Agenda item

This report sets out a response to an issue, raised by Councillor Murray, concerning the future of the RVS Older People’s Centre.

Discussion

Councillor Murray introduced the Member’s item on the future of the RVS Older People’s Centre. The Committee was asked to note that the Save the Centre Committee was an independent group that was not connected to RVS. It was recognised that the Council no longer wished to provide grant based funding, preferring instead to contract services and establish targets that could be monitored.

Councillor Murray said that the grant for the Centre had been withdrawn suddenly with there having been no time to put alternative and more sustainable arrangements in place, although the small funding reprieve in the Council budget was welcome. The RVS Centre had a commitment to help the Council to reduce social isolation and help people to maintain good health and independence in later life. The Centre was also good value for money and had the ability to make the three conversations model for social care work well.

It was recognised that the provision of funding was challenging. Centre volunteers helped to fundraise by running a café, which made about £30,000 a year, with Centre users also helping to raise funds for other charitable causes. The move to a new delivery model could not take place in a matter of months. RVS currently paid £18,000 in rent per year for the Centre. Relocating the Centre would be difficult as there were few suitable alternatives, particularly as the Centre was already ideally located in central Chatham. The Centre had two paid staff who organised and supported volunteers and facilitated the general management of the Centre.

A number of Centre users, volunteers and other representatives of the Centre and RVS addressed the Committee, the key points of which were as follows:

Nikki Williams, volunteer – Had been recovering from mental health difficulties when she discovered the Centre, subsequently becoming a volunteer. Her volunteering role included 1 to 1 tuition for mobile phone and tablet users and helping in the café. Centre users considered themselves to be a family and did not want to be split up. They were also concerned by the possible relocation of the centre. Ms Williams had been forced to stop working following an injury last year. She considered that attending the centre had helped her enormously since and that it had possibly saved her life.

Lillian Lyons, centre user and volunteer– She had previously volunteered at Age Concern before becoming a volunteer at the RVS Centre when it had opened eight years ago. The Centre was excellent in helping people to overcome loneliness and to find friends and activities and she would be devastated if it were to close. As Ms Lyons was unable to lift heavy items, staff at the centre did her weekly shopping and delivered it to her.

Jenny Woodman, Centre user, volunteer and befriender – discovered the centre following the death of her daughter and was now a volunteer helping with knitting/crochet, bingo and the book club. She had also become a befriender, although this scheme had been withdrawn by RVS. Volunteers were concerned at the move towards a volunteer led model as they did not want the extra responsibility. The Centre had helped Ms Woodham come to terms with the death of her daughter and its closure would break her heart. There needed to be more similar facilities for older people.

Barbara Taylor, Chair Save our Centre Committee – Funding was a real challenge, this made it imperative that public funds were spent responsibly. The Centre was a special place that helped depressed, lonely and isolated users who would not be able to cope without it.

Eight years ago, the Council had provided initial funding of £100,000 for the Centre and a subsequent annual grant of £35,000. There had been no performance monitoring; therefore the significant benefits of the Centre to the local community could not be fully appreciated. The Centre was recognised as a centre of excellence for the elderly. It was a safe haven to promote health and wellbeing and was centrally located. There were no other similar facilities in Medway. No impact assessment had been undertaken to ascertain what services would be lost and who would be affected if the Centre were to close. The relocation of the Centre would not be welcome, with alternative venues suggested, such as in a pub, being unsuitable. The new service model being proposed would be volunteer-led with no accountability for the delivery of services.

Closure of the Centre was likely to result in an overall increased cost to the health and social care system as the Centre helped to prevent its users needing other services. Local authorities were under a duty to help improve the independence and wellbeing of people in the local community. Therefore, it could be argued that the Council had a statutory duty to fund the Centre.

Ms Taylor was extremely disappointed that the Council was no longer prepared to support the centre financially and said that thousands of signatures had been collected in support of keeping it open. A demonstration had been held to this affect outside the February 2018 Budget Council meeting. Local MP, Tracey Crouch, had stated in a letter sent to the Council on 23 January 2018 that she had concerns that the long term cost of the centre closure would be significantly more expensive than the £45,000 saved. The £17,500 of funding allocated by the Council was considered to be insulting, particularly as £75,000 had been allocated to Christmas car parking and the sum allocated would only enable the Centre to operate until the end of August 2018.

Rebecca Kennelly- RVS Charity – Gave personal thanks to the Save the Centre Committee for their campaign to keep the centre open. RVS was a national third sector organisation that aimed to support older people. There had been a significant decline in resources available with RVS having to implement a challenging new model to ensure future sustainability. RVS had provided £171,000 of funding to the Chatham Centre over the last seven years. RVS would work hard to enable it to continue but there was currently not enough funding available without a Council contribution. With no Council funding, the Centre would require £50,000 per year to operate and it would take significant local effort and time to successfully transition to a new delivery model.

The Older People’s Centre currently supported 70 to 100 older people each week. 80% of Centre users were aged over 75. The average volunteer age was 62, 93% of Centre users said that it made them better able to cope with day to difficulties, 95% had more social contact as a result, while 96% said the Centre helped them to do the things they wanted to do and live the life they wanted to lead. 96% also said that the Centre helped them to feel healthier.

Ms Kennelly appealed for the Council to provide funding for the Centre and stated that if the current premises were no longer viable then a rent free alternative would be needed. It was hoped that there could be strong partnership working with the Council going forward.

Ms Kennelly was asked by an audience member whether she had spoken with the landlord of the Centre about a possible reduction in rent. It was confirmed that a letter had been sent but that no reply had yet been received.

A Member said that a number of Councillors had voted against the Council Budget. He saw the RVS as being an excellent example of volunteering and also saw the community benefits of the Centre. The Member was also concerned about the capacity of the voluntary sector to take on the services that it was being expected to provide.

Councillor Murray put forward a proposal that Cabinet provide funding for the whole of the current fiscal year. This compared to the funding provided in the Council budget that would enable the Centre to operate until August 2018. It was also proposed that progress be reviewed in a year with the possibility of support being extended.

Some Committee Members declared their support for Councillor Murray’s proposal, while one Member urged caution due to the ongoing nature of the discussions in relation to the future sustainability of the Centre.

The Committee considered Councillor Murray’s proposal. Upon being put to the vote, the proposal was approved.

Decision

The Committee agreed that Cabinet be asked to fund the RVS Older People Centre for the full year [2018/19], making up for the lostgrant, thus giving time for RVS, the Centre, the users, the volunteers and Council officers to work together on a new model while still providing the services everyone attending the Committee meeting needs so badly. This time next year, progress be reviewed and further support considered if things are going well.