2. How is the Welsh Government supporting charities and the voluntary sector during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ57420

We have provided over £40 million in additional funding to voluntary sector organisations since the start of the pandemic. And the Welsh Government also provides core funding for the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and county voluntary councils to enable them to support local voluntary organisations and volunteering groups across Wales.

Thank you, Minister, for your response. Charities and the wider voluntary sector have played a vital role in supporting our communities throughout the pandemic. And I would like to place on record my appreciation of the fantastic army of volunteers across Wales who have gone above and beyond to help us through these difficult times. However, the sector has experienced significant financial pressures as a result of the pandemic, with the WCVA recently estimating that voluntary organisations have lost around £600 million in income, whilst around a quarter of small charities have no reserves, yet demand for these services has increased by around 67 per cent since April 2021. Now, I acknowledge the support previously provided by the Welsh Government to help plug some of these financial shortfalls, as well as the additional £7 million for the next three years that was recently announced. But it's clear that further support is needed to help the sector recover whilst fundraising activities are limited by the current public health restrictions and demand for services is so high. Minister, what additional support is the Government looking to provide to the voluntary sector over the next year to ensure that organisations can continue to support our communities? Thank you.

I'd like to thank the Member for this very important question, because we've seen, as you said, Peter Fox, throughout the pandemic that strong and independent voluntary sector critical to the well-being of Wales and our communities, and that culture of volunteering proving itself with so many coming forward to support people, neighbours and communities. So, just to confirm, last year, we did launch the third phase of the third sector resilience fund, with over £4 million to help viable voluntary sector organisations survive—and that's the key point of your questions—and be sustained through the pandemic and be resilient. And this has since been increased from £4 million to £7.2 million. Of course, that is crucial to ensuring that we also have an extra £1 million for our volunteering Wales grant, to support those who are coming forward in this way, but working very closely with the third sector partnership council in terms of the way forward and for the recovery and the resilience of the third sector. We are supporting the third sector in every way we can—nationally, regionally and locally.

Gweinidog, as chair of the cross-party group on dementia, I've heard some very difficult accounts from individuals within the voluntary sector who are providing support to people living with dementia and other debilitating conditions, and a regular complaint that they have is that they don't feel like a valued colleague and do not receive effective communication from local authorities and other statutory services. Volunteers for charities such as the Alzheimer's Society are expected to pick up the pieces with very limited information and support, and a real concern that they have is that that's leading people to fall between the cracks, and also leading to volunteers to walk away because they don't get the support that they need. I understand, Minister, that this is an issue that probably cuts across a number of different portfolios, but will the Minister discuss with her fellow Ministers, and with local authorities and statutory services, how best to support the services provided by charities, provided by volunteers, during this very challenging period? Diolch yn fawr.  

Diolch yn fawr, Rhys ab Owen. That is a crucial part of the way we work with the voluntary sector. In fact, we pioneered the voluntary sector partnership scheme, which actually means that all sectors, and that includes the health and social care sector, meet with Ministers, meet with the health and social services Ministers, to look at those specific issues, because it is cross-government, as you say, in terms of those needs, but particularly during the pandemic, reaching out, particularly in relation to dementia services, to those who are working in the sector. So, my officials are working with health officials to review the strategic direction for the third sector support and investment in relation to those charities that you identified today. And that's, of course, nationally, but, locally, your voluntary councils—all those across Wales—have a key part to play in terms of supporting local providers as well. 

I declare an interest here as I still sit on the board of trustees at Canolfan Pentre. The support charities and the voluntary sector provide to the most vulnerable in our communities is invaluable, and throughout the pandemic alleviated an immense amount of pressure for local authorities. We wouldn't be able to provide this support without the all-important funding. Unfortunately, it's obtaining funding that many of our charities across Wales find very difficult. I think we sometimes forget that these charities are predominantly run by retired people or parents who cannot work full time due to childcare responsibilities, with little or no experience of having to complete funding applications. We must do more to break down this barrier to ensure more people are able to receive the support they need. For this reason, will the Minister work with county voluntary councils, and other funding bodies, to ensure applications for grant funding are more user friendly?

Thank you very much, Buffy Williams. And can I pay tribute to all of those volunteers in your community, and across the whole of Wales, who played such an important role during the pandemic, but have always done as the lifeblood of our communities?

So, just to reassure you, officials are working with funders, including the Wales funders forum, which is an important forum to bring all the funders together, to ensure that these issues are being raised in terms of accessibility to grant schemes. The county voluntary councils are often grant managers, and you will be liaising, I'm sure, with yours. And I will be asking my officials to particularly look at how application processes can be more user friendly, and very much proportionate in terms of the situations that voluntary sector organisations are in, to make sure that they can access that funding. And it's not just accessing Government funding; lottery funding has been critical, hasn't it, as well, and making sure that we can—. And local authorities playing their part as well has been crucial throughout the pandemic, and this is part of the way in which we're looking at the financial viability of the third sector, with sustainable funding being a key pillar of that infrastructure.