ILP Infobank News

oneplace - one day early!

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:36:16 +0000

oneplace - one day early!

The Audit Commission (AC) and its partner inspectorates will be launching the oneplace website a day early, on 9 December 2009, following the government’s recent announcement to publish the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) on 9 December. The oneplace website will show the results of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).

The PBR will set out the government’s spending plans for next year and is likely to attract significant coverage across the domestic news media on 10 December - the day originally set to launch the oneplace website.

The decision to change the date has been agreed by all the partner inspectorates. By changing the date the AC avoids competing for limited space against the PBR but, even more importantly, reduces the risk that oneplace may be perceived as a government initiative.

For more information on oneplace, please contact Martin Bollers at the Audit Commission on 0844 798 2145 or email him.

FREE Total Place seminars

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:55:45 +0000

FREE Total Place seminars:

From January to March next year, I&DeA is running a series of FREE themed seminars around Total Place:

Find out more about Total Place

Local democracy videos

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:55:09 +0000

Local democracy videos:

The Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA) has posted a number of short videos about local democratic engagement on its Better Community Engagement and Empowerment community of practice website. They cover

Being a councillor - by Improvement and Efficiency South East with Oxfordshire County Council. It covers the main aspects of a councillor’s role, how to become a councillor and the reflections of councillors on what they like about their role.
What can your councillor do for you? - by Improvement and Efficiency South East with Oxfordshire County Council. It covers how you can use your councillor, as a signpost, a campaigner, to help raise or resolve issues and how to contact your councillor.
How to vote - by Improvement and Efficiency South East with Oxfordshire County Council. Explains the ways you can vote, who is eligible and signposts people onto the About my vote website.
Speaking at a council meeting - by Improvement and Efficiency South East with Oxfordshire County Council. Covers how to raise an issue at a council meeting, the time you are likely to have, sending written submissions and the benefits to people of making suggestions to improve services.
Participatory Budgeting (PB) in Walsall NDC (New Deal for Communities) - by the West Midlands Regional Empowerment Partnership. Looks at the experience of two community workers who have used PB methods to engage with young children (6-11 years) to make budget decisions for activities for young people.
How to complain to your council - by Improvement and Efficiency South East and Oxfordshire County Council. Covers how to make a complaint in writing, by phone or email, to help improve services.
How to make a freedom of information request - by Improvement and Efficiency South East and Oxfordshire County Council. Covers how to acess information in the public domain and the way that Freedom of Information Requests are responded to.

Watch the videos (FREE registration required)

Faith communities and cohesion - Doreen Finneron

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:09:52 +0000

Faith communities and cohesion - Doreen Finneron:

At an Interfaith Week seminar organised by the British Humanist Association, the Director of the Faith-based Regeneration Network (FbRN), Dr Doreen Finneron, offered an explanation of how faith communities’ work fits ‘within the wider strategy of Empowerment and other community policy, such as involving local people in the decisions that affect them and supporting voluntary activity.’

She identified three main aspects of the faith role:

‘addressing need at local level, often by the delivery of services, particularly to marginalised and isolated groups,
‘working together to build cohesion, and
‘speaking out on current issues; this often leads them to a critique and challenge of government.’

Read Dr Finneron’s lecture

Compact Voice - latest news

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:26:55 +0000

Compact Voice - latest news:

Following the controversy surrounding the government’s decision to cancel grants awarded under the Campaigning Research Fund, Compact Voice is conducting a poll to discover members’ views on whether giving the Compact Commission statutory powers would go against the spirit of the Compact itself.

They will be sending out pdf files of the refreshed Compact to registered members, as soon as it is launched.

They are also publishing case studies of how the Compact has made a difference around England.

LGA challenges CAA

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:21 +0000

LGA challenges CAA:

Comprehensive area assessment (CAA) has not only failed to reduce the cost of inspection borne by councils but has even increased it in some local areas, according to a lobbying document published by the Local Government Association (LGA).

