Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

1.0       Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1            To advise members that the Department of Communities has contacted Council to seek their views on the potential to administer existing Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for Advice Services through the Community Support Plan (CSP) LoO in 2025/26 and 2026/27.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Members are asked to consider the contents of the report and advise whether they wish to accept the DfC proposal to administer existing Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for Advice Services through the Community Support Plan (CSP) LoO in 2025/26 and 2026/27.

3.0       Background information

3.1       The Council receives funding from the Department for Communities Voluntary and Community Division (VCD) through the Community Support Plan (CSP). This funding is used to fund community support activity and also to fund a range of advice services.

3.2       DfC has contacted council officials to advise that DfC also funds some community-based advice projects through DfC Community Empowerment Division (CED) / Neighbourhood Renewal (NR).  The projects were initially identified through Neighbourhood Renewal action plans and have received core funding from Neighbourhood Renewal for more than ten years.

3.3       The Department is keen to establish if there is potential to transition the NR funded projects to within the existing council-delivered programmes. This would mean that funding for these projects would be administered by Council through an allocation from the CSP.

3.4       DfC has indicated there will not be significant changes to the NR funding in 2025/26 with 2026/27 likely to be a transitionary period within the programme.  DfC propose that projects transitioned into the CSP programme would continue to be funded in line with NR funding until 2026/27.

3.5       DfC would engage with the impacted organisations during this period to ensure each is aware of the impact on it in respect of funding, how the council-delivered programme operates, and how to engage with the funding mechanisms in place through the existing programme. 

3.6       Neighbourhood Renewal funding in 2024/25 for projects delivering advice services totalled £286k.  DfC would provide this additional amount to be allocated to the affected organisations. Funding is provided to the following organisations through the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

3.7       Members should note that DfC have advised that they will only provide the additional allocation through the CSP Letter of Offer until 26/27 to the organisations listed above. After that time, there will be no allocation from the DfC NR Team as it is expected that new arrangements for Neighbourhood Renewal will be in place by that time.

3.8       Members should consider that the provision of funding for these organisations may create an expectation that this support will be provided by Council after 26/27, however, since this funding is 100% funded by the DfC NR team there would be no budget to do this. Officers would highlight the risk associated to council of this increased expectation and also the value of implementing a new funding arrangement for such a short period of time.

Financial and Resource Implications

4.1       The administration of this fund would have to be carried out by existing staff, there is no immediate financial impact for council as 100% funding is being provided by DfC. However, there is a risk that an expectation to maintain this funding would be created.

            The Committee agreed, given the anticipated volume of work associated with the administration of the fund; together with the fact that a consultation exercise was ongoing in the matter; and the lack of clarity on the level of funding to be provided after 2026/27, to reject the Department for Communities’ proposal that the Council administer the existing Neighbourhood Renewal Funding for Advice Services through the Community Support Plan Letter of Offer in 2025/26 and 2026/27.