Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Arthur Birkby MBE, Chairman and Solette Sheppardson, Chief Executive Officer of Voluntary Support North Surrey.

Solette Shepherdson, Chief Executive Officer, and Arthur Birkby, Chairman, gave a presentation in respect of Voluntary Support North Surrey’s work in the Surrey Heath area.

Voluntary Support North Surrey (VSNS), a registered charity limited by guarantee, provided a support service to third sector organisations across Surrey Heath and Runnymede Borough Council areas with the aim of building capacity and improving their resilience.  Fifty percent of the organisation’s work took place in the Surrey Heath area.

VSNS received funding from a range of sources including Surrey County Council, Surrey Heath Borough Council, Runnymede Borough Council and local Clinical Commissioning Groups.  The £30,000 annual grant received by VSNS from Surrey Heath Borough Council represented approximately 8% of the organisation’s budget.

A unique aspect of VSNS’s relationship with Surrey Heath Borough Council was the presence of a Service Level Agreement that contained a set of objectives specific to the Surrey Heath area.  Agreement of these objectives was an iterative process driven by Council officers and regular meetings took place to discuss and challenge the progress being made to achieve these objectives.

VSNS was working to reduce their deficit which currently stood at £18,000 and it was envisaged that the budget would be balanced by the end of the 2016/17 financial year.  An increase in grant funding was acknowledged however it was stressed that this was negated by a reduction in the rent subsidy that the organisation received on its offices in the Ian Goodchild Centre.

Key areas of work for VSNS included developing and promoting volunteering, providing advice and guidance to the third sector on a range of subjects including governance matters and assisting with the identification of potential funding streams, provision of training opportunities and the administration of the vetting and barring service for local voluntary organisations.

82% of the groups and organisations supported by VSNS had made use of the funding advice and support services offered.  These included access to the Grant Finder programme, weekly bulletins detailing any new funding streams identified, completing funding bids on behalf of organisations and proof reading funding bids before they were submitted.  It was difficult to place a figure on the total amount of funding the VSNS had helped organisations raise however anecdotal evidence suggested that approaching smaller funds had a greater success rate than approaching larger national funding providers.

70% of the groups supported by VSNS have made use of the volunteer recruitment services on offer.  Although the majority of people looking for voluntary work found placements without VSNS’s assistance, the organisation had a good track record of success in finding voluntary placements for those with more specific needs for example ex-offenders, job seekers and those with learning disabilities.

A Volunteer Plan had been produced to improve the recruitment and retention of volunteers by third sector groups.  As part of the Plan, VSNS would work with third sector groups to improve their use of social media to raise awareness of their work and to recruit volunteers.  The plan also set out VSNS’s aim to help third sector groups invest more in their volunteers in order to improve volunteer retention rates.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         A requirement to produce quarterly reports for Surrey Heath Borough Council was felt to place an unnecessary constraint on resources.

·         The two mobile home parks in the Mytchett area were classified as having high levels of deprivation compared to other parts of the Borough and would benefit from additional support.

·         Although VSNS charged other voluntary groups rent to work from the Ian Goodchild Centre the income received did not cover the cost of the rent and service charge that VSNS had to pay to the Council.

·         It was acknowledged that the organisation’s lack of engagement with social media was an area that needed to be developed and work was now taking place to focus on this.

·         It was suggested that Council media channels be used to help raise awareness of VSNS’s work.

RESOLVED that:

      i.        Consideration be given to reviewing the reporting requirements placed on Voluntary Support North Surrey to reduce pressure on resources

     ii.        The use of Council communication channels to raise awareness of Voluntary Support North Surrey’s work to be explored.

The Committee thanked Voluntary Support North Surrey for their update.