The Deputy Minister and Chief Whip has
issued a Written Statement: Coronavirus (COVID-19) : Support
for the Third Sector and Volunteering
Our communities are facing unprecedented challenges as a result
of the coronavirus outbreak. There are many charities,
community groups and other third sector organisations dealing
with the impact of this virus. Volunteers across Wales are
playing a vital role in enabling people to stay at home helping
us protect the NHS and social care and save lives. We know more
people want to play their part and we are working across sectors
with Third Sector Support Wales, Local Authorities and NHS Wales
to make this happen.
In response to the pressures on the third sector
and the increasing numbers of people who want to volunteer I have
announced a Welsh Government Third Sector Covid-19
Response Fund worth £24 million. This will support three
distinct areas of activity:
-
Helping charities and third sector
organisations financially through the crisis –
by providing
direct financial support for third sector organisations which
need help to get through this crisis – by paying their bills
and easing cash-flow (Third Sector Resilience
Fund);
-
Helping more people volunteer and
volunteering services – By supporting third sector
organisations in the community who are co-ordinating the
massive volunteer response we have seen across Wales; helping
them to pay the out of pocket expenses of their volunteers
(Voluntary Services Emergency Fund); and
-
Strengthening the essential Third
Sector infrastructure – by enabling our funding of
Third Sector Support Wales to temporarily increase its own
capacity to support the sector, including the development of
the Volunteering Wales platform (Third Sector Infrastructure
Enabling Fund).
I have also agreed to allow temporarily the
purchase or replacement of equipment to support the COVID-19
response through the Community Facilities
Programme. This is a capital grant scheme to improve the
local facilities which play a very important role in supporting
people.
We know that the third sector is moving quickly
to respond to this emergency situation and that a number of
trusts and foundations are coming forward offering funding to
support this enormous effort. Through Third Sector
Support Wales we established the Funding
Wales platform to provide a funding search portal to
help charities, community groups or social enterprises find
grants and local finance opportunities from local, national and
international sources.
This now includes a new coronavirus
funding category to bring together funds that are
directly supporting the sector in this time of need. We are in a
fast moving situation and new funding sources and more detail on
existing sources are being released daily. The Funding
Wales platform is being updated regularly so that
organisations can see in one place as many funding opportunities
as possible. As of 3 April, there are 10 different funds focused
on COVID-19 listed on Funding
Wales, including the Wales Coronavirus Resilience Fund
from the Community Foundation Wales, Charities Aid Foundation and
Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund. We would encourage trusts
and foundations to use Funding
Wales to promote their funds to third sector
organisations across Wales.
In Wales, unlike other parts of the UK, we have
a unified platform to recruit volunteers through Volunteering Wales. This platform provides
opportunities for volunteers and a shop window for those seeking
to recruit volunteers. Volunteering Wales allows
people to register as a volunteer and search for volunteering
opportunities in their local area, including COVID-19
specific opportunities. As of 1 April there are over
50 volunteering opportunities listed on Volunteering Wales
specifically dedicated to COVID-19 support. We are working across sectors to develop a co-ordinated
approach to volunteering that is right for Wales and Welsh
communities.
There are over 21,000 people registered on
Volunteering Wales, with around 10,000 registrations in March.
All of these volunteers have been emailed the specific COVID-19
opportunities. We are encouraging those who wish to volunteer to
join a local volunteer organisation and register their interest
at Volunteering Wales.
