Huge cash boost for voluntary groups

LIVERPOOL City Council is inviting bids for up to £4 million in grants for voluntary and community groups.  The 3 year fund will run from April 2008 through to April 2011 and will see up to £4.2 million given each year to organisations under 5 themes:-

· Community legal advice services

· Support for victims of domestic violence

· Non-housing support for single homeless people

· Stronger communities

·Strengthening community and voluntary organisations

Around 80 organisations have received money under the existing three year scheme, which was launched in 2005 after the council carried out a thorough review to incorporate government best practice. In 2006/7, organisations which were funded through the programme:

· Gave 4000 vulnerable adults and disabled people days out

· Recovered £4.3 million of welfare benefit arrears for local people

· Provided 36,000 meals for elderly, vulnerable people

· Helped recruit 700 volunteers

Councillor Flo Clucas, chair of the voluntary sector panel, said:- “Liverpool is one of the most generous cities in the country when it comes to funding the voluntary sector because we recognise the valuable role it plays in regenerating the local community.  We work hard to make sure that every single penny is spent wisely, and the information provided by the organisations that we have funded over the last three years demonstrates quite clearly that the existing programme has been an outstanding success.

I am proud that we fund so many voluntary groups and I would urge organisations who think they may qualify for funding to come forward.  Unfortunately, we don’t have a bottomless pit of money but I can assure people that every single application will be carefully scrutinised based upon its merits and everyone given the chance to put their case.”

The Voluntary and Community Groups scheme is just one of several funding schemes run by the city council. Others include:-

· £300,000 made available through the community chest scheme for small grass roots community projects.

· £440,000 given to cultural organisations to run small scale “Creative Communities” projects linked to Capital of Culture.

· £2.7 million in grants to youth organisations for projects which engage children and teenagers.

In total, the city council gives £7.6 million to voluntary, cultural and educational organisations – believed to be one of the largest grant programmes of any local authority in the UK.

Full guidance and an application pack are available from www.liverpool.gov.uk and clicking on the Community Grants link in the A-Z index.

More information is also available by calling 0151 225 2316/2541.

Briefing sessions will be held to give support and advice to groups who are applying.  The closing date for applications is 15 October 2007.

 Liverpool is Supporting People well

LIVERPOOL’S Supporting People programme has been transformed over the last 2 years, according to a team of independent inspectors. 

The service, which has a £42 million annual budget, gives 10,500 people the opportunity to improve their quality of life by providing a stable living environment to help them avoid life in a care home, hospital or on the street.  It has been ranked as a “fair programme that has excellent prospects for improvement” - a major turnaround compared to the last time investigators came to Liverpool in December 2005, when they ranked the department as “poor with uncertain prospects for improvement”.

The inspectors have praised the “speed of improvement” over the last 9 months and say it is beginning to result in “improved outcomes for vulnerable people”. They believe there is now a “clear direction and improved leadership” and commend the city council for responding well to support from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Audit Commission over the last year. They also note the service is now exceeding many of its targets.

Councillor Dave Antrobus, Executive Member for Adult Social Care, said:- “I am delighted that the huge amount of hard work that has gone in to turning around the Supporting People programme has been recognised by the inspectors.  This has been a major priority for the city council over the last couple of years and I am pleased that we have gone a long way to dealing with many of the challenges identified during the last inspection.”

Supporting People assists a move to independent living for people who have perhaps been homeless, in hospital, in prison or those with learning difficulties or mental health or drug problems. The service pays for them to be equipped with what are described as “life skills” such as cooking, paying bills or budgeting.

Tony Hunter, Executive Director of Community Services, said:- “There has been a tremendous amount of progress in a relatively short space of time and that has been acknowledged by the inspection team.  For a service to move up the rankings as we have in such a short space of time is virtually unheard of.  It shows we are now completely focused on identifying the people who can benefit and delivering excellent quality support to enable them to improve their lives.

I would like to pay tribute to the team managing the programme who have been completely dedicated to transforming it, and to elected members for their support in helping us make the changes which have resulted in the turnaround.  I am particularly delighted that we have been given excellent prospects for improvement, because it demonstrates the inspectors have confidence in our future plans.”

The Supporting People programme – which is the second largest in the country - is not used to fund social care, general housing or health needs.

Paul Clarke, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector for the North West, said:- “Liverpool has made significant progress in turning around the previously ‘poor’ rated programme. This has resulted in improvements to the housing related support available for the residents of Liverpool.  We found a number of positive aspects in the way the programme is being delivered, and efforts have been made to develop a sound foundation which we are confident will lead to further improvements in the programme.”

The inspectors have made a series of recommendations to enable the service to continue to improve. These include strengthening the monitoring of its performance and outcomes, and improving access and information relating to services.