News in brief

The Welsh Government have just announced a new consultation, which focuses on refreshing the Welsh Government’s relationship with the voluntary sector in Wales.

The consultation aims to 'strengthen and renew the relationship between Welsh Government and the Third Sector in Wales in an open and collaborative way'.

The Department of Health have now issued statutory guidance on Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs).

The Statutory Guidance has been issued following consultation on draft guidance, which Compact Voice responded to.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill, a long-time human rights advocate, has raised a parliamentary question concerning the government's adherence to Compact principles during consultations - the question and answer from Lord Wallace of Saltaire is can be read in full here.

NCVO have published their response to the Ministry of Justice's consultation into ‘Transforming Rehabilitation - A revolution in the way we manage offenders’.

Compact Voice worked to assist NCVO - a Compact Voice board member - with the response, which states the importance of following Compact principles to ensure fairness and good practice in supply chains.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have published a technical guidance to accompany to Equality Act codes of practice. There is a section on the Public Sector Equality Duty, which may be useful for our members. The guidance provides 'an authoritative, comprehensive and technical guide to the detail of the law'.

Compact Voice has received a letter from Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Justice, in response to a letter we sent outlining concerns about a consultation on proposals to reform the Judicial Review system.

The Social Value Act comes into force on January 31, and the Cabinet Office have released an information note for commissioners and procurers.

The note provides information about what authorities are required to do under the Act – including that statutory bodies must be mindful of the principles contained in their local or national Compact when contracting services.

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, has appointed Dame Mary Marsh to lead a review into leadership and skills in the voluntary sector. The aim is to establish whether existing support is meeting the requirements of the sector.

NCVO have put together some useful resources exploring social value, commissioning and payment by results. The page outlines NCVO's policy position on each and includes some useful case studies exploring how some voluntary organisations are providing public services that demonstrate social value.

Read more on the NCVO website.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) have opened a consultation today on improving local government transparency.