Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda

The Chair welcomed all to the Commissioned Scrutiny meeting. Introductions were made.

Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests, not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in respect of business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2020.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 26 February 2020 be approved as a correct record and then signed by the Chair at a later date.

The Vice Chair noted that the last meeting was pre the COVID-19 pandemic and noted that the workplan would have changed since then. This was acknowledged by the Chair who added that it would be discussed under that agenda item.

[Cllr Barker joined the meeting at 17:41]

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It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Members welcome the Chief Executive of York Centre for Voluntary Services (CVS), the Chief Officer (Age UK) and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) Partnerships Manager (Communities) and the Centre Manager of Door 84. Also in attendance at the meeting from City of York Council was the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities, Corporate Director People, Assistant Director Communities and Culture, Head of Commissioning and Commissioning Manager.

The JRHT Partnerships Manager (Communities) explained his role and gave a presentation from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and JRHT on the ‘Impacts of the pandemic in the voluntary sector – learning from national briefings and local networking November 2020.’ He noted that the presentation was originally written to inform the work of the JRHT York Committee as a local founder of the York voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. During his presentation the monthly briefings from April which identified pressures on the VCSE sector and ‘asks’ from their grantees. He then outlined the questions for funders, commissioners and local infrastructure organisations (LIOs). The Chair thanked the JRHT Partnerships Manager (Communities) for his presentation.

The Chief Executive of York CVS then explained the impact of the pandemic on York CVS. She explained that they had been hit hard because of the loss of the use of the conference rooms in their building, resulting in estimated losses of £100k at the end of the financial year. She outlined the work undertaken during the pandemic which included social prescribing, making welfare calls, monitoring the COVID-19 monitoring hub (at the request of the CCG), offering free HR support to members, and supporting other charities through a fundraising campaign. Presently, the COVID-19 helpline was open, volunteer calls had been reinstated, and the volunteer centre was up and running. She explained that for the voluntary sector, funding was the biggest issue, and there were problems around capacity, with a number of charities having less staff and volunteers and increased demand for services, resulting in a number not being sustainable in six months. She advised that the council help by underwriting reserves, reading their fortnightly newsletter, keep listening for ensuring support for the voluntary sector.  She also asked that the allocation of Ward funding be changed to operate across York by pooling its resource.

The Chief Officer (Age UK) reported that she had been in post since the beginning of lockdown in March. She narrated both positive and negative stories from the pandemic and explained the fragility of the Age UK network which was beyond financial, affecting their infrastructure and workforce. She noted the hard work of the work force, especially as it was a low wage one. She thanked York CVS for its support. She noted what funding had been received and explained that 2021 planning was a focus and which Age UK would like to work with the council and other statutory bodies, noting that 2021 was their 50^th anniversary. She added that after the COVID-19 vaccination it was expected that the demand from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

Round-table discussion with all attendees about future voluntary sector support.

Members asked what the voluntary sector would like from the council in terms of the contracting approach.                                                                                        

The Chief Officer (Age UK) noted that she would like to see a move towards more outcomes based commissioning. The Head of Commissioning noted that this was a sensible move towards a relational commissioning model and added that this could be difficult. The JRHT Partnerships Manager (Communities) explained that out of the Institute for Voluntary Research (IVAR) work came an understanding of using social prescribing and the anchor model to produce a matrix of which organisations were under the anchor model.

Members welcomed the Wards working together and it was suggested that Wards could use their funding strategically. The Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities was asked and explained how the commissioning find could be used and he suggested that a written briefing on this could be produced for the Committee. The Assistant Director Communities and Culture explained how funding was allocated from the government. It was noted that information on the Volunteer Centre was available on the York CVS website. It was suggested that the council Community Involvement Officers (COIs) could find out what support was available from York CVS and cascade this information in their Wards. In terms of lost revenue for venue hire, it was suggested that a list of venues (available on the York CVS website) could be shared at Ward Committee meetings. It was suggested that the Committee could look at anchor organisations and officers explained the collaborative approach to this. The Chief Executive of York CVS iinvited Members to part in the York CVS strategy consultation which would contribute to their volunteering strategy.

Resolved: That commissioning arrangements be referred to CSMC

Reason:     In order to be informed on how commissioning is undertaken at the council. 

To consider the Committee’s Work Plan for the remainder of the municipal year.

Members considered the Committee’s draft work plan for the 2020/21 municipal year. Following discussions regarding the current work plan, Members agreed that the NEET Report be deferred to June as part of a wider skills report and that support for anchor organisations would be discussed at a future forum meeting. Members acknowledged the importance of the Safeguarding report. The Corporate Director of People was asked and reported that there had been no changes to the staffing structure in her directorate.

Resolved: That the work plan be approved subject to the above

amendments/additions.

Reason:     To keep the Committee’s work plan updated.