News

Take the survey, make the change!

Take 5 minutes to share the voice of your voluntary or community group, so we can campaign for systemwide change which will improve everyone’s futures.

Over the last 2 years the Lincolnshire voluntary and community sector has spoken openly about the challenges they face in delivering vital support to local people, including volunteer availability and capacity, workforce recruitment and retention, through to disengagement of communities or the ability to access funding towards costs and overheads.

However, times change, impact of world conflict, cost of living and post pandemic legacy may mean there are now different challenges being faced.  So, hearing from you now will ensure we can share your messages with the people that can bring positive change whether that be through local authorities, local health and care sector or wider policy changes at national level.

During the next 6 months, members of Involving Lincs will be sharing these compounding issues with both statutory and private organisations to explore ways of keeping our much needed voluntary and community sector alive by influencing how they engage with, and fund, localised solutions and collaborative commissioning.

Please help us, to help you, help our communities by taking part and sharing your top 3 issues.

Who are Involving Lincs (IL)?
Involving Lincs is a network of infrastructure organisations from the voluntary and community sector that has come together to create a stronger voice for the third sector through the development of positive links with groups and organisations, to provide a forum for sharing information and act as a route for third sector engagement and involvement in strategic developments bringing a culture of partnership working. Our network includes:

• Voluntary Centre Services (VCS)
• Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS)
• Lincolnshire Community Foundation (LCF)
• Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team (LVET)
• BRIC
• Children’s Links
• HWLincs
• and so many more!

The aim of IL is to be able to represent the voice of the sector so that we can create greater opportunities for collaboration.

Take the survey here Involving Lincs Survey 2023 (smartsurvey.co.uk)

Lincolnshire Resilience Forum

LRF will be running a live flood evacuation and shelter exercise on the 4th of October 2023 on the East Coast.

The focus of the exercise is to test the county’s evacuation and shelter provision and new registration and mapping systems.

For this to be successful, they need your help!

There will be two public engagement meetings on the evenings of the 4th and 25th of September at Meridale Youth Centre, Sutton on Sea at 7 pm.

There will be further updates on their social media accounts for information. https://www.facebook.com/Lincolnshireresilienceforum

The National Lottery Community Fund

This funding is for organisations that support people and communities in England under severe pressure because of the increased cost of living.

By community we mean people living in the same local area.

Our main priority is to fund organisations supporting low-income households and individuals.

You can apply for between £10,000 and £75,000. If you need £10,000 or less you could try our National Lottery Awards for All fund.

To apply your organisation must already run critical services around at least one of the following:

• food and emergency supplies – like food and baby banks or the provision of hot meals, clothes or toiletries
• emergency shelter – like night shelters or other accommodation for people experiencing homelessness
• safe spaces – like domestic abuse services and youth services
• warmth – like warm rooms and spaces
• financial and housing advice – like giving people advice because of the increased cost of living.

Your organisation must also be facing both

• increased demand for these critical services

and

• increased costs of delivering these critical services

We’re more likely to fund small and medium-sized front-line organisations

With an annual turnover of between £10,000 and around £1 million.

Larger organisations can also apply if they do both of the following:

• show that they work closely and effectively with local communities
• fill a gap in essential local services.

You can get funding to pay for:

• costs of delivering, expanding or adapting your existing critical service(s) from the date you are funded until 31 March 2024. The date you are funded will be around 12 weeks from the time you submitted your application.
• retrospective costs of running the existing critical service(s) you’re applying for between 24 July 2023 and the date you are funded.

To find out more read the section What you can spend the money on.

We want to support a range of critical services that reach as many local communities and groups of people as possible. This will be one of the things we think about when deciding which applications to fund.

The deadline for applications is 16 October 2023 at 12 noon

We’ll start funding organisations in October 2023, and finish in January 2024. If you get funding you must spend it by 31 March 2024. Area England Suitable for Voluntary or community organisations.

Application deadline 16 October 2023 at 12 noon

To find out more click the links below:

How to apply

Who can apply

The activities funded

What you can spend the money on

We are delighted to announce the launch of the Improving Lives Through Advice programme, made possible by a £30 million grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. Working in partnership with the largest community funder in the UK, the Improving Lives Through Advice programme will ensure continued access to specialist social welfare legal advice to some of the most marginalised communities in England. This funding programme aims to transform lives, address systemic issues, and empower individuals, families, and communities in need by funding organisations working at the frontline.

