Communities and Culture Committee

CC(3) 04-07 (p2): 24 October 2007

Inquiry into the funding of voluntary sector organisations in wales

Introduction - Clubs for Young People Wales has its origins dating back to 1928 from 'one penny contributions to the collier boys clubs from coal miners through their pay packets’ through numerous organisational name changes ie South Wales Miners’ Federation of Boys’ Clubs, Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs of Wales, to the most recent - Clubs for Young People Wales (CYP Wales).

Aim - To support and assist in the physical, educational and ethical development of young people, through their leisure time activity, so that they may mature as responsible individuals and as valued and active members of their communities.

Extent of youth work delivery - CYP Wales is a national voluntary youth organisation with 250 affiliated clubs, serving 30,000 young people, supported by 3,500 volunteers. The contribution to the Welsh economy is estimated at, as a minimum, £11½M. It is the second largest voluntary youth organisation in Wales. It delivers its youth work utilising mainly sport and activity as its vehicle. Annual HQ turnover - £250,000 and CYP Wales deserves recognition for the work it contributes to the youth work scene in Wales.

Current funding from wag - Income is sourced from:

Annual National Voluntary Youth Organisation 2005-2008 - £67,785. This assists in the support of our core staff (one Administration Officer, one Finance/Field Services Officer and a Chief Executive), premises and ancillary services.
Investors in People Programme - £1,656 (payable to mentor)
Professional Staff Development Training - £480.

Funding for staff, services, projects etc is fought for through Big Lottery Fund, Sports Council for Wales, WCVA sources, Trust Funds, Foundations, donations and fund raising events.

The future for cyp wales - In line with WAG’s Future Strategy for Youth Work in Wales we have decided to restructure our delivery process by regionalising our staff complement of 4 Development Officers. To avoid the insecurity of Lottery funding and to improve continuity and security of staff we will be applying to WAG for an increase in our NVYO grant to accommodate these 4 Development Officers. It is envisaged that the effectiveness/efficiency/quality of delivery to our affiliated clubs will be enhanced by the work of dedicated officers.

CYP Wales has achieved a partnership with a major building services company, Connaught. Through this partnership we will be developing a training programme for young people interested in apprenticeships in the building trades. We will apply through ESF to achieve this. Connaught are committing £100,000 pa to a club refurbishment programme as part of their Corporate Responsibility Policy.

In order to improve our financial situation CYP Wales is researching a strategy of involvement of volunteers engaged in the formation of charity shops and in a major poster campaign.

We have formed a partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme to enable us to deliver our Keystone Award Scheme to young people aged between 10 + 14 years. Other partners include Sports Leaders UK, national governing bodies of sport in Wales, Environment Agency, Sports Council for Wales, Food Standards Agency etc.

Suggestions to consider

Fundamental to our future development is an increase in the amount of money awarded through the National Voluntary Youth Organisation grant. This will enable us to further engage in WAG’s policies for young people - 14-19 Pathway, Extending Entitlement, Climbing Higher etc - as well as support for our own agenda. Infrastructure must be reviewed and improved by financial support from WAG.
CYP Wales already has a structure/strategy to offer WAG a poster campaign aimed at young people eg healthy eating, careers prospects, participation, involvement in politics, lifelong learning opportunities.
Most of the WAG funding of monies, intended to improve youth services for all, and distributed through local authorities, stay within that authority eg Youth Worker Training Budget, Cymorth.
Welsh Language support. Considering that CYP Wales has the second largest number of young people involvement, most of its members are non-Welsh speaking yet we receive no specific funding to engage bilingually with our members eg I applied for £750 from the Welsh Language Board to translate and produce a Welsh version of our main purpose leaflet and received £250. This is the only amount received from the Language Board by CYP Wales ever. CYP Wales is committed to a total bilingual policy within four years. Support is essential.

Some WCVA distributed funds are inadequate resulting in, for example, Millennium Volunteers losing new opportunities to engage young people. The panel has to look for reasons to reject good applications. We find that the cost of WCVA training events/seminars are too expensive for our voluntary clubs to attend.

Direct support to voluntary clubs - Until recently, CYP Wales had its own source of funding to clubs in terms of assistance in repairs/renewals, training etc. This has now 'dried up’. Would WAG consider support to our affiliated clubs by CYP Wales becoming the main distributor to ensure that these funds are distributed to those who deserve it most.

Dave Evans
Chief Executive - Clubs for Young People Wales