How We Are Funded.
Parent Carer Forums were established in 2008 through a central Government Participation Grant, which has continued to be available on an annual basis since then. Currently PACC is able to submit an annual grant application (for a maximum amount of £17,500) to Contact, who manage the grant process on behalf of the Department for Education. This grant is paid in two halves; the second payment only being made once the grant monitoring for the previous year has been submitted and approved. The focus of activity funded by the Participation Grant must be Co-production and only 50% of the total grant can be used on staffing costs.
This grant has provided PACC’s core funding since it was established, but we have also been successful in securing other funding on a number of occasions, including National Lottery Funding and local funding grants. PACC has also received additional funding for specific projects through Shropshire Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB), for example the Preparation For Adulthood Navigator Project 2022-2025 was funded through the ICB with money from the Learning Disability & Autism Programme. PACC has chosen not to pursue additional funding from the Council or ICB for our core Co-production activity to avoid compromising our role as a ‘critical friend’, when we may at times challenge local decision making.