Purpose

Strategic Partner Contributions were
introduced in 2023 following a review of the way in which the
council funds community and voluntary sector organisations. They
provide revenue core funding to support organisations providing
specialist services that are integral to delivering and supporting
Council Plan priorities. This report provides a summary of the
process followed to review current Strategic Partner Contributions
and seeks approval for the recommendations for funding allocations
for individual organisations to start in April 2026.

Decision

The
decision is:
 
Note the process undertaken to
review the Strategic Partner Contributions for the community and
voluntary sector as outlined in this report.
 
Agree the individual
allocations for 2026 to 2028 as listed in the report, subject to
approval of the proposed budgets by council on 26th February
2026.
 
Delegate authority to the
relevant Head of Service to agree the priority objectives and key
performance indicators (KPIs) for each recipient organisation and
formalise funding agreements.
 
Options considered and rejected:
 
Other options considered were
in relation to the individual allocations. All current recipients
have been subject to an increase in costs and reduction in the
availability of other grants as well as being affected by the
cost-of-living difficulties facing our residents. Reducing the
total budget, or for any individual organisations would lead to a
reduction in the services they could offer residents.
 
Summary and reasons for the decision:
 
This funding supports key
organisations in delivering services and activities in support of
council priorities. Withdrawing or reducing this funding would lead
to a significant reduction in services.