Agenda item

Advice Agency Grant Funding

Decision:

*RESOLVED –

1. That the core advice agency grants to Chesterfield Citizens Advice Bureau, Derbyshire Law Centre, Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre and Links CVS be ceased from the financial year 2026/27.

2. That a two-year funding settlement be allocated to Chesterfield Citizens Advice Bureau with £72,165 allocated for 2024/25 and £48,110 for 2025/26.

3. That a two-year funding settlement be allocated to Derbyshire Law Centre with £20,849 allocated for 2024/25 and £20,828 for 2025/26.

4. That a two-year funding settlement be allocated to Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre with £23,809 allocated for 2024/25 and £15,872 for 2025/26.

5. That a two-year funding settlement be allocated to Links CVS with £8,001 allocated for 2024/25 and £8,001 for 2025/26.

6. That future funding opportunities and partnership projects be considered by Chesterfield Borough Council should suitable external funding streams become available or a significant uplift in central government funding be confirmed.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS

1. To respond to the challenging financial position of the Council and enable delivery of the approved Budget Strategy Implementation Plan.

2. To facilitate a managed phasing out of funding, which will enable the advice agencies to develop and deliver transition plans which could include service transformation and alternative funding models.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing presented a report seeking Cabinet approval to phase out over two financial years the grant funding that the Council currently provides to Chesterfield Citizens Advice Bureau, Derbyshire Law Centre, Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre and Links CVS.

One of the Stage 2 savings proposals within the Budget Strategy Implementation Plan approved by Cabinet on 14 November 2023 was to phase out the provision of grant funding to the borough’s voluntary sector advice agencies.

An overview of each advice agency was provided in Appendix 1 of the officer’s report.

Grants to the advice agencies were not a mandatory or core Council service, they were entirely discretionary. Some Councils had never had these types of grant arrangements in place and others had reduced or ceased provision in recent years due to funding pressures.

The table at paragraph 4.8 of the officer’s report showed the grant awards made to the four advice agencies in the financial year 2023/24.

The current funding agreements were due to run out on 31 March 2024 and the Council could choose to end the contracts on three months’ notice. However, it was felt better to try and avoid this guillotine approach and to seek to establish a reasonable transition period which was both affordable to the Council and enabled some adjustment time for the advice agencies.

The original funding proposal developed for consideration included a two-year funding settlement with a 50% reduction per annum from the 2023/24 funding level. The table at paragraph 4.10 of the officer’s report showed the proposed funding levels.

In line with Best Value Statutory Guidance (2011) the Council had carried out 12-week consultation from 27 November 2023 to 19 February 2024. Appendix 3 of the officer’s report outlined the consultation activity, key issues raised and the lead officer’s responses.

The initial funding proposal had been adjusted as a result of the consultation to take account of the preferences of the different advice agencies. The final proposal to phase out the grant funding was shown in the Table at paragraph 4.17 of the officer’s report.