Supplementary A - London Borough of Hillingdon

9.0 The Voluntary Sector
9.1 The Council works closely with its voluntary sector through various formal and partnership
arrangements. The Council supports the accommodation needs of the voluntary sector
both directly through the provision of accommodation and also via financial assistance,
which enables voluntary groups to hire accommodation.
9.1 Additionally the Council has introduced a new Voluntary Sector Leasing Policy, which
provides for:
• Assessment of market rents for all lettings at least 5 yearly
• Affordability to be dealt with through the Grant Allocations system with:
• Registered Charities, youth groups, arts organisations, horticultural organisations
and approved community organisations receiving an 80% discount
• Any organisation in need of greater subsidy may apply for further discretionary
assistance to be determined by the Cabinet on the recommendation of the Cabinet
Member for Finance Regeneration and Corporate Services
• Voluntary Sector organisations receiving subsidy to provide a report of their
activities and accounts to the Council on an annual basis
9.2 In the majority of cases in return for agreeing to a level of rent below that assessed as the
market rent, community groups agree to undertake both the internal and external
maintenance of the buildings they are leasing.
9.3 The Council acknowledges that the demand for accommodation from voluntary groups
continues to outstrip supply. A positive development in the borough has been the
development of a resource centre for the voluntary sector by the Hillingdon Community
Trust. Using Single Regeneration Budget funding, the Council and its partners have
converted and extended a former disused town hall to provide a range of permanent and
temporary accommodation for a range of voluntary groups. The building has 50
permanent desk spaces and also offers extensive accommodation, which can be used for
training or meeting room purposes. Opportunities to replicate this project in other parts of
the borough are being sought.
10.0 Restructuring of Corporate Property Services
10.1 Corporate Property Services is to be restructured to provide a more integrated, effective
and value for money service. The main drivers of the restructure arise from considering
the analysis of the Council’s third Medium Term Financial Forecast and decision to
outsource its Facilities Management Service. The main restructuring issues include:
• The full integration of Corporate Property Services and Facilities Management.
• The transfer of all building maintenance services under one Borough wide
Maintenance Manager located within Facilities Management supported by a single
point of contact situated within F.M. Currently a range of maintenance services are
delivered by both F.M and the Design, Maintenance and Energy Team.
• The streamlining of the Estates and Valuation Service.
10.2 Cabinet at its meeting on the 12 th December 2006 agreed that Borough wide Facilities
Management (works) Services (including banqueting, building cleaning, catering, building
maintenance and security) should be outsourced. The restructuring of Corporate Property
Services, particularly involving the transfer of all building maintenance functions to
Facilities Management, will provide the required infrastructure to manage the outsourced
services.
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