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The Compact in departmental business plans

The content below lists the sections of government department business plans, which outline how each department plans to implement the Compact in the year 2012 – 13.

Read Compact Voice's response to the publication of the plans, and Tom Elkins, Compact Voice Manager, has also written a blog taking a closer look at the plans.

 arrowDepartmental Business Plans:
  1. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
  2. Cabinet Office
  3. Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
  4. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
  5. Department for the Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
  6. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
  7. Department for Education (DfE)
  8. Department for Transport (DfT)
  9. Department of Health (DH)
  10. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
  11. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
  12. Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT)
  13. Home Office 
  14. Ministry of Defence
  15. Ministry of Justice
1. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Civil Society Compact
Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following structural reform plan (SRP) actions: 
  • Enable greater private investment research in and aid the commercialisation of technology and research through the creation of centres of scientific and technological excellence and stronger links between universities and industries (1.5)
  • Construction and establishment of the Francis Crick Institute through a unique partnership between the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust and three of London’s top universities (UCL, ICL, KCL). Its goal will be to understand the biology underlying human health, finding ways to prevent and treat the most significant diseases affecting people today (1.5ii) Introduce stronger consumer protections (5.8)
  • Implement consumer landscape reforms through transferring consumer advice, information and advocacy functions to consumer bodies and the transfer of further enforcement functions to Trading Standards (5.8i)
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills recognises and values the role that civil society organisations can play across all parts of the further education and skills system, particularly in supporting those furthest away from learning and employment.
    
BIS will:
  • Continue the consultative dialogue with the Third Sector National Learning Alliance (TSNLA) to ensure that third sector learning and skills interests are taken into account in a systematic way
  • Hold regular bilateral and trilateral meetings with BIS FE colleagues, Skills colleagues and the Skills Funding Agency on third sector learning and skills issues
  • Assist the Skills Funding Agency and the TSNLA in renewing the existing Protocol which provides a framework for joint working between the Skills Funding Agency and the wider voluntary sector
  • Oversee BIS commissioned LSIS research to identify what barriers stand in the way of achieving Government's ambitions for the Third Sector, for it to play its full role in both learning and skills and in building the Big Society
2. Cabinet Office

Civil Society Compact
  • The Cabinet Office is the cross-governmental lead department for the Civil Society Compact
  • Empower communities by training a new generation of community organisers and supporting the creation of neighbourhood groups, especially in the most deprived areas (4.1)
  • Support charities, social enterprises, small businesses and other non-governmental bodies to compete for opportunities opened up by public service  reform (4.2)
  • Promote social action, including the introduction of National Citizen Service (NCS) for 16- year olds (4.3) Support new forms of provision in the public sector, including mutuals, co-operatives, joint ventures and new forms of outsourcing (1.1)
3. Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following business plan activities:
  • Shift power over funding away from the centre and establish community budgets (1.3)
  • Turn around the lives of 120,000 troubled families (1.4)
  • Empower local authorities and voluntary and community sector to prevent and tackle homelessness, removing barriers to effective local action (4.7)
4. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following SRP actions:
  • Use the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to establish a lasting community sporting legacy (2.2)
  • Bring forward proposals to reform the current exemptions to classification in the Video Recordings Act, and the regulation of advertisements shown in cinemas (3.12)
  • Deregulate Entertainment Licensing to free up communities from pointless bureaucracy (4.4) 
5. Department for the Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

Civil Society Compact
 
Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector.
 
6. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following SRP actions:
  • Mainstream compliance with the Civil Society Compact across departmental policy and procurement.
  • Identify, with industry and environmental stakeholders, how to improve growth and competitiveness in the farming and food industry, whilst protecting and enhancing the environment (the Green Food Project) (1.3)
  • Transfer British Waterways from government to a new charity for the waterways in England and Wales, through the Public Bodies Act (2.1)
  • Facilitate set-up of the first Local Nature Partnerships between local organisations to protect and improve the natural environment (2.4)
  • Establish Nature Improvement Areas to enhance and reconnect nature and report on their benefits (2.4)
  • Run 25 catchment management pilots with local communities to plan integrated actions to improve local water quality (2.7)
  • Publish the UK's first National Adaptation Programme to maintain the resilience of the UK to climate change and extremes of weather, developed in collaboration with businesses, local government and civil society (3.7)
  • Implement pilot Rural Growth Networks to stimulate sustainable economic rural growth (3.11)
  • Publish a Rural Statement demonstrating how Government policies and programmes deliver benefits to rural residents, businesses and communities (3.12)
  • Implement the new partnership funding system for flood and coastal risk management which devolves more power to local people (3.13)
7. Department for Education (DfE)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society.
 
8. Department for Transport (DfT)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, working collaboratively with the civil society sector, including on the following SRP action:
  • Drive progress towards a transport system that is accessible and socially inclusive (7.3)
9. Department of Health

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact by DH and its arms length bodies, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following:
  • The DH Voluntary and Social Enterprise Programme will actively engage and consult the sector on key policy developments and reforms
  • Encourage NHS organisations in England to sign up to a local Compact and use this to guide local arrangements for partnership working
  • Through the Senior Responsible Officer for the Compact and Civil Society Liaison Officer promote and champion the Compact both internally and externally
  • Develop robust mechanisms for monitoring compliance in funding and consultation processes across DH
  • Include the Compact principles in staff training and induction processes
10. Department for Work and Pensions

Civil Society Compact

   DWP will ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector. Including:
  • Contracting for services to be delivered on its behalf, where it will continue to comply with its Commissioning Strategy 
11. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

Civil Society Compact

   HMRC will ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following Structural Reform Plan actions: 1.1 iii, 1.1 iv & 1.1 v
  • HMRC will engage in consultation with Civil Society Organisations (CSO) on matters relevant to those customers they represent. These consultations help to identify the impact on customers and organisations arising from changes to taxes, benefits and tax credits.
  • HMRC will continue with our commitment to a multi-year funding programme of £2m per annum to aid CSOs in their task of supporting HMRC’s most vulnerable customers that need extra help with meeting their tax and benefits obligations and claiming the correct entitlements. 
12. Her Majesty's Treasury (HMT)

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector
 
13. Home Office

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following SRP actions:
  • Empower local communities to take a more active role in their neighbourhoods, providing the incentives, training and encouragement for people from all walks of life to help to police their own communities to ensure early engagement with Police and Crime Commissioners is effective (1.3)
  • Help the police, voluntary organisations and local communities to reduce violence against women (3.5)
  • Help the police, voluntary organisations and local communities to reduce serious youth violence (3.6)
  • Improve support for disabled people who wish to stand for elected office, working with political parties and disability organisations (7.2 (iii))
  • Publish annual report on gender equality reporting by private and voluntary sector organisations
14. Ministry of Defence

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following SRP actions. The MOD will:
  • Develop a strategy, reflecting the Civil Society Compact, for working with Charities (2.3.i) 
15. Ministry of Justice

Civil Society Compact

Ensure compliance with the Civil Society Compact, including collaborative working with the civil society sector on the following SRP actions:
  • Map departmental interactions with the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector and identify gaps in compliance with the Compact by Apr 2012
  • Develop and design an MoJ implementation strategy for relevant aspects of the Government’s ‘Compact’ on its relationship with the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector to further embed compact within MoJ by May 2012
  •  MoJ will review the public services for which it is responsible to assess the potential to develop and implement a Right to Provide and set out plans accordingly – by November 2012.