Report of the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services

The committee received a report providing an update on the recommendations made by the voluntary sector strategy and the W3RT task group.

Councillor Saffery introduced the work of the task group. The task group had been set up in the wake of the pandemic and the work around the community fund to support local charities through Covid. The recommendations sought to review the CVS function and ensure the partnership between the council and W3RT remained strong and effective. Significant progress had been made to date and the emergency support would result in a positive legacy for the community.

The Head of Leisure and Environmental Services introduced the report to the committee. The report provided an update on two parallel pieces of work which took place in 2020/21: the voluntary sector strategy and the W3RT scrutiny task group. There was a liaison group chaired by the Deputy Mayor which charted the progress on an ongoing basis. A number of recommendations were complete and others remained ongoing. Some required a multi-agency approach which were being progressed through the liaison group. There was good progress across a range of areas.

The Head of Community Development at W3RT, Clare Baars Gordon, introduced herself to the committee. There was an emphasis on collaboration and partnership working in the sector and beyond with the business sector.

Responding to a question about levels of volunteers and the challenges of working in hybrid ways. Officers noted that the hybrid approach to meetings was welcomed not least for its sustainability benefits.  The council was in the process of implementing hybrid technology for meetings and there were also grants available from funders to create hybrid spaces.

Clare Baars-Gordon advised that Covid had had a significant impact on volunteering nationally. Many volunteers were of retirement age and they were beginning to return to their roles. There was an opportunity to engage other groups within the community such as young people and those of working age.

Discussing the engagement with young people, it was noted that W3RT were working with West Herts College and sixth forms to encourage more students to engage with volunteering to enhance their skills development and to benefit the community. The committee was advised that 19% of support provided was for younger people, including for mental health and wellbeing.

Addressing the cost of living crisis, food poverty charities were reporting significant challenges this year. Discussions were ongoing with the council and the Chamber of Commerce around logistics and space. Information from support services was regularly shared. The CAB was also supporting residents with energy costs.

Discussing engagement with the business sector, the team at W3RT had experience in this and held monthly discussions with the Chamber of Commerce. Corporate volunteering programmes created benefits for all involved.

Councillor Saffery commented that the task group’s recommendation sought to create a framework for ongoing work and improvement. The council’s role was to be a facilitator and he noted that physical space remained a challenge for local groups.  He was pleased with all that had been achieved.

Responding to a question about how the councillors can support the sector, Bob Jones asked that the council and councillors continue to promote volunteering and community engagement at its broadest level. The voluntary sector had sometimes been seen as an adjunct of formal statutory services. It was important that the sector was not seen as a delivery arm but as an alternative. 

Providing further details about W3RT’s hospital discharge service, it was noted that W3RT was one of the lead agencies in the community navigator service which undertook community prescribing services. There were two projects: one trained volunteers to call people on hospital waiting lists. The other provided volunteers who regularly called patients following discharge and ensure they were well-supported to reduce readmissions to hospital.

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Dychton, highlighted how challenging the last two years had been for community groups. The partnership had pooled communities and funds to support all groups. She was proud of all that had been achieved.

It was agreed that the progress of the recommendations would be reviewed again. The Chair expressed her thanks to the attendees for their input.

RESOLVED –

that the updates on the recommendations be noted.