Today, 2 June, is the deadline by which Community Work Placements – the flagship policy announcement at last year’s Conservative Party conference – were required by contract to be up and running [2]. But Keep Volunteering Voluntary, which represents the hundreds of voluntary sector organisations who have pledged not to take part in the scheme, … Continue reading
English second tier bodies have largely given up on retaining grant funding for voluntary groups but vigorous support for the virtues of grants over contracts persists in Wales. A recent BBC Wales report quoted Graham Benfield, Chief Executive of Wales Council for Voluntary Action, as saying the procurement process of offering and awarding contracts for … Continue reading
An inspiring video – ‘A Polite Revolution’ – from activists in Barnet shows how an alliance between occupy, trades unions and local people can make an impact that goes beyond the sum of the parts. Faced with the closure of Friern Barnet library, the building was occupied and kept open by local people. This forced … Continue reading
Bucking the trend towards mergers, acquisitions and single contracts to corporate predators, positive news is coming in from West Sussex, where fresh agreements between the local authorities and the County’s seven CVSs explicitly recognise the importance of locally accountable provision.
Several years ago, the County was a focus of an NCIA study into the effects … Continue reading
October 15th marked a decisive moment for anti-privatisation campaigners when the Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust announced that the county’s 8 community hospitals and health services (including 3000 nurses and other health workers would remain in the NHS. This reversed an earlier decision to outsource services by creating a ‘social enterprise’, in what would have … Continue reading
Just Wage is a campaign for lowering income gaps through the use of fixed salary ratios, with a special eye on voluntary sector wages. And if ever such a campaign was needed, now’s the time. So NCIA has signed up and will be offering support where it can. Check their blog out and do the … Continue reading
ITC is a leading association for the performing arts, representing around 700 organisations across the UK from a wide range of performing arts organisations, venues and individuals in the fields of drama, dance, opera, music theatre, puppetry, mixed media, mime, physical theatre and circus.
Their slogan is,”good art thrives on good … Continue reading
In 2007, Positive Action in Housing (PAiH) organised a Sleepout in Glasgow’s George Square. The Sleepout was a symbolic action to highlight destitution amongst refused asylum seekers and the UK government’s policy of starving people out of this country to stop them claiming refuge. Every week PAiH gives out hundreds of pounds of money collected … Continue reading
Social Action for Health (SAfH) is a highly successful, long-established community development charity running a range of projects to “increase local people’s active participation in improving their own health and well-being, tackling barriers, finding solutions”. SAFH works in East and South East London with … Continue reading
Ladywell Pool is part of a leisure centre that also contains a gym and other facilities. Built in 1965, it is very popular and well situated, close to the main Lewisham shopping centre. Ladywell is a pool that was built to a very high standard. It is longer than current standard 25 metre pools and … Continue reading