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In February 2009, East Sussex County Council asked how they could improve the support they provide in the five areas the Government believes are most important for carers’ well-being. They used a questionnaire to gather a wide range of views from carers across East Sussex, and held two focus groups where older carers from rural parts of the county and carers from minority communities gave  their views.

As a result ESCC report that they have listened to the responses and the attached documents outline briefly what was heard and what will be done with the information. Find full detailed results on this website: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/haveyoursay

ESCC are now moving into the second stage of this consultation, which is open to all members of the public. Your views have been used to develop a new draft strategy for supporting carers over the next five years, and ESCC want to check that the plans fit in with the priorities identified.

Have your say on these vital issues for carers online here: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/haveyoursay  Or request a copy of the questionnaire, or download a copy below.

Write to: Debbie Charman (Strategic Commissioning Manager for Carers), Adult Social Care, A Floor, North Block, PO Box 5, County Hall, FREEPOST LW134, Lewes BN7 1BR
Email: debbie.charman@eastsussex.gov.uk

Do you look after a family member or friend who is disabled, ill or frail? If so, you’re a carer, and the East Sussex Adult Social Care team would like to hear from you.

More than 50,000 people in East Sussex alone provide invaluable care and help to their loved ones – and we know it can take a physical and mental toll . East Sussex County Council are working with the NHS to refresh their strategy to support carers in the county.

They have developed new plans based on what nearly 1000 carers have already told them about the support they would like to receive. They would like to hear your views about these plans.

Please visit: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/haveyoursay and click on 'Current Consultations' to download the 'Improving Support for Carers' questionnaire or contact Debbie Charman to request a printed copy (also available in large print. The questionnaire is available on audio CD, in Braille and in languages other than English on request): Debbie Charman, Adult Social Care, Floor A, North Block, PO Box 5, County Hall, FREEPOST LW134, Lewes BN7 1BR (no stamp needed) or debbie.charman@eastsussex.gov.uk

The consultation closes on 8 September

Download the Summer 09 newsletter below

Awards for All the former Big Lottery small grants programme has been restructured (unfortunately).  The programme has been split into 3 streams (arts and sports as well as communities) so groups need to carefully consider which fund may suit them best even if a project may cover all of these areas. See below for more details. Each have their own unique criteria and processes. So much for progress.

Awards For All (new)

The Big Lottery Fund is offering Awards for All grants of £300 - £10,000 for projects which improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. The types of projects that will be funded must have at least one of the following outcomes which are the same as those for the Big Lottery main large grant programme Reaching Communities:

• People have better chances in life – with better access to training and development to improve their life skills
• Stronger communities – with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems
• Improved rural and urban environments – for communities to access and enjoy
• Healthier and more active people and communities.

Awards for all will be available to Voluntary and community groups, schools, health organisations, parish and town councils may apply.

Eligible costs include equipment hire or purchase, materials, training, venue hire, volunteer expenses, feasibility studies for building projects and land, building, refurbishment, landscaping or property projects but not salary costs. There is a simplified application process, with a maximum turnaround time of six weeks.

People have better chances in life – with better access to training and development to improve their life skills

• Stronger communities – with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems
• Improved rural and urban environments – for communities to access and enjoy
• Healthier and more active people and communities.

Awards for all will be available to Voluntary and community groups, schools, health organisations, parish and town councils may apply. The application form and guidelines can be downloaded from www.awardsforall.org.uk or call their advice line on 0845 600 20 40

Grants for the Arts

Arts Council England is offering small grants through its Grants for the Arts programme. Grants of £1,000 - £100,000 are available for arts projects lasting up to three years. Decisions are made within 6 weeks for applications below £5,000, and 12 weeks for applications over £5,000.

Heritage Lottery Fund is providing small grants for heritage projects through their Your Heritage and Young Roots schemes.
Your Heritage (£3,000-£50,000) has three aims, learning, conservation and participation. Projects must meet the first aim, and at least one of the other two. Examples of possible Your Heritage projects include people’s memories and experiences, histories of people, communities, places and events, cultural traditions and archaeological sites.

Young Roots (£3,000 - £25,000) aims to involve 13-25 year-olds in discovering their heritage, developing skills, building confidence and promoting community involvement. Young Roots projects should be in partnership with at least one heritage partner, cost no more than £50,000 and be completed within 18 months.

For further information about these programmes, visit the Arts Council website at www.artscouncil.org.uk  or phone their helpline 0845 300 6200.

Grants for Sports

Sport England’s Small Grants Programme has been set up to support local community sport projects aiming to increase and/or sustain participation in, or develop, opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport. You can apply for £300 - £10,000 but the total project cost cannot exceed £50,000.
Examples of projects supported by Sport England’s Small Grants programme include helping a sports club expand its age range, paying for additional coaching fees or helping youth clubs work together with local sports clubs to get more young people playing sport.

