Agenda item

Applications by Organisations

To receive and consider the applications from voluntary organisations.

Decision:

RESOLVED to allocate £330,000 to the various organisations as detailed in Appendix A and that this would only be a one year settlement.

 

Minutes:

 

 

 

VG4 

APPLICATIONS BY ORGANISATIONS

 

Organisations were each given ten minutes to present their application with ten further minutes allocated for questions.

 

 

 

VG5 

ACCURO (Care Services)

 

Robert Purcell, Natalie Trapmore and Karen Shepherd gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Accuro (Care Services). Points included:

  • Any funding provided by the Council would be used to cover revenue funding for the operational and core costs of services delivered specifically in Uttlesford. Funding would be restricted to Accuro’s Uttlesford Clubs and would ensure financial sustainability.
  • The organisation explained how they monitor and evaluate and how they had developed a toolkit, including flashcards, cool walls, smiley face surveys and giant foam thumbs.
  • The organisation was working with the Mousetrap Theatre Projects and in Partnership with Citizens Advice in Uttlesford.

 

 

 

VG6 

SUPPORT 4 SIGHT

 

Gary Hyams and Paul Atkins gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Support 4 Sight.  Points included:

 

  • The organisation had worked in Saffron Walden for 25 years. RNIB statistics show there are 3,070 people in Uttlesford with sight loss of which 410 are blind. Significant increases in these figures are expected across Uttlesford.
  • The organisation’s funding had been reduced by £35,000 by Essex County Council and the NHS. This had necessitated some redundancies.  Any funding provided by the Council would enable Support 4 Sight to continue to operate from its current central location, provide on-going training to volunteers  and would look to launch a befriending service to socially isolated elderly people with sensory loss.
  • The organisation had been nominated for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

 

 

 

VG7 

CITIZENS ADVICE EAST HERTS

 

Laura Hyde gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Citizens Advice East Herts. Points included:

 

  • The organisation provided a drop-in service to many Uttlesford residents at their Bishop’s Stortford office. Any funding provided by the Council would go towards the cost of operating the service in Bishop’s Stortford, including contributing towards the cost of volunteer advisers.
  • The organisation received up to 2/3 of core income from local council funding but need to fundraise for a significant amount and intend to become more accessible and outward facing. They were looking to work in partnership with Uttlesford Citizens Advice.
  • Funding currently provided by East Herts Council and this Council was in line with the client numbers ratio being assisted at the Bishop’s Stortford office.

 

 

 

VG8 

UTTLESFORD COMMUNITY TRAVEL

 

Malcolm Barrell and Steve Biddlecombe gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Uttlesford Community Travel. Points included:

 

  • Demands on the service were higher, through an increasing number of members and with more moving into the over-80 age category.
  • There were 853 individual Members and 83 group members. A door to door transport service and a hospital car service scheme is operated.
  • The organisation aim to replace one vehicle each year. There were currently six buses in use. New buses were purchased outright and increased mileages made it imperative that the vehicle replacement programme continues and that Department of Transport regulations are complied with.

 

Councillor Lodge left the room at this point to comply with the dispensation

 

 

 

VG9 

VOLUNTEER UTTLESFORD

 

Robin Lee and Lizzie Petrie gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Volunteer Uttlesford. Points included:

 

  • From total funding of £56,000 the organisation delivered £385,000 worth of voluntary services into Uttlesford, through over 800 active volunteers in the last year. The longevity in the management structure was highlighted.
  • There had been a significant increase in the number of agencies approaching the organisation to provide services that were previously paid roles. The profile of volunteering had changed such that children aged 8 and above were now involved in volunteering through the Helping Hands project. The Dementia Café had 28 sessions with 200 attendees in the first six months.
  • Time Bank Uttlesford was a new initiative that encouraged people to link up by helping each other on an ad hoc basis, doing small tasks for those who needed help.

 

Councillor Lodge returned to the room.

 

 

 

VG10 

HOME START ESSEX

 

Sam Bailey and Deborah Gilder gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Home Start Essex. Points included:

 

  • Any funding by the Council would support around 25% of the delivery of a Home visiting service in Uttlesford. This had been driven by what families wanted to achieve with early interventions helping children have the best start in life.
  • 40 families in Uttlesford had been supported over 12 months of which 8 came from Carver Barracks.
  • The families’ outcomes would be measured using the organisation’s 13 outcomes of need that had all reported major improvements in the last year.

 

Councillor Hargreaves left the room

 

 

 

VG11 

UTTLESFORD BUFFY BUS ASSOCIATION

 

Rosie Juhl and Margaret Shaw gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Uttlesford Buffy Bus Association. Points included:

 

  • Any funding by the Council would be used towards the full costs of delivering a service at two communities within the district. The organisation was looking for total funding of £83,000 of which £47,000 was already in place.
  • Support was currently provided to up to 280 families per year which was likely to increase to over 300 families.
  • A new bus had recently been launched, with the intention of reducing isolation within Uttlesford.

