New Third Sector Minister Announced

Conservative MP Nick Hurd as been confirmed as the new voluntary sector minister.

Mr Hurd, whose Cabinet Office portfolio is set to cover charities, social enterprise and volunteering, had been shadow charities minister for the past 18 months after succeeding Greg Clark in October 2008.

The new minister is the son of former Cabinet member Douglas Hurd and has studied at Eton College and Oxford University.

Mr Hurd secured a majority of 19,060 in the General Election to keep his constituency of Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, which he has held since 2005.

He is also a trustee of the Hillingdon Partnership Trust, an organisation that helps to create partnerships between local businesses and charities.

Prior to this month’s election, the Conservatives had announced plans to rename the Office of the Third Sector as the Office of Civil Society.

Third Sector 17/05/2010

Bottoms Up! Raise a Glass to the Government’s Latest Community Fund

A new initiative has been launched by the Plunkett Foundation and the Office of the Third Sector to help communities establish and run community pubs.

The Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme will help up to 50 communities to set up and run community pubs over the next three years. The programme will be supported by a number of experienced organisations including Pub is the Hub, Co-operative and Community Finance, Co-operativesUK, CAMRA and the Co-Operative Development Network.

The scheme will support community-ownership through a mixture of funding, advice and support. Grants will be matched with loans from Co-operative and Community Finance and information will be provided on how to open and run a community pub.

Chief executive of the Plunkett Foundation, Peter Couchman, said:

“Pubs are vitally important to communities. They provide places where people can come together to socialise and join in a number of community activities.

“Community ownership can secure the future of pubs, just as it is doing for village shops, through harnessing the creativity and energy of a whole community.”

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said:

“This is an exciting way of enabling 50 communities to come together to buy and own their own pub. Communities will be able to use the building to offer other services they want and need, which will improve community cohesion and also provide opportunities for members to gain new skills.

“It will also create a network of community hubs across England which will act as inspiration to a range of communities, and increase awareness of social enterprise, and mutual approaches to self help within communities.”

Source: The Plunkett Foundation, 22/03/2010

Third Sector Minister Praises Success of Funding Central

It has been revealed that Funding Central has generated £1.5m in grants and contract funding in its first six months.

Thousands of voluntary organisations and social enterprises have benefited from the new website, which also provides valuable advice and information on developing skills to draft winning tenders and successfully apply for grants or loan finance. Of those responding to an on-line survey in January, 100 organisations (16% of respondents) successfully applied for grants and contracts of between £800 and £85,000, with many more applications pending.

A survey of site users shows more than 70 per cent rate the “search” options as good or very good and 63 per cent think the advice section is good or very good. A total of 73 per cent of survey respondents rated a weekly personalised funding newsletter, supplied by Funding Central, as good or very good.

Graham Collins, sustainable funding programme manager at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), which runs the site, said:

“It’s great to see so many organisations using – and successfully securing income – through the website and valuing the advice posted there too. Funding Central is a vital resource for all third sector organisations because it brings together the broadest range of funding and finance opportunities in one place enabling organisations to explore all income options and make informed choices.”

The website is funded by the Office of the Third Sector. Angela Smith, Minister for the Third Sector, said: “OTS is delighted to be funding this great initiative. Funding Central makes it much easier for all voluntary and community organisations to find out about the funding and finance options available to them.

“The site allows comprehensive information to be found in one place and this is especially valuable during the economic downturn as third sector organisations will be able to spend more time on their core functions and less time searching and researching numerous sources of funding.  

“It’s very promising that so many organisations are using the site and making the most of the opportunities available to them.”

The Reader Organisation secured an 18-month contract worth £135,000 through the website to run ‘Get Into Reading’, their innovative social outreach project, in libraries, community centres and GP surgeries in Wigan. This was the first time the charity won a tender outside Liverpool. Get Into Reading runs weekly read-aloud groups, which improve public mental health and wellbeing.

Chris Catterall, national development manager at The Reader Organisation, said:

 “Funding Central was easy to use and has given us a great opportunity we might not otherwise have found.

“This opportunity to work with Wigan Council on their Worklessness Strategy has been achieved by developing unique health and culture partnerships to serve the local community and bring people together each week.”

Funding Central is free for all voluntary and community organisations to use, including social enterprises, and provides access to more than 4,000 funding and finance opportunities, such as grants, contracts and loans. This is supported by practical advice, information and easy-to-follow tips to submitting successful applications.

For more information contact Jenny Legg in NCVO’s press office on 020 7520 2469 or email jenny.legg@ncvo-vol.org.uk. For calls outside office hours, please ring 07714 243942.

NCVO, 11/03/2010

Communitybuilders Coming Soon

The government’s £70 million Communitybuilders programme will open in July 2009.

Communitybuilders, a joint venture between the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), is an investment programme providing financial assistance and advisory support to empower citizens and communities throughout England.

The initiative, launched in response to commitments within the 2008 Communities in Control: real people, real power White Paper, is intended to build more cohesive, empowered and active communities through a mixture of grants, loans and non-financial support.

Communitybuilders will seek bids from new and already existing organisations, often known as ‘community anchors’ (which include, but are not limited to, development trusts, settlements and multi-purpose community groups).

Eligible organisations will need to be ambitious and have the ability to offer places for communities to meet and provide and host valuable community services.  They must be controlled by local residents, be inclusive and address local issues and needs.

