Consultation on funding for local voluntary and community groups

A 12-week consultation is under way into the future funding of local voluntary and community sector groups in Derbyshire. 

The consultation has been launched by Derbyshire County Council, which says it is looking to "develop a fairer more consistent way of allocating money to support the council's ambitions and priorities". 

The authority wants as many people as possible across the county to take part in the consultation and give their views.

Cllr Carol Hart, DCC's cabinet member for health and communities, said: "We’ve already been out talking to infrastructure organisations to find out what they need from us to carry out their work in a sustainable way.

"Based on their feedback, we’ve come up with some ideas and we’d now like to hear from as many people as possible on what they think of our proposals." 

The county council gives grants of more than £3 million a year to local voluntary and charity groups carrying out valuable work for Derbyshire residents. A proportion of the funding supports the infrastructure organisations – often local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) groups.

The new proposals could see grants given out over four years instead of one, distributed along borough and district boundary lines and key performance indicators introduced.

Councillor Hart added: "The way we fund organisations has developed organically over time which has led to a fragmented approach. By developing a new funding framework, the community and voluntary sector will have a better idea of what we expect from our funding.

"The sector is also asking us to look at providing funding over the longer term to give it stability. 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." 

Visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/vcssupport2020 to read more about the proposals and fill in an online questionnaire. 

A report on the outcome of the consultation is due back before the county council's Cabinet in the summer.