 

 

 

VG12 

HEARING HELP ESSEX

 

Sophie Ede gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Hearing Help Essex. Points included:

 

  • Any funding by the Council would contribute towards the NHS Hearing Aid Support Service in Uttlesford.
  • There had been 44 drop-in sessions across Uttlesford per year. 81 home visits had been made since April 2019. 436 Uttlesford residents had been supported since April 2019.
  • The organisation was working more closely with Addenbrookes Hospital and was looking to recruit an extra 5 volunteers.
  • Hearing Help Essex won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service last year.

 

Councillor Hargreaves returned to the room.

 

 

VG13 

UTTLESFORD CITIZENS ADVICE

 

Kate Robson and Malcolm Jessop gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Uttlesford Citizens Advice. Points included:

 

  • The organisation had faced a 12% increase in cases in the last quarter coupled with increasing complexity of cases. Universal Credit was likely to have a major impact on caseloads. There had been no increase in funding from the Council in the past 3 years whilst there had been a 15% increase in staff costs.
  • In 2016/17 62% of funding was provided by the Council. This had reduced to 58% in 2018/19.
  • Future plans would include using Great Dunmow and Stansted Libraries. There was recognition that Citizens Advice East Herts were picking up some of the Uttlesford residents’ cases but that Stansted was not being served well enough.

 

 

 

VG14 

ST CLARE WEST ESSEX HOSPICE CARE TRUST

 

Anna Salamonowicz and Clare Fodor gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by St Clare West Essex Hospice Care Trust. Points included:

 

  • The organisation supported people who had a life limiting illness of any kind and also each person’s relatives, friends and carers. The organisation received 19% of their referrals from the Uttlesford district.
  • Any funding from the Council would enable the Carers’ Group to move forward to ensure the service met the needs of the community. The aim was also to establish an Uttlesford satellite group which would be facilitated by St Clare’s nurses. 

 

 

 

VG15 

CARERS FIRST

 

Veronica Sadowky gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Carers First. Points included:

 

  • The organisation supported unpaid carers across Essex aged over 18 on behalf of Essex County Council.
  • Any funding from the Council would create an opportunity for an “Uttlesford Events Co-ordinator” post two days a week. This person would be responsible for administration support and delivery of events across Uttlesford.

 

 

 

VG16 

ACTION FOR FAMILY CARERS

 

Heather Beach and Ruth Morton gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Action for Family Carers. Points included:

 

  • The organisation was 30 years old this year and supported unpaid carers of all ages.
  • Any funding from the Council would enable support for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers in Uttlesford. Fortnightly club nights for Young Carers alternating between Stansted and Great Dunmow would be organised.

 

 

VG17 

COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICES

 

Clive Emmett and Jacqui Davies gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Council for Voluntary Services. Points included:

 

  • The organisation represented the Voluntary Community Sector in the district and delivered a broad range of projects and initiatives based on local needs.
  • Any funding from the Council would enable support for delivery of specific projects that met the needs of local people and enabled a resource to be available to support the Voluntary Community Sector to exist, grow and thrive. This met the gaps in provision that other statutory organisations faced challenges in providing.
  • Details of various projects were provided including Digital Inclusion, Men’s Shed Project, Green Matters Community Gardening Project, Dementia Friendly Uttlesford and Ace Hounds Friendship Dogs.

 

 

 

VG18 

COMMUNITY 360

 

Tristan Easey and Tina Bullen gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Community 360. Points included:

 

  • The organisation specialised in providing open and bespoke community based training programmes in Essex.
  • Any funding from the Council would enable the organisation to offer subsidised training places to participants from voluntary and community organisations in Uttlesford who would otherwise be unable to access high quality training.
  • The organisation had provided 21 courses to date this financial year with First Aid and Dementia Awareness courses the most popular.

 

 

Councillor Lodge left the room.

 

 

 

VG19 

SAFFRON HALL TRUST

 

Graham King and Thomas Hardy gave a presentation to support the grant application submitted by Saffron Hall Trust. Points included:

 

  • The organisation supported many different groups of people. The majority of audiences predominantly came from Uttlesford and surrounding areas.
  • The organisation engaged with more than 120 people a year who are affected by dementia. The music therapy project improved isolation and wellness.
  • The organisation supported local residents with additional needs. The ‘Come Together’ project had been designed to specifically meet a local need and reduce social and rural isolation. It was particularly looking to reach out to places such as Carver Barracks.
  • The organisation received no regular core funding and relied on donations, alongside ticket sales and other commercial income. The result of an Application to the Arts Council for £14,500 was awaited.

 

 

 

VG20 

DISCUSSION

 

Initial discussion took place between Councillors Lees and Hargreaves specifically relating to the grant applications from Volunteer Uttlesford and Saffron Hall Trust whilst Councillor Lodge remained out of the room.

 

Councillor Lodge returned to the room but did not contribute to the subsequent decisions on the two grant applications on which he had declared an interest.

 

Councillor Hargreaves left the meeting and left his written funding recommendations.

 

RESOLVED to allocate £330,000 to the various organisations as detailed in Appendix A and that this would only be a one year settlement.

 

 

 

Meeting Closed 6:10pm

 

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: