County council u-turns on plans to cut High Peak volunteer funding by 44 per cent

Proposals put forward by Derbyshire County Council would have meant four voluntary organisations across the borough having funds slashed from £73,000 to £41,000.

In April James Bromley, of High Peak Community and Voluntary Support (CVS), described how help for the vulnerable and elderly would ‘disappear’ if the funding went ahead.

He also criticised the council over its timing - as the consultation was announced in February just as the Covid-19 outbreak was beginning to worsen.

However Ruth George, Whaley Bridge councillor and former High Peak MP, told this week how the council had confirmed the cuts would not go ahead in October as planned.

Though Ruth added that Carol Hart, the council’s member for health ‘refused to give concrete assurance’ regarding funding after October.

Councillor Hart told a full council meeting revised proposals would be put before a cabinet meeting at the end of July.

At present the High Peak allocation is split between Connex Community Support, New Mills Volunteer Centre, The Bureau and High Peak CVS.

The original proposals sought to reduce the amount spent on the voluntary sector across Derbyshire and equalise the amount spent on each area.

Ruth said: “High Peak was the area of Derbyshire worst affected by these cuts.

“We’ve historically received a higher share of funding - reflecting our widespread area with very different needs in each of our communities and that we have very few other local support services.

“Any review needs to take account of these local differences and I’ll be fighting to make sure it does.”

Speaking about the paused cuts plan High Peak Community CVS’ James Bromley said the voluntary sector had shown how ‘vital’ it was in caring for the community during the pandemic.

He said: “We have seen new community groups form to care for those in their neighbourhood, current groups adapting to the needs of the community and offering essential support such as shopping and prescription collection and organisations working collaboratively to ensure that no one is left isolated and unable to seek help.

“This couldn’t have happened without the incredible pool of volunteers and community groups that have come together and the infrastructure support led by High Peak CVS, Connex, The Bureau and New Mills Volunteer Centre has been essential in supporting this.

“The announcement regarding the delay in funding cuts is welcomed and we are looking forward to continuing to work really closely with Derbyshire County Council and discuss the next steps as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We recognise the important work done by the voluntary and community sector in Derbyshire and we’d like to thank everyone for their magnificent efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve spent the last 18 months working with the sector to establish a fairer and more consistent way of funding infrastructure groups and we held a consultation into proposals to create stability in the sector while bringing them in line with the council’s ambitions and priorities.

“We all recognise that Covid-19 has changed the context and landscape and more than ever has highlighted the need to ensure that in future there is a core, consistent offer across all parts of the county while not disadvantaging any area in terms of a reduction to existing funding allocations.

“A report is currently being prepared to go before cabinet at the end of July which takes into account not only the comments received during the consultation but also the impact of the pandemic.”

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