Public services

We have today responded to the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on the introduction of the Work Programme.  

Sir Stuart Etherington, our Chief Executive, said:

"This report rightly identifies that many elements of the Work Programme have addressed the shortcomings of previous schemes, particularly in terms of offering more innovative financing arrangements and greater freedom and flexibility for providers. However, there is a need to ensure that these financing arrangements are fair and proportionate so that subcontractors have sufficient funds to carry out the work.

Following months of discussions with the European Commission, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is pushing for the implementation of simpler rules for procurement in this country.

Responding today to a Cabinet Office Consultation on the new EU proposals, NCVO pushed for adoption of a range of measures to make the rules simpler for social service delivery.

These include:

We have responded today to the Cabinet Office’s open letter to the sector on the future of commissioning public services.

The letter by Nick Hurd announces £10 million of funding for the Investment and Contract Readiness programme to help civil society organisations grasp the opportunities arising from new markets in public service delivery and new types of social finance.

David Cameron has revealed new plans for opening up public services to bids from charities, community groups and companies in the Open Public Services White Paper.

The White Paper aims to deliver "more freedom, more choice and more local control" by applying five principles of choice, decentralisation, diversity, fairness and accountability.

A new report launching today explores what the government’s NHS reforms could mean for voluntary organisations providing health services.

The Voluntary and Community Sector in Health report (247KB), produced jointly with the Kings Fund, suggests that the proposed reforms present a mixture of challenges and opportunities for the sector over the coming years. It raises particular concerns that larger providers could end up dominating the market, and stresses that the sector needs support in the transition to the new arrangements.

The NHS Future Forum has today published key recommendations to Government on the future for the modernisation of the National Health Service.

Set up as an independent group in order to ‘pause, listen and reflect’ on the content of the existing Health and Social Care Bill, the Forum has made a series of recommendations under the themes of choice and competition; clinical advice and leadership; education and training; and patient involvement and public accountability.

Chris Grayling, the Minister for Employment, officially launched the Government’s new flagship welfare to work initiative today. To coincide, NCVO is marking the occasion with the launch of a special interest group aimed at representing the hundreds of voluntary and community organisations that act as sub-contractors in the new Work Programme.

We have responded to the Government's 'Listening Exercise' on the future of the NHS and have sent a letter to the Prime Minister (242 KB) outlining some of our concerns with the Health Bill.