Agenda item

To receive a presentation by Medrwn Môn.

The Chair welcomed Lyndsey Campbell-Williams, Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn to the meeting.

The Leader and Portfolio Member for Economic Development said that Medrwn Môn is one of 19 Community Voluntary Council’s (CVC’s) funded across Wales to support community groups and voluntary organisations.  He noted that Medrwn Môn is a strategic third partner organisations with this Authority and their main aim is to help and promote volunteers and to support community organisations across the Island.  Medrwn Môn also supports the Council as regard to ‘Place-Shaping’, ‘Local Alliances’, Transport Plans within Communities together with the ‘Age-Friendly’ Island.  He further noted that Medrwn Môn leads on the poverty prevention plan in partnership with the local authority. 

The Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn said that Medrwn Môn is an independent agency providing support and advice to voluntary organisations and community groups enabling them to work more effectively.  She said that Medrwn Môn is funded through Welsh Government towards their core work. The current funding arrangements will cease on 31^st March, 2025; work has been undertaken to establish a business plan across the 19 CVCs for funding for a two-year period 2025/2027. She highlighted that the focus and concerns of community groups is to secure sustainable funding to enable them to fund activities within their communities.   11 Community Groups were supported in 2023/2024 to secure funding of £353,000 from large funding organisations i.e. National Lottery, WCVAs and Welsh Government. Medrwn Môn supported 84 further groups which totalled over £200,000 which included working in partnership with the County Council to secure the Youth Volunteering grant, Warm Spaces Grant, Autumn Activities and Place Shaping funding.  She further said that Medrwn Môn has been offering free training sessions which has seen a high percentage of people taking advantage of these sessions.  It was noted that £1.9m has been secured through the support of Medrwn Môn by Community Groups through large funding organisations and £313k has been distributed from key funds i.e. SPF funding towards supporting Community Alliances.   She said that restructuring of the core staff within Medrwn Môn has been undertaken to support Community Alliances.  She referred to the volunteer services provided by Medrwn Môn i.e. Carlink, Good Turns Scheme, Technology & Care, Môn Community Link.  She expressed that the working relationship between Medrwn Môn and the County Council is one of the best across the CVCs in Wales.

The following were points of discussion by the committee –

·     Questions were raised as to what the most important elements of the work are undertaken by Medrwn Môn within regards to the context of poverty. The Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn responded that the main challenges is to secure core funding to support community groups to afford activities within the communities and to be sustainable in the long term.   

·     Questions were raised as to what changes has there been in the demand for the type of support individuals and local voluntary organisations need and whether it is anticipated that the demand will increase over the next few years.  The Chief Officer responded that staff restructuring has been undertaken to address the demand for core services from Medrwn Môn.  She noted that the cost-of-living crises has impacted on community facilities aswell as individuals and there has been discussions as to the sustainability of some community facilities and whether there is a need to merge some groups afforded within communities.  She further said that following the pandemic there has been an increase in demand for core project work afforded by Medrwn Môn. 

·     Reference was made  that during the pandemic some of the community groups ceased.  Questions were raised as to whether statistics have been retained as to how many of these groups ceased and how many have continued i.e. one year to five years.  The Chief Officer responded that Medrwn Môn has a data base that shows the trends and reasons as to why some different groups have cease and have been struggling and core staff are able to access the data base to target and channelling resources to address the needs of certain communities. The Leader said that any voluntary sector organisation has challenges in securing funding and sustaining and attracting the required volunteers to support the activities offered.

·     Questions were raised was to what else could be achieved if resources were available and whether all the Community Alliances will continue in the future.  The Chief Officer responded that core funding is essential to be able to support community groups; the retention of staff is key in enabling to support these groups and the impact of the support given to increase the facilities afforded and to work efficiently to create sustainable communities. 

·     Questions were raised whether the LACs within the Island are sustainable and whether there is collaboration with Elected Members. The Chief Officer responded that that there are four LAC’s established on the Island which are linked into the Community Alliances in the area.  She noted that the vision for the future is that these LACs will be able to more ingrained into their communities and this will be integrated into the next three year development plan. 

·     Questions were raised as to where collaboration with the County Council and other organisations can improve.  The Chief Officer responded that the working relationship between Medrwn Môn and the Authority has exited for over twelve years.  She gave examples of collaboration working in different areas of the Island and within the services within the County Council.

·     Questions were raised as to how Elected Members can support the work of Medrwn Môn as a voluntary sector organisation.  The Chief Officer responded that the main point of contact with the Elected Members is through the Community Alliances.  She noted that Medrwn Môn is one of the only CVCs that will work with Elected Members and Town and Community Councils offering support and training.  She further said that Medrwn Môn is willing to support and assist any local projects within the communities that the Elected Members consider that would be of assistance.

·     Questions were raised whether there is adequate sharing of information as regards to rural transport schemes.  The Chief Officer responded that collaboration working with the Highways Department has only recently been undertaken and statistics have now been shared to inform where the public services are delivering and how often the bus services are used.  She noted that Medrwn Môn have funded a feasibility study to inform the Community Alliances where community transport needs to be addressed on the Island.  Short-term and long-term outcomes will be discussed between the Council and the funding avenues that will need to address the community transport needs within communities and sharing amenities with other Community Alliances.  The Chief Executive said that whilst the use of social media is a platform for sharing information within communities, however, there are people who do not use social media or have access to social media needs to be considered and the role of Community Alliances is important to share information with residents. 

·     Reference was made to the North Wales Economic Ambition Boards Regional consultation as regards to the Transport Scheme. Questions were raised whether Medrwn Môn is part of the discussions as regards to the Regional Transport Scheme.  The Chief Officer responded that discussions as regards to the community transport needs feasibility study undertaken by Medrwn Môn will be incorporated into the Regional Transport Scheme.  Further questions were raised as to whether Medrwn Môn will be sharing information as regards to the consultation by the North Wales Economic Ambition Board with people who do not have access to the social media platform or are unable to visit community hubs and libraries to be able to respond to the consultation.  The Chief Officer responded that focus group sessions will be conducted to inform people of the Transport Scheme consultation and Medrwn Môn will report the views back to Ambition Board thereafter.

·     Further questions were raised as to whether there are problems in recruiting volunteers.  The Chief Officer responded that Benllech and the Seiriol area has the most volunteering capacity on the Island.  However, only two volunteers are available as regards to the Car-link scheme run by Medrwn Môn which can be a challenge.

The Chair thanked the Chief Officer of Medrwn Môn for her presentation to the meeting.

It was RESOLVED to note the presentation to the Committee by  Medrwn Môn.