The Communitybuilders fund is not yet open to applications but it is anticipated that the application process will begin in July 2009.  It will be delivered by a national partner on behalf of the DCLG and the OTS.

For further information, visit the Office of the Third Sector website:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx

Source: Cabinet Office

New Cabinet Committee For Third Sector

A new Cabinet sub-committee to tackle barriers to service delivery has been welcomed by the third sector.

The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) has invited representatives from eight Whitehall departments including the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government to join forces with an advisory group of third sector representatives to form a new sub-committee.

The committee has been tasked with removing barriers faced by third sector organisations attempting to win central government public service delivery contracts and will carefully scrutinise the procurement procedures of a range of government departments in order to make them more effective and accessible.

The announcement of the sub-committee has been well received by the third sector.  Peter Kyle, deputy chief executive of Acevo, commented that the creation of the advisory body was a “triumph” and suggested it would have “real clout”.  Ben Kernigham, deputy chief executive of NCVO, also welcomed the committee, but urged them to take relevant and decisive action quickly:

“Voluntary sector organisations have already identified the barriers to their involvement in public service delivery.  We now need the committee to tackle these issues and take appropriate action.”

For further information visit the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) website: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx

Source: Cabinet Office

New Third Sector Minister appointed

The former parliamentary private sectary to Gordon Brown, Angela Evans Smith, has been announced as the new Minister for the Third Sector in the latest cabinet reshuffle.

Smith, MP for Basildon and former member of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), will replace previous minister, Kevin Brennan, who is set to join the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, headed by Peter Mandelson.

A prominent and active supporter of charities, Smith is a patron of a number of organisations, including the Captive Animals Protection Society, the Burned Children’s Club and Basildon Women’s Refuge, and cites a range of causes including animal welfare, child protection, employment, youth issues and employment as key personal interests.

Pledging to continue to promote and recognise the “vital role” of the Third Sector in today’s society, Smith said:

“As a Government we need to ensure that the right advice, support and financing is available […].  I will drive forward the Government’s support for a thriving third sector and champion the innovative and dedicated work of those of you who serve in the sector.”

Third Sector members have warmly welcomed Smith’s appointment, with Acevo chief executive, Stephen Bubb, claiming it marked a “promotion for the sector”. 

Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears, was also replaced last week following her resignation from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).  She will be succeeded by the former secretary of state for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham.

Source: Cabinet Office

News of the government Hardship Fund announced

Details regarding the £16.7 million Hardship Fund for the Third Sector announced as part of this year’s budget have been released.

The Hardship Fund, an initiative to support the £42.5 million Real Help for Communities action plan for the Third Sector, will provide grants to front-line organisations delivering services to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in society and those most hard-hit by the recession.

It is anticipated that grants of between £50,000 and £250,000 will be available to organisations that are in financial hardship and that deliver services in the following areas:

• Health and social care.
• Housing support.
• Education and training.
• Information, advice and guidance.

More information about the Hardship Fund’s delivery partner, when the programme will be open to applications and how to apply will be available shortly.

For further information visit: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx

Source:  Office of the Third Sector

Government shares out recession cash via Targeted Support Fund

It was announced last week that Birmingham, Liverpool, Durham and Hull will be amongst the beneficiaries of the Government’s £15.5 million Targeted Support Fund.

 

The Fund, intended to help third sector organisations combat the hard-hitting effects of the recession, has been shared out between 50 areas in England, chosen specifically because they are most at risk of increased deprivation.

 

The one-year programme will be administered by the Community Development Foundation but applications will be assessed at a local level by local funders.  Grants will pin-point ‘recession-focused’ areas of work, including:

 

• Housing, debt, finance and legal problems.
• Employment training.
• Services related to mental health, relationship breakdown, counselling, domestic violence and substance misuse.

 

It is anticipated the application process will open at the end of April or the beginning of May.

 

Source: Office of the Third Sector

Third Sector urged to tackle environmental hot topics

Plans are underway for the establishment of a Third Sector taskforce that will work alongside the government to tackle climate change and other environmental issues.

 

The taskforce, established by Defra as part of its Third Sector Strategy, will be made up of third sector representatives and will work in partnership with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and a number of Cabinet Office ministers.

 

The taskforce will tackle hot environmental topics such as climate change and sustainable development and is keen to increase the volume of activity undertaken by the sector in these areas.  It is also hoped the programme will help spread environmental messages to local communities and encourage their members to take part in volunteering programmes and live more energy efficient lives.

 

Defra is seeking a diverse membership for the taskforce, in order to represent the full spectrum of third sector organisations operating in the UK.  Applications for membership are now invited and are welcome from groups of all sizes, with a range of interest areas.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090323a.htm

 

 

Source:  Office of the Third Sector, Defra

Cash boost for organisations run by people with disabilities

Good news this week for organisations run by people with disabilities – as the Department of Health unveils a new £1 million fund.

 

A substantial funding pot of more than £1 million will be shared between 25 user-led organisations across England that are run at a local level by disabled people or carers.  The organisations concerned offer a range of services to their local communities, including advocacy, information and advice and the promotion of independent living for all.

 

In addition, a further £100,000 will be shared out between local authorities in the North West, South East and East of England, in order to enable better understanding of, and collaboration between, councils and organisations run by people with disabilities.

 

For further information visit:

 

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/SocialCare/Socialcarereform/Userledorganisations/index.htm

 

 

Source:  Office of the Third Sector, Department of Health