Civil society

The Government must ensure tackling the causes of August's civil unrest does not drop off of the agenda according to our new report released today (31 October 2011).

Following on from a summit we convened in September, which brought together over 100 people from charities, community groups, young people’s services and government to reflect on the causes of the disturbances and the best ways to respond, the report makes a series of recommendations to government, the sector and the media to lessen the risk of events repeating themselves. 

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Last night we hosted the 14th annual Hinton Lecture, featuring the Rt. Hon. Shirley Williams and introduced by NCVO Chair, Martyn Lewis CBE.

Baroness Williams is one of the most distinguished politicians of her generation. She first entered Parliament in the 1964 General Election – and rose quickly to serve as Secretary of State for Education, during which time she famously replaced Grammar schools with Comprehensives.

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Building on several months of negotiation with partners across Europe the key report on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise was adopted at today’s plenary session by the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC). Early in the summer, NCVO hosted a study visit when members of the committee met key social entrepreneurs and Office for Civil Society (OCS) officials in London.

Newly-published research has revealed a significant growth in the size of the voluntary sector workforce over the past decade.

The UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2011, published today (26 October 2011), shows that there were 765,000 people working in the voluntary sector in 2010, an increase of 40% since 2001. This represents a quicker rate of growth than that experienced in either the public or the private sectors over the same period. Such long term growth precedes our recently released figures showing indications of a downturn in voluntary sector employment during 2011.

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Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd has today (12 October 2011) published an open letter (PDF 151KB) to the sector in which he reaffirms the government's vision for the Big Society.

Reiterating policy announcements made by the Coalition Government over recent months to enable a "long term culture change", the letter states that the Government is focused on three strands of activity...

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The Work Programme is at risk of ‘systemic failure’ unless some significant issues are addressed, a group of over 100 charity sub-contractors is warning today.

Members of the special interest group, which is run by NCVO, are voicing concerns that the new welfare-to-work initiative in its current form could leave many voluntary sector providers feeling squeezed out and financially vulnerable. In a paper (PDF, 227KB) which has been sent to Employment Minister Chris Grayling, the group calls on the government to ensure that sector is involved fairly within the programme.

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We have published today a Best Practice Guide for Local Authorities and the Voluntary and Community Sector (PDF, 168KB), which makes a series of recommendations for local authorities on the ways they can support the sector and alleviate strain by helping organisations adapt to any changes in funding.

The guide also includes a number of good practice case studies from local councils that have been creative in the way that they have supported the sector at such an uncertain time.

Shared services VAT costs are a major obstacle to effective collaboration, an alliance of organisations has warned today (30 September 2011). 

NCVO, Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG), Universities UK and the National Housing Federation are warning HM Revenue and Customs that the VAT charge on shared services acts as a massive barrier to collaboration, preventing efficiency savings and more effective working arrangements.

With fears over the economy dominating the headlines, a new survey suggests that confidence levels in the voluntary sector’s financial future are at an all-time low.

The Charity Forecast Survey, published today (28 September 2011) by NCVO, shows that 98 per cent of charity leaders expect economic conditions within the sector to be negative over the next 12 months. This is the bleakest outlook in the survey’s three year history, with confidence levels lower than they were at the height of the recession.

The Head of our EU and International team has been chosen to chair the Steering Committee of a prominent international civil society network.

Oliver Henman will chair the Steering Committee of AGNA (the Affinity Group for National Associations), which is the grouping for national umbrella bodies within CIVICUS, the Global Alliance for Citizen Participation. He was elected to the post by the other members of the group during the AGM at the recent CIVICUS World Assembly.