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RESOLVED:
 
1. 
Extending the current multiyear grants (2024-25) as set
out in Appendix 1 until 31 October 2025 using grant programme
reserves of £301,193, as VCS funding from the new redesigned
grants programme will not commence until November 2025 subject to
Cabinet approval in June, was agreed. This includes:
 
· 
Funding for advice services that was due to run for
three years from 2023- 2026 will now end five months early on 31
October 2025 in order for the new redesigned VCS grants programme
to be implemented to run from November 2025.
 
· 
Community Infrastructure grants that are due to end in
March 2025 be extended to 31 October 2025 as funding through the
redesigned grants programme that organisations could potentially
apply for will not be in place until November 2025.
 
· 
Funding for Specialist Grants extended until 31 October
as funding through the redesigned grants programme that
organisations could potentially apply for will not be in place
until November 2025.
 
2. 
One year funding for Adventure Playgrounds and the associated
infrastructure support totalling £288,566.00 was
agreed.
 
3. 
Incorporating the annual Lunch Clubs budget of
£203,800 into the VCS Grants Programme and associated
redesign from October 2025 when the current arrangements with
existing Lunch Clubs expire, was agreed.
 
4. 
Setting aside £158,000 of the remaining grant
programme budget reserves for any additional grant funding needed
to aid the transition to the new financial envelope and manage
risks as they emerge, and delegating authority to approve the use
of these to the Director of Corporate Strategy & Transformation
in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social
Care, Voluntary Sector and the Deputy Cabinet Member for
Strengthening Neighbourhoods, were agreed.
 
5. 
It was noted that as a result of the budget reduction
to the grants programme and the need to extend funding to those
organisations in multi-year arrangements there will be no
one year project grant funding for VCS
organisations in 2025/26.
 
6. 
Contributing to the London borough’s grant scheme
administered by London Councils 2025/26 was agreed, and it was
noted that the contribution will be £197,521. This is
budgeted for separately and is not included in the grants budget
outlined below.
 
REASONS FOR DECISION
 
Cabinet is asked to agree the funding levels,
timetable and details of the Hackney Voluntary and Community Sector
Grants programme for the first seven months of 2025/26 as a key
decision of the Council as it affects two or more wards and is
related to Council spend. Details of organisations and levels of
funding can be found in Appendix 1.
 
VCS Grants
programme spend April 2025 to October 2025
 

Funding stream

Amount for 7 months

Advice Services

£623,992

Community
Infrastructure

£268,538

Specialist Grants

£227,792

Adventure
Playgrounds

£168,330

Lunch clubs

£118,883

TOTAL

£1,407,534

 
VCS Grants Budget
2025/26
 

A

Annual programme budget
available after savings reduction

£1,896,586

B

Seven month budget April to
October 2025

£1,106,342

C

Budget to fund planned grant
extensions April to October 2025

£1,407,534

D

Budget needed from grant
programme reserves = B-C

£301,193

 
The Council is having to reduce the VCS grants
programme by £820,000 from 2025/26. In order to make the most
effective use of the remaining budget the Council is refreshing the
VCS Strategy in order to inform the redesign of the grants
programme. The time tabling of this has meant that it has not been
possible to launch a redesigned programme that would commence
delivery in 
April 2025. The current timetable plans to launch the
redesigned grants programme in July with implementation of grants
from October.
 
Cabinet is being asked to extend grants rather
than leave organisations currently in multi
year delivery arrangements without a grant or the
opportunity to apply for a new one. The budget of £301,193 to
extend these will come from the reserve that has been integrated
into the grants programme budget over the years in order to respond
to unanticipated crises such as the Pandemic.
 
The extension allows services to our most
vulnerable and disadvantaged residents to continue whilst the new
programme is put in place. It also provides an opportunity for
those organisations currently in multi-year funding arrangements to
consider and put in place measures to mitigate against the loss or
reduction in grant from the Council. The reduction of the budget
for the programme and the use of the existing reserves does mean
that it will be very difficult to hold reserves for any future
unforeseen events.
 
Cabinet is also being asked to delegate use of
a small amount of grant programme reserves of £158,000, to
provide some contingency for risks that may emerge over the coming
months that could impact the implementation of the new grants
programme. For example, the Council could not have foreseen the
temporary closure of applications for funding for one year that was
announced by City Bridge Foundation in September. As the second
largest provider of grants to the VCS in Hackney this is likely to
present new funding challenges for local organisations.
 
The extensive engagement undertaken over two
years to inform the current VCS Strategy ensured that it has
remained relevant. However, the context has changed considerably as
our communities have been through a pandemic, we are still in a
cost of living crisis and both the VCS and local government are
faced with unprecedented financial challenges. The new ways of
working between VCS organisations and the Council developed during
the pandemic have enabled officers to continue to learn about the
opportunities and challenges for the VCS in their work supporting
communities. This has all provided a rich understanding and insight
to inform the refresh of the VCS Strategy.
 
We have tested and reflected back to the VCS
the relevance of the current strategy and what has been learnt over
the past four years. Ten open invite, online events were undertaken
in the autumn. These have provided an opportunity for VCS partners
to challenge the Council’s understanding of the issues and
potential solutions to the five headline themes set out in the
current strategy, as well as fill any gaps in our knowledge. In
addition, sessions have been held for the Charedi VCS and
organisations led by and for Black and Global Majority communities.
A series of open invite sessions were also held in December to
enable VCS partners to raise issues and/or solutions that may have
not been identified in any of the key themes and for general
discussion.
 
Further in-person engagement sessions are
planned with the sector over the coming months that will include
open invite meetings as well as those that will follow a social
research approach to ensure balance. These sessions will provide an
opportunity for the VCS and Council staff to reflect on and develop
the principles for the design of the new grants programme. These
design principles will be informed by the emerging VCS Strategy
refresh and also reflect the Council’s learning from the new
Equality Plan and Transformation Programme. The aim is to have
completed the refreshed VCS Strategy and a redesign of the grants
programme by the summer in order to present these to the
Council’s Cabinet in June.
 
DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND
REJECTED
 
Given the budgetary pressures facing the
Council the future of the VCS Grants Programme has had to be
reviewed. Consideration has been given to the reductions in public
spending through welfare cuts and reduced grants to local
government which can lead to increased demands upon the VCS. The
unique position of the VCS to respond to the needs of the most
vulnerable and disadvantaged residents as well as its ability to
deliver added value e.g. through inward investment and volunteering
necessitates a grant programme that ensures that the sector can
continue to thrive and build resilience to mitigate the impacts of
the pandemic and in the face of further budget reductions.