Agenda item

To consider a report from the Portfolio Holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services.

Decision

(a)       That an 8 week period of consultation be agreed to consult on the following funding options for 2020/21:-

                i.        No change - maintain the current level of funding to the current organisations with no change from1st April 2020

              ii.        Maintain the current level of funding but change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st April 2020. 

             iii.        Reduce the current level of funding to current organisations by 10% (except Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)) and change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st October 2020

             iv.        Reduce the current funded organisations by 10% (except CAB) for a 12-month period. Change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st April 2021

(b)       That the draft grants application criteria set out in in Appendix 2 for consultation be approved;

(c)        That the level of funding for future years (after 2020/21) as part of the medium term financial planning process be reviewed;

(d)       That following the consultation process and prior to bringing a report back to Cabinet, the outcome of the consultation be considered by  Resources Scrutiny Committee.

The Portfolio Holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services presented a report setting out proposed consultation on the amalgamation of a range of existing funds into three categories; Earmarked funds, Revenue Grant Scheme and Capital Grant Scheme.  He confirmed that the comments made by representatives would form part of the consultation.  The proposed approach for Dorset Council was to aim to deliver a fair apportionment of spend across the council area whilst recognising the valuable contributions made by the voluntary and community sector.

The Portfolio Holder continued that it was essential to engage with the voluntary sector about the options in order to share to their views and experience.

Cllrs Batstone and Ezzard addressed Cabinet expressing concerns for the future of voluntary organisations, stating that spending less could have a damaging impact on transformation projects and negatively hit the organisations that the Council relies on for support the most. There were also concerns expressed regarding the future of Arts and Culture.

Cllr N Ireland suggested that the consultation period should be 12 weeks in line with the statutory guidelines from the Cabinet Office.  In response, the Chief Executive confirmed that these guidelines related to Government consultation and the proposed 6 weeks was inline with LGA procedures.

Cllr Rennie welcomed the consultation and suggested the council should consider the hidden social deprivation in rural areas. She also felt that the consultation report should be considered by Scrutiny prior to the final report being brought back to Cabinet.

In considering the report, Cabinet agreed that the consultation should be extended to 8 weeks and that consultation should not take place across the Christmas period.  In answer to a question raised by the Monitoring Officer it was confirmed that extending the consultation period and not beginning the consultation until after Christmas would not adversely impact on the budget considerations. The matter would also be referred to the most appropriate scrutiny committee prior to the final report being brought back to Cabinet for decision.

Decision

(a)       That an 8 week period of consultation be agreed to consult on the following funding options for 2020/21:-

         i.        No change - maintain the current level of funding to the current organisations with no change from1st April 2020

       ii.        Maintain the current level of funding but change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st April 2020. 

      iii.        Reduce the current level of funding to current organisations by 10% (except Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)) and change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st October 2020

      iv.        Reduce the current funded organisations by 10% (except CAB) for a 12-month period. Change to the new approach to allocating funding from 1st April 2021

(b)       That the draft grants application criteria set out in in Appendix 2 for consultation be approved;

(c)        That the level of funding for future years (after 2020/21) as part of the medium term financial planning process be reviewed;

(d)       That following the consultation process and prior to bringing a report back to Cabinet, the outcome of the consultation be considered by Resources Scrutiny Committee.