continue to harness support, any thought had been given to altering any of the proposals.

Councillor Doherty explained that the work on this had commenced pre Covid-19 in February 2020. There was not felt to be a need to change the approach. VCSE organisations operated in different ways and from holding conversations with voluntary groups it was found to be beneficial to them to not be restrained by an overly formal structure.

Councillor Lee Dillon gave his thanks to officers for their work in response to Covid-19 and to Executive Members for all their hard work.

Councillor Dillon felt that the proposal was an appropriate way forward. He did highlight that some areas of activity would not be of particular interest to voluntary groups and it was important to ensure that this work was still picked up.

Councillor Doherty acknowledged this point. The mapping exercise would help to understand which services were being picked up by the VCSE and whether there were any gaps to fill.

Councillor Rick Jones endorsed the comments that had been made. He reiterated that this work started before the Covid-19 pandemic had started. It was entirely appropriate for the Council to work more closely with the VCSE sector to maintain the recent good work.

RESOLVED that the actions recommended in this report be approved as follows:

·         Establish a project to develop a strategy for working with the VCSE that reflects the following key points identified by Members.

·         Project to be governed by the Corporate Programme with agreed actions contained within a cross service project, with identified resources and agreed time frames. 

·         Undertake a high level mapping exercise of VCSE provision to inform the development of the emerging strategy - what is being provided, to who and where, levels of income/spend, capacity and support for the Council Strategy – scope and resources to be identified/agreed as part of the overall project.

·         Commission a LIO.  Process will require careful consideration of the context of current arrangements which are outside of Council funding.  Source of revenue budget to be identified.

·         Ownership will sit within the Resources Directorate for the period of development, supported in the project by the other Directorates and overseen by the Leader.

·         The current situation in relation to Coronavirus and the impressive response of the VCSE through the work of the Community Hub be noted. This will undoubtedly reshape the relationship of the Council with the sector and therefore the proposed recommendations may need to be revisited to reflect this when the time is right. As the situation is so fluid they have been left ‘as is’ for the purpose of progressing this report.

Other options considered: It is possible that we could chose to do nothing, but at a national and local level policy is increasingly steering Councils towards use of the VCSE in meeting local need.  Many of the priorities outlined in the West Berkshire Vision 2036 and Council Strategy 2019-2023 require a strong VCSE to support community resilience and help reduce demand on public services.  To have this in place will require a more strategic approach to the relationship with the sector to set out with clarity how we will work with them, what they can expect from us and how we can best work with them to achieve our shared priorities.  Therefore do nothing is not considered an option.