In recent years, Leicester City Council has commissioned Voluntary Action LeicesterShire to deliver infrastructure support services to the local sector on its behalf. The current contract to provide these services (which started in October 2017) has been extended more than once, due mainly to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and its attendant lockdowns.
This contract will end on 30 September 2021. The city council does not intend to extend again beyond that date and – given the effects of the continual reduction in local government resources – the city council is not able to procure an equivalent of these services going forward.
The city council is seeking your views through this questionnaire for the following reasons:
- To understand the extent to which the commissioned infrastructure support services have been accessed by local VCSE groups and organisations, how useful they have been, which ones may no longer be necessary, and which ones you think should be continued in some form.
- To obtain your views on how changes to infrastructure support might impact groups and organisations in the local VCSE sector, their staff and volunteers, and their service users.
- To solicit proposals, recommendations and suggestions from as wide a range of respondents as possible about alternative forms of infrastructure support to meet current and future challenges and opportunities facing the local VCSE sector.
- To update information about groups and organisations in the VCSE sector in Leicester.
The city council hopes that you will be able to play a part by completing this questionnaire – whether on behalf of a VCSE group or organisation or as an engaged citizen with an interest in these groups and organisations and their active involvement with people and institutions in the city of Leicester. Please follow this link to the questionnaire: https://consultations.leicester.gov.uk/communications/6b0beb37
The questionnaire has been available for a few weeks now and remains open till midnight, Sun 12 September.