Clinks response to Welsh Parliament Finance Committee – Draft Budget

Clinks provided a response to the Welsh Parliament Finance Committee’s consultation on the Welsh government’s Draft Budget proposals for 2023-24. In particular we responded to the consultation question “Is support for third sector organisations, which face increased demand for services as a consequence of the cost of living crisis and the pandemic, sufficient?”.

In the response we draw on responses to our State of the sector survey conducted in 2022, as well as our regular and ongoing engagement and support to the criminal justice sector in Wales.

Some key points within the response are: 

1. We firmly believe that the most effective way for Welsh government to support the sector is through the provision of flexible, unrestricted, multi-year grant funding.
2. We want to see continued join-up between the Welsh government, the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service. Where possible more opportunities to co-commission services, as seen in the Women and Young Adult Service contract, should be explored.
3. Our 2022 State of the Sector research shows that voluntary organisations’ staff across Wales and England are taking on more service users; with the level, complexity and urgency of their needs continuing to grow. 
4. Staff recruitment and retention is particularly challenging, driven in part by an increased demand for services and inflationary pressures.
5. Many organisations do not receive full costs recovery on at least some of their contracts and three quarters of organisations surveyed reported running costs had risen with more than a third saying those costs had risen significantly.