In Delivering more for less: maximising value in the public sector, the LGA identifies £650 million of savings that could be made by radically reducing the burden of public inspection.

They argue further that up to £4.5 billion in total could be saved by cuts to departmental budgets and quangos, and councils being given more control over public spending in their areas.

Download Delivering more for less

EHRC publishes plans

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:59:47 +0000

EHRC publishes plans:

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published an account of their work in What our plans mean for you.

The document highlights EHRC’s work around seven equality and human rights strands and a range of cross-cutting themes, and outlines the commission’s plans for the future.

Download What our plans mean for you

Equality Bill - latest news

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:59:18 +0000

Equality Bill - latest news:

The Equality Bill was carried over from the last session of parliament and re-announced in the Queen’s speech on 18 November.

The Bill sets out new laws intended to

help narrow the gap between rich and poor
require business to report on gender pay
outlaw age discrimination
strengthen anti-discrimination legislation

If passed, the Bill will replace many of the existing laws around equality and discrimination.

It will also impose on local authorities a new socio-economic duty to ensure that their decisions contribute towards closing the poverty gap in their local areas.

Find out more

Signposting sustainability through CAA

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:58:21 +0000

Signposting sustainability through CAA:

The Improvement Network has published a comprehensive briefing on Sustainability, one of the four aims underlying comprehensive area assessment (CAA).

The briefing, which will be of interest to all local strategic partners, aims

to show how local authorities and their local strategic partners can take sustainability into account in their current and future work, and
to demonstrate the value of doing so through improving performance in relation to sustainability and the eleven sub-themes in the CAA.

Access the briefing

Conservatives 'will trust charities' - Hurd

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:57:55 +0000

Conservatives 'will trust charities' - Hurd:

In a speech to NCVO’s autumn conference, Nick Hurd, Shadow Charities Minister, acknowledged the wide diversity of the third sector and stated that a future Conservative government would place more trust in voluntary and community organisations.

He said that, while the present government’s intentions towards the sector are good, the relationship is too bureaucratic and there is too much micro-management of process.

NAVCA, the Compact and the Campaigning Fund cancellation

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:57:19 +0000

NAVCA, the Compact and the Campaigning Fund cancellation:

NAVCA Chief Executive Kevin Curley has challenged the decision by the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) to cancel grants already awarded under the Campaigning Research Fund, without reasonable notice or consultation.

OTS admitted that the decision is a breach of the Compact, but argued that reallocating the £750,000 to the Hardship Fund will provide more effective support for the third sector during the recession

In a letter to the Minister for the Third Sector, Angela Smith, Kevin writes, ‘You are our Champion in Government at central and local levels. You do that job really well. However, this decision will be seen as bad grant making practice and sets a poor example to politicians and grant makers in local authorities and other agencies.’

Compact Voice has called for an independent investigation into the decision, but the Commission for the Compact has stated that it does not have the necessary powers to investigate.

Campaigning website Louder has set up an online petition calling for the funding to be reinstated.

Louder petition

Councils must promote democracy - Local Democracy Act

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:24:25 +0000

Councils must promote democracy - Local Democracy Act:

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill 2008 has received the Royal Assent, becoming an Act of Parliament.

The new Act places on local authorities a statutory duty to promote democracy, which requires them to:

Reconnect people with public and political decision-making
Ensure all sections of community, including young people, understand how the council works, who makes decisions and how to get involved
Provide appropriate support for elected members

Community organisations, especially those working with excluded and minority groups and individuals, may find find opportunities here and in the current Strengthening Local Democracy policy initiative, to ensure that these measures are implemented so as to strengthen the democratic engagement of all citizens, not simply those whose voices are already heard.

The Act provides for multi area agreements (MAAs), already established in many areas, to be given statutory force similar to that enjoyed by local area agreements (LAAs).

