CC(3) VS29

Committee Inquiry: Funding of Voluntary Sector Organisations - Evidence From Age Concern Neath Port Talbot

Issue 1

Ease of difficulty of obtaining funding from the Welsh Assembly Government or relevant national funding bodies.

Is the committee aware that all Age Concern Organisations and groups are entirely independent?  This means that funding for all - Wales bodies is only available to Age Concern Cymru, an organisation which does not deliver direct services for older people.  With the exception of an annual £500 Winter Campaign grant, service providers such as our own organisation, have no access to the funding received by AC Cymru.

Issue 4

Any other comments relevant to the inquiry.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s support for the third sector is, in principle most welcome by our organisation.  However, the emphasis on capacity-building of intermediary organisations (such as CVC’s) whose purpose is to provide services and support to other voluntary sector organisations has significant implications for the sector - not all of which are positive (see below).

Duplication

We are increasingly experiencing duplication of support offered by such providers.  Duplication is wasteful of resources.  To give a practical example, in the last couple of weeks our organisation received details of local diversity training on offer from three such organisations.  Our perception is that some of these organisations are losing focus and impinging on other organisations work.

Quality Issues

Quality Issues are also of concern.  You will see from the copy letters, attached, that the shortage of appropriately qualified and experienced community development professionals is an ongoing issue.  This shortage has been exacerbated by the increase in the number of posts available in "umbrella” organisations and Community 1^st partnerships.  Unqualified and inexperienced staff affect the quality of outcomes.  Our local CVC has experienced massive growth in staff numbers over the last few years.

Opportunity Cost

Funding only all-Wales and intermediary organisation creates an opportunity cost too.  Local providers of direct public services continue to be disadvantaged by the current funding priorities, which places the future of much used, essential services and support in jeopardy.

User Consultation: intermediary bodies return on investment

Given the amount of public funding being invested in intermediary bodies, such as WCVA, CVC’s Age Concern Cymru, etc, has any user consultation been carried out or is any in progress, to assess the return on investment?  User refers to local voluntary sector organisations and groups these bodies are set up to support.

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