Purpose

Doncaster faces significant challenges related
to employment, education, housing, and access to healthcare, all of
which influence health outcomes and neighbourhood renewal. These
issues
also impact on community cohesion with some members of the
community feeling left behind.

By focussing on hyper local issues, identified through the
Localities Tactical Group and Regenerative Neighbourhoods
processes, the Neighbourhood Community Fund in Doncaster could play
a crucial role in tackling health inequalities, strengthening
community cohesion by re-engaging people and communities who feel
left behind, and help to facilitate neighbourhood renewal by
encouraging VCFS groups to tackle locally identified issues across
the City of
Doncaster. The links between the 5 Locality Tactical Groups could
also encourage complimentary activities
across the city.

Content

To allocate £249,995 from the Asylum
Dispersal Grant issued to the City Of Doncaster Council by the
Government in April 2024, to create the Neighbourhood Communities
Fund.

The fund will provide resources that allows Team Doncaster, working
at a hyper local level, to encourage activity within the Voluntary,
Community and Faith Sectors (VCFS), which removes
barriers to neighbourhood renewal through tackling the wider
determinants of health. It will have the ethos of the Choose
Kindness movement at its heart, making Doncaster an even better
place to live through good citizenship and neighbourliness.

The fund will be complimented by £250,000 of funds previously
allocated to the Community Development Support Fund and agreed by
the Mayor in an Executive Functions - Decision Record on the 4th of
September 2023, to develop existing and new initiatives, activities
and services to encourage good citizenship, integration and
cohesion.

The funds will be divided equally across the 5 locality areas with
VCFS groups being encouraged to bid for funds of up to
£10,000 from a pot of £50,000 per locality area. The
Locality Tactical Group for each area, will form a designated panel
to meet and discuss
applications. Each Locality Tactical Group will also have a
£50,000 area discretionary fund per locality, to tackle
barriers to neighbourhood renewal and the wider determinants of
health
identified in their area, including providing additional funding to
VCFS groups in exceptional circumstances.

Alternative options considered

To not provide the funding – The funding
is seen as a key part in allowing VCFS groups to facilitate change
in their area

To provide a central fund covering the whole of Doncaster - this
would not allow for issues identified locally and supported by the
Locality Tactical Groups and Regenerative Neighbourhoods
initiatives to be the focus of the funding