Further County Council Cuts For Volunteer Groups

Volunteer-run organisations are set to see the money they receive from Derbyshire County Council cut by £50,000.

However, funding will be committed to these groups for four years instead of being renewed annually.

Meanwhile, the grants will be allocated at the same amount for each of the districts.

This will see some districts, such as Erewash and High Peak see their funding cut almost in half, with others, such as Bolsover and Chesterfield seeing their funding nearly double.

At the moment, £400,138 is currently handed out each year to groups providing community infrastructure services across the county.

These are largely supplied by the various centres for voluntary services (CVS) hubs across the county, which offer vital support for the elderly and vulnerable – helping to direct people to services they need most and offer free advice on often complex and serious issues.

They carry out support and offer services which prevent many residents having to go into care homes, hospitals and GP surgeries – saving the county council and NHS millions.

Funding will be reduced overall to £353,000 and each district will receive a “fair and consistent” £41,500 annually.
There will also be an additional £21,000 pot of funding, reduced from £30,800, for county-wide services for black and minority ethnic groups and rural communities.

Before the proposed move, due to be debated by cabinet next week, the High Peak had received £73,808, followed by Erewash with £73,473.

Meanwhile, Bolsover had received £22,488 and Chesterfield £24,461.

The council announced In November that it would be giving voluntary groups currently receiving grants a six month reprieve (until April 2020) while it carried out a review of costs.

The grant-funded groups run advice centres, home comfort services, discount furniture projects, lunch clubs, befriending for the isolated and lonely, food banks, and support for those with dementia and learning disabilities.
The review has been triggered by a need for the authority to save money – £63 million by 2023.

It will examine whether each group and the services it runs are “cost-effective, coordinated and sustainable”.

Examples of the grants include £16,067 to Glossopdale Furniture Project; £27,027 to Heanor Salcare; £12,463 to Level Centre Ltd in Matlock; £6,000 to Glebe Field Centre in Crich; £10,882 to New Mills Volunteer Centre; and £45,062 to Derbyshire Law Centre.

Cllr Carol Hart, the council’s cabinet member for health, said: “As an enterprising council one of our key priorities is to create empowered and self-sufficient local communities. Supporting the voluntary and community sector to grow and thrive is central to achieving this.”