It also requires councils to undertake a local economic assessment of their areas and gives them more powers to promote economic regeneration through Economic Prosperity Boards.

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act

SCA Amendment Bill dropped

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:23:15 +0000

SCA Amendment Bill dropped:

The Sustainable Communities Act 2006 (Amendment) Bill, introduced by David Drew MP, was scheduled for a half-day debate on 16 October. Lack of parliamentary time, however, meant that the debate did not take place and the Bill has now been dropped.

NAVCA supported the Bill, which called for provision of a rolling programme of proposals under the Act, the representation of parish councils and the recognition by local authorities of proposals supported by petitions signed by 5% of an area’s electors.

Two Early Day Motions (EDMs) had called for the rolling programme (EDM 1545) and for the publication of detailed local spending reports (EDM 1064).

"Citizenship Survey results - a foretaste of CAA?"

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:22:39 +0000

“Citizenship Survey results - a foretaste of CAA?”

- The results of the Citizenship Survey, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), show that the national figure for ‘the percentage of people who felt they could influence decisions in their local area’ fell to 35% in the first quarter of this year (April-June 2009), from last year’s figure of 39%.

The figure for formal volunteering was unchanged: 43% of adults had volunteered, and 28% had volunteerd at least once a month.

It will be interesting to see whether these national trends are reflected in the equivalent figures for local areas, measured by the Place Survey under National Indicators 4 & 6, when the comprehensive area assessment (CAA) results are published on 10 December 2009.

Citizenship Survey results

oneplace (CAA reporting website)

FREE courses - a Human Rights approach to campaigning

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:21:57 +0000

FREE courses - a Human Rights approach to campaigning:

The British Insititute of Human Rights (BIHR) will be running a series of courses on campaigning across England.

These two-day events will explore

the background to human rights
human rights legislation
how human rights work to support campaigning
opportunities for lobbying, media and direct action

Download course details

'The Big Society' - Cameron on community engagement

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:21:05 +0000

'The Big Society' - Cameron on community engagement:

Conservative Party Leader David Cameron argued yesterday that poverty and inequality have got worse in recent times, despite the expansion of the State.

Giving the Hugo Young memorial lecture, he spoke of the need to engage not only ‘social entrepreneurs’ and ‘community activists’ but ‘that significant percentage of the population who have no record of getting involved’. His plans for civic institutions and for young people will, he believes, contribute to ‘a broad culture of responsibility, mutuality and obligation’.

Read the lecture in full

Tessa Jowell - acevo speech

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:14 +0000

Tessa Jowell - acevo speech:

Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Cabinet Office, challenged the third sector to renew its efforts in three key areas, in a speech delivered to acevo’s annual conference on Thursday 5 November.

Ms Jowell argued that the sector needs to clarify its public identity by redefining its boundary with the other sectors. She proposed a new model of ‘social innovation’ that would blend social and business objectives. She also called on the sector to renew the distinctive values of compassion and humanity that mark it out when delivering public services.

Read the speech

Compact Refresh - sector response

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:49 +0000

Compact Refresh - sector response:

79 third sector organisations and 3 interested individuals responded to the recent Compact refresh consultation. Compact Voice has summarised the themes and requirements that were put forward.

The final version of the new Compact will be launched on 19 December 2009.

Place Survey information online

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:21 +0000

Place Survey information online:

The Place Survey website closed on 31 October 2009.

Place Survey background information and reports can now be accessed through the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) website:

Solihull wins award

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:57:06 +0000

Solihull wins award:

Third Sector reports that the new Compact Plus for Solihull has won the Local Compact of the Year award.

Accepting the award, Faisal Hussain, head of community and voluntary relations at Solihull Council, said, “The original Compact didn’t have the credibility of the vast majority of the third sector… after a consultation between the voluntary, statutory and private sectors we came up with one that has been more widely accepted and has led to more external funding by showing we have well-developed partnerships that can work together.”