Derbyshire council’s Cabinet is due to consider proposals to possibly end over £1m of funding for 50 community and voluntary groups as part of the authority’s ongoing saving plans.
The cash-strapped Conservative-controlled county council has completed two 12-week public consultations to gather views as it considers the future of discretionary grant funding relating to two types of handouts for voluntary and community groups which currently receive over £1m from the council.
A council spokesperson said: “No decisions have yet been taken about the future of discretionary grants to community and voluntary organisations.
“We’re currently looking at all the feedback we’ve received as part of the consultation which will be fully taken into consideration in a further report which is due to be considered by our Cabinet in November.”
Depending on the outcome of the Cabinet meeting on November 14, the two types of handout including Adult Social Care Discretionary Grant Funding, and Corporate Services and Transformation Discretionary Grant Funding may be stopped by March, next year.
Stopping the Adult Social Care grants would affect 30 community and voluntary groups which currently receive annual grants totalling just over £722,000 to support work including advocacy, training, befriending and social activities.
The council provides discretionary grant funding to eleven voluntary sector organisations for befriending support and it provides a discretionary grant to seven voluntary sector organisations to support social inclusion activity.
Some of these organisations include Mencap, Borrowbrook Homelink, Age UK, The African Caribbean Community Association and well-being charity The Bureau.
The council has also supported luncheon clubs and the Bolsover Woodlands Enterprise, self-advocacy organisation Our Vision, and Our Future for people with learning disabilities, and it has funded ten voluntary and community sector infrastructure organisations.
In addition, if the Corporate Services and Transformation grants are stopped a further 20 groups that receive just over £333,000 would be affected.
These include voluntary and community groups where funding supports the black, minority and ethnic sector, and has helped with training and guidance and specialist advice for groups including Derbyshire Law Centre and Citizens Advice Mid Mercia.
Derbyshire County Council has stated that out of the total 50 organisations, seven would be affected by both sets of proposals under Adult Social Care, and Corporate Services and Transformation if they are finalised.
Cllr Natalie Hoy, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, has said the council is facing increasing financial pressures outside its control like many other councils so the grants are having to be reviewed.
She has explained many organisations have been receiving grants for up to 20 years but people’s aspirations, needs and preferences for support have changed, so Cllr Hoy has argued it has become essential to spend limited funding wisely in the current financial climate.
All the groups receiving funding were previously told in 2022 the grants would cease and the council would commission services where required but due to budget pressures this commissioning did not get underway and the council has since stated it is having to prioritise over other areas its statutory services which have to be fulfilled by law.
A council spokesperson added: “We have a responsibility to ensure that we are making the best use of our finite resources to support people fairly across the whole of the county and that we are protecting services for those people who need us most.
“Like many other councils across the country we are facing significant budget pressures that are beyond our control which means we must consider how we use the resources we have available to ensure we can continue to deliver services we have to by law.”
Derbyshire County Council is addressing a number of saving proposals to manage a budget deficit of over £39m for the current 2024/25 financial year.
The council has blamed its plight on reduced Government funding, the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, higher than anticipated inflation, higher prices for fuel, energy and materials, meeting the cost of the national pay award and the growing demand for adults’ and children’s social care services.