These are stressful times for individuals and neighbourhoods across the country who have borne the brunt of deep and long lasting poverty and discrimination. The intersecting nature of social pressures that undermine poor communities are set to intensify further with a cost of living crisis worse than we have seen in a generation or more.

People most affected by job loss, chronic ill health, domestic abuse, disability, debt and poor or no housing are those who turn in their thousands to specialist advice centres who can act to enforce rights and prevent problems spiralling out of control, transforming the lives of children experiencing poverty, families trying to stay in their homes, women fleeing abuse, individuals with disabilities accessing support, and people challenging discrimination.

The Improving Lives Through Advice programme, an initiative of the Community Justice Fund, will work with communities to understand and address the deep-rooted/systemic challenges many are facing in society. By investing in advice services, this programme seeks to empower these communities and provide them with the necessary tools to overcome challenges.

Over the next five years, the Improving Lives Through Advice programme will operate across England, offering core, flexible funding to approximately 75 expert organisations. These frontline specialist legal advice providers will receive grants in the range of £50,000 – £100,000 per annum for five years.

In addition to supporting specialist legal advice providers, the programme will also fund organisations embedded within communities, recognising the role they often play in providing inclusive, trusted spaces supporting individuals, families, and communities to access advice services when they need it most.

Funding will be used to support advice organisations and community-based groups to establish and maintain equitable partnerships which improve access to advice for communities most in need.

“We recognise the importance of listening to and working with communities to understand the challenges and barriers people face when trying to access justice which is why we’re taking this unique approach to supporting the delivery of advice services.” Said our Chief Executive Clare. “By funding both advice services and community organisations we will be able to use the insights of organisations working directly with people, places and communities who experience the greatest need to improve access to advice that has the potential to transform the lives of people experiencing poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination.”

Grants will provide long term core funding, an essential component that will allow organisations to work in the ways that best meets the needs of the communities they are imbedded in, and a Funder Plus programme will be implemented to support specialist advice grantees to meet the increased demand and complexity of legal needs and work towards long-term sustainability.

“Through our Funder Plus programme, we will equip specialist advice grantees with the necessary tools and training to navigate the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis,”

Clare added.

“We’re committed to sharing learning across the justice community to promote best practice and highlight scalable solutions for other organisations to implement.”

While the Improving Lives Through Advice programme represents a significant step forward in closing the funding gap faced by frontline advice providers, continued investment is crucial to meet the ongoing increase in demand. Organisations have experienced up to a 48% surge in demand, meaning over 40,000 people who are most impacted by the cost of living crisis will potentially go without the advice and assistance they need.

Dedicated crisis funding for frontline advice during the pandemic has not been sustained to address the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis. The Community Justice Fund Funding Gap Report, launched in March, highlighted the need for an additional £15-£20 million per annum to meet this immediate and growing new demand to ensure services are able to address the impact of the cost of living crisis on communities as they recover, rebuild, and grow following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Applications for grants will open on Monday 7 August and more information will be available on the Community Justice Fund website.

A Q&A event on the grant programme and the application process will be held via Zoom at 12pm on Monday, 14^th August 2023. Please register your attendance here. A recording of the event will be made available on our website for those unable to attend.

West Lindsey District Council

Drop-in and meet their funding officers to talk about the new Community Grants Scheme or if you would like to book a slot, email funding@west-lindsey.gov.uk .

Dates and venues are as follows:

30th August at Reepham and Cherry Willingham Village Hall, 14.30 – 16.30.

18th September at Riverside Room, Gainsborough, 13.30 – 15.30.

19th September at Festival Hall, Market Rasen, 13.30 – 15.30.

26th September at Scotton Village Hall, 10.30 – 12.30.

For further information contact funding@west-lindsey.gov.uk , www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/funding or call 01427 676676.

West Lindsey District Council with Lincolnshire Community Foundation

Lincolnshire Community Foundation are delighted to be working with West Lindsey District Council to provide vital funds across the District. Grants of up to £300 will be given to individuals and families, who have not received any cost of living support across the District. Funding originates from UK Government via the West Lindsey Household Support Scheme.

