Steps to future-proof financial support for a range of services that help vulnerable people in East Northamptonshire have been taken by East Northamptonshire Council.
Members of East Northamptonshire Council’s Policy & Resources Committee voted an ‘in principal extension’ to the support grants and service agreements, when they met on Monday, 7 September.
Introduced in 2011 the grants and agreements, totalling £120,000 a year, are awarded to a variety of partner organisations including SERVE, Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service and Service Six, and offer a range of specialist services such as transport, support workers and counselling support across East Northamptonshire.
As East Northamptonshire Council (ENC) will cease to exist and be replaced by the new North Northamptonshire Council on 1 April 2021, Councillors and Officers were keen to do as much as possible to keep these grants in place, so vital support services to the district’s most vulnerable residents continue.
Leader of East Northamptonshire Council, Cllr Steven North, said: “This decision is a sign of how much we at ENC recognise the value of these grants and want to protect them for the foreseeable future. The services and organisations that these grants support are invaluable to our more vulnerable residents and we understand this.
“In recognition of this, we are pleased to put forward this recommendation to the shadow North Northamptonshire Council that the funding required for these grants should be included in the draft North Northamptonshire Council 2021/2022 budget.”
The current round of grants had been due to expire at the end of March 2020, but ENC Councillors had previously agreed to renew them until East Northamptonshire Council ceases to exist at the end of March 2021.
It is hoped that this recent decision will future proof the grants into the new Council, and mean that those who need specialist support can receive it.