Introduction
This paper is intended to provide information for the multi-sector meeting. If focusses on areas of detail to help our conversation about how we can work better together.
North Yorkshire Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector – Size and Characteristics
- over 7,400 registered charities and informal organisations, of a total of 14,400 across Humber Coast and Vale (HCV) ICS (13,500) area and Craven (870) area
- 9,850 paid staff (FTE), 41% of organisations employ staff, down from 50% pre-Covid
- over 67,700 volunteers, averaging 72 hrs per year, 20% turnover of volunteers 2020/21
- 5.3 VCSE organisations per 1,000 population compared to 3.5 per 1,000 population across HCV, possibly reflecting the rurality of the county, with small communities all of which will have a range of VCSE groups, responding to people’s interests and needs
- 48% of organisations have an annual turnover of less than £10,000
- 37% of organisations earn more than half of their income from trading
- funding from grants excluding Local Authorities funding, per head of population range from £63 in Harrogate and £54 in Hambleton, to £13 in Selby and £18 in Richmondshire.
Sources: North Yorkshire VCSE Resilience Survey; Yorkshire and Humber VCSE Economic and Social Impact Research; Yorkshire Funding Ecology Report
Resilience - Key Messages from North Yorkshire Wider Partnership Conference Workshop November 2021
Definition of resilience:
- flexibility/adaptability/ staying positive about tackling challenges
- planning for times of challenge
- ability to bounce back when things are hard
Barriers to achieving resilience:
- increased workload and complexity of demands on workforce
- ‘red tape’
- impact of Covid – both in emotional terms and from burnout
- recruitment and retention difficulties
- evolution of relationships due to limited face to face contact
- financial pressures
Solutions to help build resilience in the VCSE sector:
- secure funding/contracts with longer terms and full cost recovery
- partnership working and sharing experience and skills between VCSEs and public sectors
- develop more collaborative commissioning processes and training for funders and commissioners
- training and career pathway opportunities for young people to encourage them into the VCSE sector
Support needs:
- a platform/Sector Academy to enable skills sharing and development and building skills and confidence
- training for commissioners/funders to consider and improve more proportionate approaches to accountability, performance management and application processes
- continued flexible approach to contracts with longer terms and funding full cost recovery to enable involvement in collaborative projects, investment in IT and facilities,
- continuing and improved communication.
Source: NYCC Wider Partnership Conference
VCSE Economic and Social Impact Across Humber Coast and Vale Integrated Care System Area
- the total financial value of VCSEs is put at between £3.5bn to £4.2bn, with a multiplier of between 3.1 and 3.8 added value for every £1 invested
- the most significant areas of impact are on personal health, personal wellbeing, community wellbeing and financial security
- there is potential for greater impact to be realised by VCSEs in areas of economic and community development, employment and supporting people with disabilities
- impact in rural areas is perceived by VCSEs to be lower than in urban areas.
Inclusive Engagement Humber, Coast and Vale Research highlights
- relationship building with organisations supporting diverse communities needs to increase
- concern about the level of trust culturally diverse communities have in predominantly white led organisations and structures.
Source: Inclusive Engagement
National, Regional, Local and Operational changes and challenges
National changes and challenges
- the amount of ring fenced funding to enable adaptation of VCSE sector frontline services as part of the recovery process, has not increased in comparison with other sectors
- new competitive funding opportunities coming through. For example, the Community Renewal Fund, paved the way for the launch of the Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022
Regional and local changes and challenges
- some groups are emerging from lockdown with reduced resilience, leading to an increase in charity closure enquiries in some parts of the county
- on-going system pressure discussions are focussed on the role of the sector in delivering non-regulated services and new solutions
- VCSE workforce recruitment and retention for both paid staff and volunteers
- reliance on, and expectation of, volunteers as a solution to wider staffing difficulties
- interest in responding to climate change and opportunities has grown.
Operational - continued reduced funding supply and impact on liquidity
- reduced funding supply going into 2022
- funders such as the National Lottery, are receiving record numbers of applications
- information asked for to support bids is providing significant additional work and pressure
- length of grant agreements and contracts over multiple years is essential to drive stability of staffing in the sector and continuation of service provision for beneficiaries.
Operational - increased energy bills in year and an uncertain outlook for 2022
- forecasted energy price increases will require building owners and tenants to adapt their pricing models whilst trying to mitigate the impact on community groups using the venues.
Operational - significant changes to local government and NHS structures adding to uncertainty
- potential loss of understanding and established relationships between VCSE and partners
- anxiety can be mitigated by regular and clear communication about the future.
