Agenda item

In December 2010 members of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a report on the development of a voluntary sector strategy in Brent. At the time a new Council for Voluntary Services was being developed by the sector and members asked for representatives of the new CVS to return to the committee once their business plans were developed.

The committee received a presentation from Danny Maher, Chair of CVS Brent, a charitable organisation which started approximately 11 months previously, to give a unified voice to individuals and organisations working in the voluntary sector. Danny Maher outlined the values and principles of the organisation and indicated that they were also willing to work with the private sector and was open to new funding sources. Local groups would be encouraged to be more sustainable and to move away from traditional sources of support. He was pleased to announce the appointment of the CVS’ Chief Executive, Tessa Awe, due to start on 1 April 2012 the appointment of whom was seen to be a significant achievement and to introduce her to the meeting.  Other newsworthy items were the start of the Transforming Local Infrastructure (TLI) programme, a project to enable groups to access services through digital platforms and IT.  Additionally, negotiations were taking place with the council over a venue for the service. Danny Maher also looked forward to the forthcoming annual meeting and the handover from the steering group to a Board. He thanked the council for its support.

Members in discussion asked how the CVS would identify and meet challenges in Brent and address the loss of confidence. Danny Maher responded that there were many opportunities in Brent which was seen to be one of the least lottery funded authorities. The concern was over capacity to access. An increase in CVS membership would provide evidence of an attitudinal change and the service aimed to bridge the gap and raise awareness. There were a number of projects/groups in Brent and the CVS competing for funding would encourage partnerships and joint bidding. There was already evidence of increasing confidence with the CVS with regular attendance at meetings of 85 organisations. The service would provide strong leadership and number of events and initiatives were already planned, for example, the TLI which had to be delivered within 18 months.

On a venue for the service, Danny Maher stated that the service was keen to move away from large, spacious accommodation which was recognised as being unfeasible. What was needed was a flexible start up accommodation, even private sector rental was not ruled out, from which staff would hot desk and which could provide training opportunities. Jo McCormick (Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) confirmed that consideration was being given to a venue with a robust business case. Tessa Awe would be working from a location in Kilburn.

Members also asked questions on the membership criteria, available options for mentoring and how would the CVS measure success. Danny Maher advised that there were different levels of membership which was fee based. Larger organisations had indicated a willingness to mentor and to encourage other organisations to be more outward facing. A successful CVS would have earned increased funding, a reduction in the number of problems. He also confirmed that in order to identify organisations’ needs, skill audits would be conducted and that the anticipated staffing level was two, with a maximum of five.

The committee thanked Danny Maher for his introduction to the service which was both interesting and challenging and wished them every success.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the role of a CVS and its importance in the present policy context to represent and support the development of the voluntary sector to the benefit of Brent residents be noted

(ii)        that the  business plan and strategic and operational plan underpinning the work of CVS Brent as the umbrella representative organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Brent set out in appendices 1 and 2 of the report from the Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement be noted.