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Lottery puts BIG Trust in Ramsey

At least £1 million of Lottery good cause funding is to flow into Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, as the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) announces the first 50 areas across England to benefit from its Big Local Trust programme.

BIG is investing up to £200 million over the next ten years to help turn up to 150 urban and rural neighbourhoods into better places for everyone to live.

The targeted neighbourhoods have all been selected following extensive analysis and discussion and are all places where people face many social obstacles and have a history of difficulty in obtaining resources, including funding from BIG, to help overcome them.

Sarah Betsworth Big Lottery Fund Head of East of England region said: “The Big Local Trust is a dedicated Lottery funding stream to help people in neighbourhoods such as Ramsey to identify local issues and to develop the skills and confidence necessary to change things for the better.

“We hope that by securing funding for the long-term and by offering a commitment to providing dedicated local support, the Big Local Trust will bring lasting positive changes to Ramsey and its residents.”

An independent charitable trust will be set up to run the programme and today BIG is calling for expressions of interest from organisations who wish to apply to run the Trust. Organisations interested in becoming a Trustee are being asked to contact BIG by Thursday 12 August 2010.

In the meantime BIG will be working with a wide range of local organisations in each of the first 50 neighbourhoods. At least 50 more areas across England will be selected by BIG in the next 12 to 18 months to benefit from the programme.

The programme builds on BIG’s commitment to pioneering flexible, long-term and locally determined approaches such as the Fair Share Trust programme, which since 2002, has been investing £50 million in 77 neighbourhoods across the UK.

For a full list of areas please visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/BigLocalTrust

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888    
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030                 Textphone:  0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

CLG invite ideas for Big Society

At the launch of the four Big Society vanguard areas in Liverpool on 19 July, the Prime Minister said:

"If you've got an idea to make life better, if you want to improve your local area, don't just think about it - tell us what you want to do and we will try and give you the tools to make this happen."

Communities and Local Government are taking forward this initiative by inviting you to submit details of proposals for local projects which embrace Big Society principles.

We'd like to receive a brief outline of the project you want to take forward; details of the local partners you propose to work with, for example community groups and/or social enterprises; the expected outcomes and the role, if any, you expect central Government to play, for example in assisting with overcoming any bureaucratic barrier which may impede local delivery.

Please send your ideas to BigSocietyideas@communities.gsi.gov.uk
You will receive an immediate acknowledgement and an initial response on your proposal within seven days.

The full text of the Prime Minister's speech can be found at
http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/speeches-and-transcripts/2010/07/big-society-speech-53572

Compact Voice writes to key ministers over lack of consultation on sector funding cuts

Sent to you on behalf of the NCVO Public Service Delivery Network:

Compact Voice is concerned that the Government’s recent announcements of significant spending cuts have led to local programmes being abandoned, delayed payments to voluntary groups, and have taken place without prior discussion. The charity, which represents the voluntary sector in England on the Compact, is writing to key Ministers, non-Departmental public bodies and other agencies to ask for assurances that they will carry out any cuts or reviews of funding in a Compact-compliant manner.  

Cuts have included funding for Regional Development Agencies, Working Neighbourhood Funds and Future Jobs Fund, which will have a real impact on voluntary organisations and communities. Recently, Hull CVS had £200,000 of funding from the Future Jobs Fund withdrawn without consultation, which will directly affect young people being able to find work in Hull. And alarmingly, Voluntary Action Westminster was also informed that £3 million of funding would be cut without consultation, the vast majority of which would have been used to support local front-line services.

Bernard Collier, chief executive of VAW said:

“I am very disappointed. This will affect the most disadvantaged in our community. There should have been a better process which engaged with the community sector – the very organisations at the heart of the Big Society, rather than this scorched-earth approach we’re seeing.”

While there is recognition of the need to address the national budget deficit, these particular cuts have been done with little reference to the Compact – the long-established agreement between the public and voluntary sectors. At a time when the Government has pledged to strengthen both the sector and the Compact, it needs the voluntary sector more than ever to sustain communities through the difficult times ahead, and should therefore work with and consult them over cuts that are going to affect them.

Unilateral cuts are not a necessity, and can seriously undermine the ability of partners to deliver cost-effective services to the most needy parts of the population. In some areas, significant cost savings have already been found through a joint approach; in Merton earlier in 2010, flat rate percentage cuts across the board were avoided in this way, and all priorities were protected through joint impact assessments. As a result of this transparent and fair process, all parties were satisfied with the results and a forward funding planning project has been launched by the Council to involve local groups in budgeting. This model is already being reproduced in other areas such as Thurrock, where future funding decisions will also be jointly made.

Simon Blake, Chair of Compact Voice, said: 

“Today I have written to all ministers and other key decision-makers to ask for assurances that they will follow the Compact when thinking about cuts. Proper discussion with the sector is not a luxury for good times, it is a necessity to ensure that the best possible decisions are made during this difficult time as well.”

Big Lottery - Strategic Framework to 2015

Big thinking

News

Adult Safeguarding Training

Cambridgeshire County Cou ncil information on 2010 adult safeguarding training. http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/social/adultprot/training.

Real Help from the Government

The international financial crisis and the recession it has caused are having a real impact on individuals, families and businesses. The Government has produced a booklet Real Help Now for people for business setting out the help available for people who need it during the current downturn, from homeowners with difficulty paying their mortgage, or people looking for work or training, to small businesses with cash flow problems. For details of action in your region please visit www.realhelpnow.gov.uk

How your Council Works

Urban Forum and NAVCA have published a guide to help charities and community groups get the most out of their local councils. It explains the structures and workings of local councils as well as who is responsible for which issues, how to get involved with local councils and what councils are legally bound to do to properly engage with charities.

www.urbanforum.org.uk

navca.org.uk

Compact

Refreshed Compact

An Introduction to the Compact

Consultation on Two more Compact Codes of Good Practice

Community Groups Code Constitution

Community GroupsConsititution Reply Form

Voluntary Code Constitution

Voluntary Code Reply Form

Benchmarking and Evaluation

Benchmarking made simple: a step-by-step guide contains practical material to help get you started, gather the right information, share what you have learned, and use the results to improve your organisation's performance. Written by CES, this high quality 25 page document is free to download now.

Social Enterprise Works offer a free online benchmarking service called 'BenchLearning' that allows you to instantly access your results in the form of graphs and charts in key areas such as HR, finance, customer satisfaction, performance management, stakeholders, equality and diversity and social and environmental impact. There is also an organisational performance diagnosis enabling all staff and volunteers to anonymously feedback their perception of the organisation's performance via an online questionnaire - the accumulated results are provided in a report format that uses a traffic light system to easily identify the organisations perceived strengths and areas for development. To access both of these services visit www.socialenterpriseworks.org/benchmarking.

Awards for All England Latest

Awards for All England small grants to change

Hunts Forum News

AGM

Hunts Forum had a very successful AGM at the Maple Centre on Thursday 12th November with a buffet lunch courtesy of the Moor Community Cafe. The guest speaker was Rod Craig, Executive Director for Community & Adult Services Cambridgeshire County Council.

Rod Craig's Powerpoint Presentation

Some of the attendees having lunch at the Maple Centre at the AGM.

nsultations

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