We asked the Banes Cabinet the following question on behalf of our members:
Question
"After 10 years of austerity, the Covid19 pandemic has shown how essential the VSCE community is to people's wellbeing and ability to be supported. Can we ask the Cabinet how they plan to ensure the most marginalised in our community and the charities that support them are not further impacted?"
Answer
"As the question highlights, Covid-19 has brought into sharp relief inequalities in our communities but also the key role of third sector organisations in improving people’s lives and supporting our most vulnerable. Our Compassionate Communities Hub has demonstrated how close working across a wide range of organisations can transform how we do this. I and my cabinet colleagues are determined that this approach will continue.
It is also important that we design and develop this in close co-operation with the partners involved. So I am delighted that we now have a Compassionate Communities steering group to take this forward and I look forward to further strengthening our joint working with 3SG and other partners through this.
Getting timely support for our third sector is particularly crucial at the moment and so we have also championed support for charities and community organisations through the Government’s Discretionary Grant scheme. To date this has delivered £125,000 of grants to our local community organisations." Councillor Dine Romero