We recognise there are many households across the area who are finding themselves in financial hardship or just about managing, but do not qualify for any other benefit or income support. Support will be given predominantly in the form of vouchers for food, energy (no cash grants are given).

Katie Littlewood, Lincolnshire Community Foundation, Grants Manager for this fund says:

The Foundation has been invited to continue working with West Lindsey District Council to support people who haven’t been entitled to Government’s cost of living payments. We understand what a difficult time this is for many and will do what we can to help.

Cllr Trevor Young, Leader of West Lindsey District Council says:

West Lindsey is pleased to be working with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation to support the delivery of the Housing Support Fund applications’

Applications can be made via the Lincolnshire Community Foundation Website www.lincolnshirecf.co.uk from 11^th August 2023 until 18^th March 2024. If you do not have access to the website, please contact the Grants team on 01529 305825 or email katie@lincolnshirecf.co.uk

£38m investment announced for the NHS in Lincolnshire for new Community Diagnostic Centres in Skegness and Lincoln

Patients in Lincolnshire are to benefit from greatly improved access to NHS diagnostic tests. This follows confirmation today by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of £38 million of additional funding for the development of two new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) in Skegness and Lincoln.

CDCs first launched nationally in July 2021.  When fully established, they provide a range of patient diagnostic services, such as X-rays and ultrasound. They are designed to be ‘one-stop shops’ that can check, test and scan patients for a range of conditions, from cancer to heart or lung disease.

The NHS in Lincolnshire successfully opened its first CDC in Grantham in April 2022. Since then it has undertaken over 59,000 diagnostic tests. The new investment announced today significantly increases diagnostic capacity in the county, benefitting patients across Lincolnshire.

John Turner, Chief Executive, NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board:

“We are absolutely thrilled to have this substantial additional funding confirmed. This will enable us to establish these two new CDCs and significantly increase our local diagnostic capacity, making a huge difference to patients.”

“I’m particularly pleased that we have secured around £15m for the CDC investment in Skegness, which we believe amounts to the biggest single NHS investment in the town centre for many years. Having these diagnostic services available locally is of great benefit to local people and provides a huge boost to meeting the needs of patients on our east coast. 

“Alongside this, the investment of £23m in the city of Lincoln for the Lincoln CDC is fantastic and will equally present a huge step up in diagnostic capacity in the city and the surrounding area.  This investment is further to that we have already made in Lincoln. This includes the recently upgraded resuscitation services in A&E, the Urgent Treatment Centre, and two new mental health wards on the Lincoln County Hospital site, as well as the recently modernised Abbey Medical Practice. It also enables us to enhance our joint working with the Medical School at the University of Lincoln.”

Both new CDCs will be modular buildings, meaning they can be built relatively quickly and cost-efficiently. With funding now confirmed, the expectation is that whilst the CDCs are under construction a mobile MRI service will commence on both sites from December 2023, providing additional capacity for Lincolnshire patients. Further services will then be added, with the CDCs being fully operational by September 2024. This includes CT, X-ray, ultrasound, and other supporting diagnostics.

Claire Lloyd, CDC Programme Lead:

“Diagnostics are recognised as a key priority in the NHS Long-Term Plan and CDCs play a key role in cutting waiting lists and helping to cut out unnecessary hospital visits, delivering closer, more convenient care.”

“For Lincolnshire, and particularly for Skegness and Lincoln, the investment in these two new CDCs is at a level that will make an enormous difference to our diagnostic testing capabilities and capacity in the county for years to come, and we are immensely proud of that.”

To read more from the Government announcement click here.

All Change At The Top

Goodbye to Sarah . . . . . Monday 31st July was the final day of Sarah Fletcher as CEO, having been with HWLincs for 10 years.

Starting with a blank sheet of paper, Sarah has steered us through to our current great charity. Sarah’s input has been outstanding. The hours of hard work and dedication she has put in has made such an impact, but her sense of humour and approach of rolling up her sleeves and getting stuck in has been just as important.
Sarah is moving on to a very new area of work but thankfully staying in the county she was born in and loves. Her new role is NWS Regional Manager GDF Siting for Lincolnshire.
We asked Sarah what it has been like as CEO of HWLincs. “What a rollercoaster HWLincs has been over the past 10 years.
Every year has been about change and growth, but for me, it has always been about the people I have worked alongside and most importantly the people who we are supporting. I truly wish HWLincs and the team every future success and I am very proud of the legacy I leave behind.”

