Voluntary Sector

Compact Voice have launched the first three in a series of briefings designed to help voluntary organisations to build strong partnerships with local commissioning bodies.

Compact Voice, ACEVO and NAVCA have written to the leader of every local authority in England, reminding them of the value of the voluntary and community sector and of local Compact commitments.
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The letter can be read in full here.

NCVO have today published an update to their 2011 Counting the Cuts report, which examines the scale of funding cuts to the voluntary sector so far, as well as those to come.

The Report uses Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts of public spending, along with NCVO Civil Society Almanac data on charities' income sources, to estimate the impact of reductions in public spending on charities.

The Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector – established in 2011 to ensure that independence is seen as a priority for voluntary sector organisations – have today published their second annual report.

Compact Voice welcome the panel’s use of our research into Compact implementation, which draws heavily on our engagement with the voluntary and community sector.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a consultation on publishing voluntary sector spending.
 
The current 'Recommended Code of Practice on Transparency for Local Government' published by the Department for Communities and Local Government expects local authorities to publish grants to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCS), amongst other datasets.

Cabinet Office has issued an update to its recently published Procurement Pledge, which established a set of principles about how government will procure services with a range of providers. The Pledge, which is for central government and public sector bodies to sign up to, outlines five key commitments that public sector signatories must meet.

The think tank Civil Exchange has recently published a report following their audit into the Big Society.

The findings make an interesting contribution to the debate about the government’s often divisive flagship policy.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) launched the UK Civil Society Almanac 2012 yesterday.
 
The Almanac, which is released every two years, provides a definitive overview of the voluntary sector’s scope and characteristics, alongside analysis of long-term trends.

Compact Voice have today published new guidance on using the services of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO). 

The PHSO is referred to in the Compact Accountability and Transparency Guide as a resource to use ‘when things go wrong’. This briefing note explains when the PHSO can and cannot help, how you can use their services and how to contact them. It also addresses the implications for voluntary organisations, local Compact groups and partnerships.

Download the briefing in our resources section.