It is open to bona fide not-for-profit clubs or associations, statutory bodies or educational establishments.

You can only apply through the Sport England website http://funding.sportengland.org/default.aspx

SpeakUp is a countywide Forum for VCS. The Forum started working several months after the previously funded VOICES network project finished.  A first year progress report has been produced

The SpeakUp Forum brings together representatives, each with a mandate derived from a significant section of the voluntary and community sector, to enable an exchange on information and views for the benefit of the voluntary sector in East Sussex.

The SpeakUp Forum aims to:

• Support groups to have a voice in the County and be a strong partner for statutory agencies
• Provide representation and influence partnerships, planning and decision-making across East Sussex
• Strengthen networking between groups
• Develop good practice and training in the field of community representation

The first year report includes, written in green, quotes and feedback from SpeakUp representatives and many other members of VCS organisations in East
Sussex. Click on the link below

http://www.askcasper.org.uk/sites/askcasper.org.uk/files/documents/SpeakUp%20Report_April2009.pdf

East Sussex County Council (ESCC), in agreeing the budget for 2009/10, have agreed to a one off allocation which can be used over several years, to support the work to address the recession and the impact it has on residents, businesses and communities.

Priorities

Projects that the County Council wish to support using this fund will need to meet the criteria (detailed in 5 below), which in summary support the County Council’s new policy steer under the Strategic Management and Economic Development Portfolio:

”Take account of the effect of the economic downturn on residents, businesses and services in the County Council’s business and financial plans to ensure that the effects for local people are minimised as far as possible in the short term and that, in the longer term, the area is well placed to emerge in a strengthened position at the end of the current period of economic uncertainty.”

Contact Details

If you have any queries about this fund and the eligibility of your project you can contact: Kieran McNamara 01273 481268.

Eligibility Criteria

You should ensure that you meet all eligibility criteria for the scheme:

•    Applications can be made either by teams within the County Council or external organisations which have the explicit support for the project of an ESCC’s team.

•    All projects must:

• deliver the Council’s objective; “Take account of the effect of the economic downturn on residents, businesses and services in the County Council’s business and financial plans to ensure that the effects for local people are minimised as far as possible in the short term and that, in the longer term, the area is well placed to emerge in a strengthened position at the end of the current period of economic uncertainty” and:
• be supported by a clear evidence base of need in East Sussex related to the recession; and
• set out the intended outcomes of the project and how those outcomes will be measured; and
• demonstrate good value for money; and
•  have a clear exit strategy.

•    The fund must contribute no more than 75% to the overall project cost, except for projects under £10,000. Projects above £10,000 will need to demonstrate that they are of sufficient scale to achieve a significant impact or have the potential to do so.

•    The fund can only be used to support projects with an overall value of over £5,000.

•    The fund may be used to pump prime longer term opportunities (e.g. feasibility studies, research) but there needs to be a clear plan as to how the results of such studies will be taken forward and funded.

•    Projects can be either capital and/or revenue based

Now Closed. Thank you for your interest

Download the May 09 E Bulletin below

This small grants scheme is made available by East Sussex County Council through the Community Partnership Finance (CPF) Programme Priority 3 – 2009/2012. During its lifetime, the aim of the scheme is to award a total of £150,000 in grants of up to £5,000 to voluntary organisations and community groups across East Sussex wanting to:

§ pilot innovative approaches to service delivery

§ pilot the delivery of a local service to a wider geographical area

§ develop new approaches to user involvement in service delivery

In addition all applications must be delivering a service in at least one of the following areas:

§ Adult Social Care

§ Children

§ Young People

§ Mental Health

§ Disabilities

§ Community Transportation

§ Volunteering Support

§ Substance misuse

Who can apply?

The scheme is open to small Voluntary and Community Organisations based in, and offering a service within, the East Sussex area. Where a group is a part of, or is affiliated to a larger organisation, they must be able to demonstrate local governance, and the ability to produce financial records specific to the local service. In order to be considered, groups must be able to satisfy the basic eligibility criteria as detailed in question 5 on the application form, and have a service that meets the aims of the Fund

Although the maximum is £5,000, we encourage applications for smaller amounts where appropriate in order to ensure that this limited fund stretches as far as possible, among equally deserving bids.

Applicants are encouraged to submit applications well ahead of the deadline where possible, to allow the administrator sufficient time to prepare all cases thoroughly. Where deficiencies are identified at an early enough stage, feedback will be given to enable groups to address shortfalls and resubmit (where appropriate) ahead of the deadline.

Comprehensive GUIDANCE NOTES are provided for download to help you complete the form. These will help you make sure that that your group is eligible to receive funding and that the activities for which you are seeking funding meet the aims of the grant programme.

Closing dates for applications

Round 1 Wednesday 1st July 2009

Round 2 Wednesday 2nd December 2009