Decision details

To renew current SLAs for 12 months.

76.1     Cllr Michaela Martin introduced the report recommending the renewal of the current Service Level Agreements to twelve community organisations for one year. It had been a very challenging year for all community organisations, and the renewal of the current funding arrangements would give organisations some certainty for budgeting, staffing and service delivery purposes.

76.2     In response to a question from Cllr David Beaman, Cllr Martin reported that the SLA funding would be paid according to the individual SLA agreements, either the full year, quarterly or half-yearly, to support the individual organisations’ budget forecasts and cash-flow. Officers would work with organisations so that if they were unable to deliver against their SLA, they could adapt their services in such a way as to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, particularly in relation to mental health, loneliness and social isolation as part of their local community response. Looking forward, during 2021, the relevant Portfolio Holders would be working with Officers and Community Wellbeing Overview & Scrutiny Committee to develop appropriate proposals for longer term funding based on community needs after Covid.

76.3     The Executive RESOLVED to:

i)          approve the renewal of the current SLAs with the 12 partner organisations for one year only, 2021/22 at the proposed levels of funding as shown in Annexe 1 and as part of the budget setting process.

ii)        approve the withdrawal of funding to Brightwells Gostrey for the higher needs service and divert these funds to Haslewey to support services for older people and contribute towards running cost as shown in Annexe 1.

iii)       agree the establishment of an Executive Working Group to review the councils funding mechanism to voluntary sector organisation  from 1 April 2022.