Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: September 30, 2024

Purpose:

Content: 12.1 The Health Improvement Principal submitted a report that sought approval for a grant to Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS) to support their proposal to develop and evaluate culturally appropriate and inclusive support systems for frontline voluntary and community sector (VCS) staff.     12.2 RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Communities, Parks and Leisure Policy Committee approves a grant of up to £94,564 to Voluntary Action Sheffield for work to develop and evaluate support systems for frontline voluntary and community sector workers.     12.3 Reasons for Decision     12.3.1 VAS has strong relationships with a wide range of VCS organisations and groups across the city and has provided leadership and support for the sector in Sheffield for over 90 years.     12.3.2 Given VAS’s role and relationships, the pressing need to improve support systems for frontline VCS staff and the learning from their work to date in testing clinical supervision, VAS is best placed to take forward this proposal.     12.3.3 As well as benefiting the participating organisations, the findings from this work and its evaluation will be shared with both the wider VCS in the city and the wider health and care system across Sheffield and South Yorkshire. This will seek to influence thinking and practice on how best to support frontline staff across a range of organisations and sectors, in particular with regard to providing culturally appropriate and inclusive support.     12.4 Alternatives Considered and Rejected     12.4.1 Alternative option 1:   Do nothing.   Due to the time constraints for submitting proposals for Public Health Grant Reserves funding, it was not felt possible to consider other options for taking forward work of this nature. The alternative would therefore have been to not submit a proposal for Public Health Grant Reserves and do nothing.   However, given the pressing need to improve support systems for frontline VCS staff in the city, and the risks of not taking action for their mental health and wellbeing, and the wellbeing of the workforce as a whole, the option of doing nothing was rejected.