National

Compact Voice has welcomed a letter from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to every local authority in England, reminding them of the important role of the voluntary and community sector.

The Rt Hon Don Foster MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DCLG, reminded councils of the important role of local Compacts and of following government’s Best Value Guidance.

The Cabinet Office has published 'Making it easier for civil society to work with the state'. The document is a stocktake of progress toward the government's commitment to involve the voluntary and community sector in delivering services.

The document reiterates the government's commitment to Compact principles, and contains a case study from Gloucestershire.

It is impossible to measure national government compliance with the Compact, according to a new report.

Compact Voice has today published a report detailing the responses to Freedom of Information Act requests, submitted by Compact Voice to 14 government departments.

Compact Voice has submitted a response to the Department of Health’s draft guidance on developing Health and Wellbeing Board strategies and Joint Strategic Needs Assessments.
 
In it, we state that we are disappointed that the reference to local Compacts has been weakened from an earlier draft of the document published in January, and recommend that further clarification is made about the role of local Compact groups and agreements.

The Cabinet Office recently issued revised Consultation Principles, which replace the Code of Practice on Consultation. Government departments and other public bodies will use the principles for engaging stakeholders when developing policy and legislation.

Compact Voice has today published ‘Informing and influencing the new local health landscape: a guide for local Compacts'.
 
The guide is designed to provide practical and straightforward guidance for local Compact partnerships, on how they can engage with the new health landscape.

Government departments have now published their 2012 business plans. For the first time, these plans must address how each department will work to implement Compact principles in their dealings with the voluntary and community sector.

There have been some positive developments this week for the voluntary and community sector with the government introducing a series of measures to reduce red tape for volunteers.

The new legislation supports Compact principles, and one of the key changes is to radically improve the portability of CRB Certificates so people can volunteer with more than one organisation without needing multiple checks. 

Today the National Audit Office (NAO) has published the findings from their inquiry into how government departments are implementing the Compact in their work. 

The inquiry - announced as part of the accountability and transparency measures which accompanied the renewed Compact in 2010 - highlights some key issues and makes a number of recommendations to improve departmental activities.