Purpose

As part of its commitment to supporting a strong and resilient VCS, Camden provides a range of project, long and short-term unrestricted ‘core’ funding to the sector.

There are five core grant funding programmes to the value of £3.9m. Four of the programmes have an end date of between September 2022 and December 2023. The four programmes, with a total annual award value of £2.02m are:

•         Strategic Partners Fund – Neighbourhoods

•         Strategic Partners Fund – Equalities

•         Infrastructure Alliance

•         Healthwatch

This Report proposes firstly to continue and confirm grant awards for several programmes that are subject to a mid-point review and secondly seeks to align end dates of other programmes to allow time to design a more unified approach from April 2024.

The Strategic Partners Fund – Neighbourhoods and the Strategic Partners Fund –Equalities include provision for the council to undertake a mid-point review of the programmes. This was due to take place in 2020/21 and again in 2021/22 but was not carried out due to the impact of COVID-19. The report highlights those decisions have already been made to fund these programmes through to December 2023, and asks the Executive Director, Supporting Communities and Cabinet Member for Promoting Voluntary Sector, Equalities and Cohesion to note no recommendations are being made to alter the funding levels provided to these organisations through this programme until December 2023.

The Infrastructure Alliance programme and Healthwatch funding have end dates of March 2023 and September 2022 respectively.

The council has indicated intention to establish a VCS core grants programme for the period beyond 2024. In order to address the varying end dates of these grants programmes and to provide sufficient time to design, launch and administer Camden’s future core grants programme to fund VCS from April 2024 onwards, the report proposes that the council extend and align these four grant programmes to an end date of March 2024 the programmes, organisations and costs associated with this are set out in appendix 1.

Decision

THAT, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Voluntary Sector, Equalities and Cohesion, the following be agreed:

(i)                 Following the mid-point review period, the current level of funding provided to individual organisations funded by the council’s Strategic Partners – Neighbourhoods and Strategic Partners - Equalities programmes be confirmed that continued and written confirmation be provided to all funded organisations that grants will remain in place until December 2023; and

(ii)                To extend end dates of the categories of grant agreements listed in (a) to (d) below to March 2024 (as further detailed in appendix 1 including funding levels) to build in consistency across the programme:

(a)  To extend the grant agreements with each organisation funded through the Strategic Partners Fund – Neighbourhoods from 1st January 2024 to 31st March 2024

(b)  To extend the grant agreements with each organisation funded through the Strategic Partners Fund – Equalities from 1st January 2024 to 31st March 2024

(c)   To extend the grant agreements for members of Camden Infrastructure Alliance to 31st March 2024

(d)  To agree to split the current unified £187K per annum grant payment to Healthwatch into two distinct grant awards focussing on (i) Health and Social Care Services (ii) Community Engagement and extend and confirm end dates of agreements to 31st March 2024 (as detailed in appendix 1).