Renewed Compact published by OCS and Compact Voice
Government and Voluntary and Community sector agree new Compact for working in partnership
A renewed Compact, the agreement which governs relations between the Government and civil society organisations in England, has been published today by Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society and Simon Blake, our Chair.
The new Compact is shorter and more focused than the previous agreement and aims to create the right environment for partnership working. It is backed by a robust set of accountability and transparency measures outlined in a new guide, also published today.
In addition, the National Audit Office will carry out a one-off study into the operation of the Compact across government which will be reported to parliament. This unprecedented level of scrutiny will enhance adherence to the Compact and provide a strong platform for the Cabinet Office and Compact Voice to work together to embed the agreement in day to day relations between government and civil society.
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, said:
“The renewed Compact is more relevant to current priorities, it’s shorter, clearer and is backed by full parliamentary accountability. Charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises have a critical role to play in public service reform, community empowerment and social action, the three streams of the Big Society.
“It is more important than ever that the public sector and civil society act with respect for each other as we tackle social challenges together. That’s why I’m very pleased the National Audit Office will bring a new level of accountability by reporting to parliament on the operation of the Compact in government.”
Simon Blake, Compact Voice Chair said:
"The sector has wanted a Compact with teeth for a long time. This new Compact with greater accountability provides just that. With major changes in relationships and funding across the country, more than ever both parties need to know, and stick by, the 'rules of the game'. I call on the voluntary and community sector, and government to get behind and use this Compact now as a compass for effective partnership."
- Download the renewed Compact document (PDF 512KB).
- Download The Compact - Accountabililty & Transparency Guide (PDF 208KB).
- Read a Statement of Support from the voluntary and community sector (PDF 96KB).
- Read our final report on the Compact Renewal Consultation 2010 (PDF 121KB).
On 16 December, an Early Day Motion (EDM) supporting the renewed Compact was tabled in Parliament to ensure continued cross-party support both for it and the voluntary sector.
Comments
A lot of our Members have been telling us about cuts to their areas and fears about the long term stability of organisations and the sector. However, Compacts are being used in cases where authorities may be in breach of the agreements and so we can help challenge bad practice. As importantly, they’re also being used in a lot of cases to improve partnership working and consultation, leading to better outcomes for communities even though cuts are still being made – here is one example: www.compactvoice.org.uk/sites/default/files/managing_cuts_together_-_mer...
There are more examples and resources around dealing with cuts here: www.compactvoice.org.uk/cuts
The value of the Compact is that it provides a transparent and fair framework to help communities connect with decision makers in government, share local knowledge and insight, deliver services and hold the authority to account. These collaborative and clear ways of working will be needed more and more as the VCS expects to deliver more public services in the future.
What good is a compact if the government slashes funding for charities, driving many of them to the wall?
I have been contacting the third sector investment team at the DH regarding the departments Finanacial Assistance Fund. The fund was launched on 20/12/10 and applications are to be completed by 19/01/10. This allows the sector a whole 4 weeks (minus Christmas and New Year holidays) to write very complicated bids that must include 'detailled financial projections for 2011-12'.
In the fund's guidance it is noted; 'We are committed to following the Compact and recognise the need to continue to promote it within all our agencies'.
This does not add up and it would appear that the Compact is in fact ignored. Not a good omen for the future.
Hi Malcolm,
seems to be working ok now? drop us a line at compact@compactvoice.org.uk if you are still having problems.
Dugald (Compact Voice)
CORRECTION... the Compact Voisce SITE!!!
Apologies.
I have tried to download the new Compact doc from links in the Third Sector Daily e-news and this page on the Compact Voice sight, both resulting in an error message that the doc cannot be read.
Let us hope that this is not a portent of what the future holds for the reanimated Compact???
It will be really interesting to see how things pan out during this challenging time for both sectors. If Compact is not fully embraced now, I fear for its future.
I just come to collect the new set of compacts in order to go through them before i will be able to give any objective comments