Latest news in the voluntary and community sector

• Total Place and the third sector conference report
• Revised Compact launched
• Compact's guide to council budget reviews
• Councillors’ guide: a council’s role as charity trustee
• We have been awarded second phase contract
• Working in partnership

Total Place and the third sector conference report

On 23 March 2010, the IDeA (now LG Improvement and Development) and the Cabinet Office hosted a joint conference to explore the role of the third sector in Total Place.

Nearly a hundred delegates attended representing councils, government bodies and third sector organisations to hear a range of speakers and debate the issues.

The IDeA and the Cabinet Office have put together a short report which summarises the messages from the speakers and the outcomes from the practical workshops. It outlines key opportunities and barriers to future third sector involvement in Total Place.

 Total Place and Third Sector Conference Report (PDF, 14 pages, 511KB)

Revised Compact launched

Following a lengthy consultation, the Commission for the Compact launched the revised Compact document on 16 December 2009.
 
The new Compact aims to provide a more focussed and up to date approach to partnership working between government and national voluntary and community sector organisations in England. The document includes new commitments for both partners and sets out how Compact ways of working can be put into practice.
 
Most Compact agreements involve local third sector organisations and their local public sector partners and are therefore not subject to the national Compact. However local agreements may be refreshed using principles from the revised national framework if local partners wish to do so.

The new Compact and An Introduction to the Compact – on the Commission for the Compact website. 

Compact's guide to council budget reviews

The Commission for the Compact has today published guidance for local authorities on managing budget revisions that can be due to the loss of expected income or pressure from increased demand for services.

The Commission for the Compact is the public body responsible for the Compact, the partnership agreement between government and the third sector in England. Local Compacts provide a framework for developing and improving partnership working between local public bodies and local third sector organisations. 

The guidance note states that recognising and applying Compact principles helps local authorities to:

• Make robust decisions that minimise long term risk to service users
• Identify new approaches to services
• Minimise impact on Local Area Agreement targets
• Maintain partnership working with third sector organisations
  

Compact's guide to council budget reviews (PDF, 2 pages, 102KB)

Councillors’ guide: a council’s role as charity trustee

The Local Government Association and the Charity Commission have published a short guide for local authorities that are sole trustees of charities to help them fulfill their duties and responsibilities in accordance with charity law. The guide includes illustrative case studies and top tips for councils on managing charitable trusts.

Councillors' guide: a council's role as a charity trustee – on the Local Government Association website

We have been awarded second phase contract

We are pleased to announce that the Office of the Third Sector has awarded the agency a contract for Phase 2 of the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning, which will run until March 2011.

The Director General of the Office of the Third Sector announced the second phase at the ACEVO Recession Summit on 11 June 2009.

National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning 

Working in partnership

Two reports have been produced by the IDeA (now LG Improvement and Development) and the Institute for Voluntary Action.

The first is based on the delivery of the successful Partnership Improvement Programme in ten local authority areas in England and has some very clear messages for both policy makers and practitioners.

Getting things done - Partnership Improvement Programme (PDF, 24 pages, 282KB)

The second debates the thorny question of voluntary and community sector representation – a subject that continues to perplex practitioners! The “one voice” versus the “diversity” arguments.

Beyond one voice - community sector representation (PDF, 42 pages, 477KB)