Issue - meetings

Commissioning arrangements for Arts and Voluntary, Community and Faith sector

Meeting: 06/11/2012 - Cabinet (Item 71)

71 Commissioning arrangements for Arts and Voluntary, Community and Faith sector PDF 128 KB

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Barry)

Report of the Head of Community Engagement

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Barry)

Cabinet received a report from the Head of Community Engagement to propose commissioning arrangements to support the voluntary, community and faith sector in delivering services to meet current and emerging local needs and to recommend a timetable for Arts commissioning following the publication of the Arts Strategy for the district.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

Option 1: Council investment for VCFS is focused on sector support, volunteering coordination, advice and information services and a small grant scheme

Option 2: Modifications are made to the proposals, linked to community and sector needs

Option 3: Do Nothing

Advantages

· Of the options available, these meet needs and opportunities identified as part of the engagement and Local Assessment work

· These offer most potential to achieve high impact for the level of investment possible.

· These help to provide early intervention and preventative actions to reduce the need for other VCF and public sector services.

· Support will be available to a wide range of sector organisations rather than limited to a few.

· Supports better forward planning for service delivery.

· Dependent on modifications made.

· Some officer time saved in 2012 – 2013 as procurement processes would no be required.

Option 1: Council investment for VCFS is focused on sector support, volunteering coordination, advice and information services and a small grant scheme

Option 2: Modifications are made to the proposals, linked to community and sector needs

Option 3: Do Nothing

Disadvantages

· Some support may be necessary to help organisations move to more collaborative models of service delivery.

· Dependent on modifications made.

· Process for allocations of grant is less transparent as current SLA’s have been in place for some years.

· Current SLA’s are not designed around current needs and opportunities although do make a useful contribution.

· Value for Money and overall impact reduced.

· Opportunity to underpin wide support structures for VCFS will be limited.

· Opportunities for more collaboration likely to be limited.

Risks

· Services recommended will require other funding support, which may be at risk in the future as funding contracts.

· Mitigation includes service efficiencies, joint working and revenue income generation.

· Dependent on modifications made

· Less clarity around current investment arrangements, the council’s objectives and procurement processes.

The officer preferred option was Option 1 as this reflected the findings of the Local Assessment, the engagement workshops and also provided the most efficient and effective way of maximising impact by providing benefits across the VCFS and supporting a very wide range of services indirectly.

The Council had taken steps towards introducing the commissioning arrangements proposed in the report over the last two years. A detailed review of current SLA’s, an assessment of local needs and opportunities and communications and engagement work with the VCFS had been undertaken, leading to the proposals. The recommendations provided a means of steering the Council’s investment in VCFS services to achieve the maximum ... view the full minutes text for item 71