Decision details

This review is important to Leicester City Council because the VCS is a key partner and provider of a range of services in the city.  A significant number of these services are commissioned by the City Council.  Increasingly there have been clear indications of the challenges facing the sector, resulting in the dissolution of some VCS organisations, with others flagging up concerns about financial sustainability. The City Council recognises the need for a flexible and dynamic approach to supporting the sector so that it can adapt and change appropriately in order to maximise future opportunities for funding, thereby contributing to the sustainability of the city’s VCS and the services it provides.

(1)   To agree the proposed approach to Strand 1 (“Support for the Voluntary and Community Sector”) by commissioning two specific services;

(i)             Supporting collaboration and a collective voice for the VCS

(ii)            Provision of guidance, advice and training to VCS organisations. 

(2)   To agree the proposed approach to Strand 2 (“Engagement to Support a Cohesive Leicester”) by commissioning representative organisations for the purposes of engagement between the City Council and communities. This approach will focus on VCS organisations working in the protected characteristics of race, religion or belief and on the community of identity and/or interest of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT). This approach will be based on criteria as specified in the Executive Report, and incorporate actions to support interactions between all protected characteristics and between communities.  It will also focus on the needs and vulnerabilities within the communities represented.

(3)   To agree the proposed approach to Strand 3 (“Support for Volunteering in the City”) by commissioning a service that will specifically take into account the points outlined in section 3.10 of the Executive Report.

(4)   To agree the indicative funding allocation ranges for the three strands as follows:

(a)        Strand 1a Partnership working and collaboration: £40,000 - £60,000;

(b)            Strand 1b Support for the city’s VCS: £100,000 - £160,000;

(c)            Strand 2 Engagement to support a cohesive Leicester: £150,000 - £200,000;

(d)            Strand 3 Support for volunteering in the city: £60,000 - £100,000.

(5)   (a) To reflect the anticipated indicative savings in the approved budget and budget strategy, and reduce budgets accordingly by the following amounts:

            -2014/15 £66,100

            -2015/16 £132,200

            -2016/17 and thereafter £132,200 per year;

(b) To delegate authority to the Director of Finance to determine the specific budget ceilings affected;

(c)  To note that the indicative budget reductions may need to be reviewed upon conclusion of the procurement exercise.

(6)   To agree that the contract term will in all strands be for two years with the potential for a further year, making a maximum of three years and ending at the latest on 30 September 2017.

(7)   To support, in principle, the commissioning of Strands 1 and 3 collaboratively with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and the Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), provided they make a financial commitment until the end of the proposed contract term.

(8)    To confirm understanding of the implications outlined in section 3.12 and the EIAs at appendices 3 and 4, and agree the mitigating actions that are proposed.  This will include the commissioning of a service, in the first instance for two years, to support the development of a sustainable network of support for new arrivals in the city, and particularly for asylum seekers and refugees.  This would then be reviewed after two years.

(9)   To agree the procurement approach as outlined in section 3.14 and the addition of the recommended procurements to the Council’s Procurement Plan (as required under Contract Procedure Rules).

(10) To agree the formal extension of the seven current contracts until 30 September 2014; and

(11) To note the comments of the Neighbourhood Services and Community Involvement Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 8 May 2014.

This review is important to Leicester City Council because the VCS is a key partner and provider of a range of services in the city.  A significant number of these services are commissioned by the City Council.  Increasingly there have been clear indications of the challenges facing the sector, resulting in the dissolution of some VCS organisations, with others flagging up concerns about financial sustainability. The City Council recognises the need for a flexible and dynamic approach to supporting the sector so that it can adapt and change appropriately in order to maximise future opportunities for funding, thereby contributing to the sustainability of the city’s VCS and the services it provides.

The proposals have been established following an extensive consultation exercise.