A report said that all sectors needed to work very closely with charities and community groups when planning vital services for children. There were a number of potential pitfalls, which had to be avoided: for example, different organizations might have vastly different experiences, expectations, working cultures, and resources.
Source: Jeanne King, Commissioning Children s Services and the Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000), Improvement and Development Agency, Connaught Group of Voluntary Organisations, NCH, and National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations
Links: Report (pdf) | LGA press release
Date: 2004-Dec
The head of a leading charitable group said that donations to charities could fall if more charities began providing public services - as a result of doubts as to whether some charities were really independent, or had simply become agents for the delivery of government priorities.
Source: Speech by Stephen Ainger (Chief Executive of Charities Aid Foundation), 11 November 2004
Links: Text of Speech | CAF press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A report said that charities were well-established providers of essential public services, such as housing and social care: but poorly written contracts between government and charities were placing services at risk and wasting public money.
Source: Surer Funding: The ACEVO Commission of Inquiry report, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (0845 345 8481)
Links: Summary | ACEVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report said that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly ignored the 'Compact' agreement aimed at long-term improvements in the relationship between government and the voluntary sector - in particular, it criticized the failure of both the DCMS itself and related quangos to consult properly with the sector or follow funding guidelines. It highlighted the merger of the two National Lottery distribution bodies, in direct opposition to opinion in the voluntary sector.
Source: Press release 27 October 2004, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
The charities regulator published guidance which 'removed the uncertainty' preventing charities from fulfilling the opportunities open to them in campaigning and political activities.
Source: Political Activities and Campaigning by Charities, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Guidance | Charity Commission press release
Date: 2004-Oct
An article examined the challenges facing voluntary and community organizations within the context of English 'regionalism'; it identified the barriers to their engagement with the new regional governmental organizations and the new regional policy agenda.
Source: Margaret Harris, Ben Cairns and Romayne Hutchinson, ' So many tiers, so many agendas, so many pots of money : the challenge of English regionalization for voluntary and community organizations', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 38 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Oct
A paper examined the role of civil society organizations in business regulation.
Source: Bridget Hutter and Joan O'Mahony, Business Regulation: Reviewing the regulatory potential of civil society organisations, Discussion Paper 26, Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation/London School of Economics (020 7955 6577)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Oct
The charities regulator accepted the promotion of the voluntary sector for the benefit of the public as a new charitable purpose.
Source: Promotion of the Voluntary Sector for the Benefit of the Public, RR13, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123) | Promoting the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Charities and the Effective Use of Charitable Resources for the Benefit of the Public,RR14, Charity Commission for England and Wales
Links: Guidance RR13 | Guidance RR14 | Charity Commission press release
Date: 2004-Oct
The government published a national service framework for children, young people and maternity services, designed to ensure that all children and young people received health and social care services that were age-appropriate and accessible, and recognized their needs as different.
Source: National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Framework (pdf links) | Summary (pdf) | DH press release | HDA press release | Healthcare Commission press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCPsych press release | CSCI press release | ADSS press release | NYA press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Sep
Voluntary organizations launched a manifesto in which they called on the government to appoint a cabinet minister to represent the voluntary sector.
Source: Charities Don't Want Charity, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (0845 345 8481)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | ACEVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
A report said that the voluntary sector should seize every opportunity to influence the modernisation of public services: it was in an ideal position to both supply public services and find ways to improve them.
Source: Adding Value to Public Services, RNID (0808 808 0123)
Links: Report (pdf) | RNID press release
Date: 2004-Jul
A report said that nearly every regional development agency was focusing on economic issues to the detriment of social regeneration. As a result voluntary and community sector organisations seeking to become involved in regional regeneration faced a 'bleak future', because the agencies were unwilling to fund them.
Source: Bev Lucas, Will the Single Pot Tackle Social Regeneration?, National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service (0114 278 6636)
Links: Report (pdf) | Regeneration news report
Date: 2004-Jul
An article examined the strategic choices that voluntary and community organisations made in seeking to influence public policy, and the challenges that they faced in doing so. It rejected a simple categorisation between 'insiders' and 'outsiders' in the policy process.
Source: Gary Craig, Marilyn Taylor and Tessa Parkes, 'Protest or partnership? The voluntary and community sectors in the policy process', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 38 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Jun
A report said that the 'Voluntary Sector Scheme' in Wales was a groundbreaking innovation which remained highly valued by the voluntary sector and the Welsh Assembly Government. (The scheme gives the voluntary sector and all its constituent parts special access to government processes in Wales.)
Source: Independent Commission to Review the Voluntary Sector Scheme, Final Report, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report (pdf) | WCVA press release
Date: 2004-Apr
The charities regulator began consultation on guidelines covering the political and campaigning activities of charities allowable under charity law.
Source: Campaigning and Political Activities by Charities, Charity Commission for England and Wales (0870 333 0123)
Links: Consultation document | Charity Commission press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Apr
An annual survey found that since 1991 the number of general charities had increased from an estimated 98,000 (with a combined expenditure of 11.2 billion) to over 153,000 in 2001-02 (total income around 20 billion).
Source: UK Voluntary Sector Almanac 2004, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: NCVO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
A report considered what was meant by the 'independence' of the voluntary and community sector, why it mattered, and what the potential threats to it might be. It said that absolute independence was a myth: the important thing was to manage relationships effectively. The sector also needed to become better at valuing itself and articulating its own independence.
Source: Ann Blackmore, Standing Apart, Working Together: A study of the myths and realities of voluntary and community sector independence, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (0800 279 8798)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary | NCVO press release
Date: 2004-Feb