To read the rest of the news in this issue including: Staff News, Volunteering News, Contract News, Healthwatch Lincolnshire, Useful information and Main Contact Information, click here

£600 million announced for social care winter workforce capacity boost

The Government has unveiled a £600 million package to help with recruitment and retention in social care. The fund will support the social care workforce and boost capacity, in turn supporting the NHS ahead of winter and through into next year.  This week, Helen Whately, Minister for Social Care, has written to local authorities and care providers about preparations for winter. Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, has also welcomed the funding announcement and the winter call to action in her latest blog.

Find out more about winter funding NHS and care volunteer responders programme: new webinar dates announced [Image created by freepik.com] Join a webinar to find out more about the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders programme and the support available to adult social care providers.   The webinars are hosted by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Royal Voluntary Service. You’ll hear more about the programme, the volunteer support available to care providers and how to make referrals. You will also be able to ask questions.   Various dates are available. Click below to book your place.   Sign up for a webinar today   National honours: Nominate social care colleagues and help inspire others Do you know someone working or volunteering in social care who deserves national recognition for going the extra mile? The honours and awards scheme is open to anyone making an exceptional contribution to their communities.   In the first of a series of blogs from previous recipients, Think Local Act Personal‘s renowned champion of disability awareness, diversity and inclusion, Clenton Farquharson CBE, explains how recognition has inspired him and others to keep making a difference.   If you know someone who has gained the respect of their peers, displayed moral and physical courage, or showed real innovation and entrepreneurship, click the link below. Find out how to nominate here   Digitising social care: Data security and protection toolkits [Image created by freepik.com] Congratulations to all care providers who successfully published their Data Security and Protection Toolkits (DSPT) for 2022/23. This is a reminder that, since 30 June 2023, the DSPT for 2021/22 cannot be used as evidence of current arrangements.   If you have finished reviewing your DSPT, we strongly advise you to complete and republish it as soon as possible to make sure it is valid. You can get free guidance and direct support from the Better Security, Better Care programme. Visit Better Security, Better Care   Blog watch: digital skills, sexuality support, care plans with added tech [Image created by freepik.com] When technology is embedded seamlessly into care and support services, it can be transformative: helping people live happy, fulfilled lives in their own homes and communities.   However, as Jane Brightman, Assistant Director of Programmes (Digitising Social Care), NHS England, explains, technology alone will not be successfully adopted, without equipping adult social care teams with the confidence, skills and support to make the most of these tools.   In other recent posts, supporting sexuality and relationship needs in social work, discovering your social care superpower, and putting the tech into care plans but keeping them personal. Visit the Social Care blog for the latest posts

The GSK Health Inequalities programme is open to registered charities that are at least one year old, located and working in the UK, with a total annual income of between £20,000 and £150,000. Up to 15 charities will receive up to £10,000 in unrestricted funding and access to training and development valued at £2,700.

This is a great opportunity for smaller community based organisations to access unrestricted funding and leadership development support. The programme supports aspirational leaders who want to develop their organisations. 

Closing date is Monday 14^th August

More information can be found at https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/gsk-impact-awards/gsk-health-inequalities-programme

GSK Health Inequalities programme The GSK Health Inequalities Programme is open to registered small charities that are at least a year old. Chosen charities will receive funding, training and development. www.kingsfund.org.uk

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This is relevant for our larger or more established members, interestingly you do not need to present a new project, and you decide how to spend the award money…

The 2024 GSK IMPACT Awards are open to registered charities that are at least three years old, working in a health-related field in the UK, with a total annual income between £150,000 and £3 million. Up to ten winners receive £40,000, in unrestricted funding with the overall winner receiving an additional £10,000. Up to five runners-up receive £4,000 in unrestricted funding.

The deadline for Stage 1 applications is Friday 1^st September

More information can be found at https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/gsk-impact-awards/how-to-apply

How to apply for a GSK IMPACT Award GSK IMPACT Award winners receive a whole host of benefits including funding, free training and publicity. Find out how to apply. www.kingsfund.org.uk