Transcript Office of Civil Society’s Role

Cabinet Office in the Regions
Leeds
March 2013
Paul Schofield
Policy Manager (Yorks & Humber), Local Intelligence Team
Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office
UNCLASSIFIED
The OCS Local Intelligence Team (LIT)
Connectors between Whitehall and
local areas
To provide information and context
to local areas
To provide intelligence, insight and
challenge from local areas
To provide policy / project support
and delivery
Three strands of activity to support
Civil Society
Making it easier to run
a charity or social
enterprise
• Cutting Red Tape
• Transforming Local
Infrastructure Fund
• Charities Act Review
Making it easier to
work with the State
• easier for civil society
organisations to
participate in public
services delivery
• Renewed Compact
• Best Value Guidance
• Open Public Services
White Paper
Getting more resources
to the sector – time and
£
• Support for Social
Action
• Growing the Social
Investment Market
• Big Society Capital
• Investment & Contract
Readiness Fund
Strand 1
Making it easier to set up and run
• Transforming Local Infrastructure-Aimed at helping local infrastructure
services to become more efficient- £30m distributed to 74 organisations
across England. 10 succesful partnerships being funded in Y&H
• Cutting Red Tape- Unshackling Good Neighbours Report in May 2012,
complements and supports governments reviews of H&S, CRB and vetting
and barring regimes
• Mutuals Support Programme- supporting some of the most promising
and innovative mutuals to reach investment readiness and supported by
the Mutuals Information Service-£10m to March 2015.
Volunteering – cuts in red tape
New measures designed to encourage more people to volunteer
and to make it easier for people to run civil society organisations
• The Volunteer Code of Good Practice www.volunteering.org.uk/aboutus/news-releases/2287-working-grouppublishes-code-of-practice-for-volunteers
• The Association of British Insurers’ “How to run an event” guidance http://www.abi.org.uk/Media/Releases/2012/04/Celebrate_safely__ABI_publish
es_guide_on_organising_street_parties_and_other_events.aspx.
• The Association of British Insurer’s “Volunteer Drivers – The Insurance
Commitment” guide www.abi.org.uk/information/consumers/general/volunteer_driving_.aspx
• The Local Government Association has published “Top tips for holding a public
event in your community” - http://www.local.gov.uk/web/guest/publications//journal_content/56/10171/3577671/PUBLICATION-TEMPLATE.
• The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) launches on 1 December 2012
(merger of CRB and ISA - http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/vetting-barringscheme/
Mutuals
Cabinet Office aims to encourage the creation of new public service mutuals
across all areas of the public sector - http://mutuals.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
• Cabinet Mutuals Team particularly interested in:
• Local authority services, including adult social care, childrens services, leisure,
libraries / cultural services
• Fire Services
• Probation Services
• By end 2012 64 live public service mutuals operating across England, delivering
around £1 billion worth of public services
• Mutuals Support Programme, including Commissioner Support Toolbox
Strand 2
Making it easier to participate in public service
delivery
• Open Public Services White Paper- has set out a clear strategy for
opening access to public service delivery contracts. The Community Right
to Challenge rights in the Localism Act gives Voluntary and community
groups the opportunity to bid to run public services
• Procurement Reforms-contracts Finder Website launched in 2011
www.contractsfinder.co.uk
• Investment and Contract Readiness Fund-launched in 2011 gives grants
of between £50k-£150k to high growth potential social ventures- fund
expects to support @130 social ventures over 3 years- £10m
Strand 3
Getting more resources into the sector - £
• Social Investment Strategy-published in 2011-included support for 4
Local Authorities to develop PBR contracts that might be financed by
Social Impact Funds.
• A review of the Legal, Regulatory and Tax Measures to grow the Social
economy is currently taking place. We expect final recommendations by
the end of 2012
• Inspiring Impact Programme April 2012-£100k match funding from
Cabinet Office- www.inspiringimpact.org
• Big Society Capital-launched in April 2012 with capitalisation of up to
£600m-Up to £400 dormant account money now unlocked- alongside
Merlins Banks’ £200m investment. Initial Investments of £3.5m have
been made.
• Social Incubator Fund £10m
Strand 3
Getting more resources into the sector - £
• Advice Services Transition Fund-Fund to support the not for profit sector
as it adapts to changes in the way it is funded-£16.8m (£1.8m in Y&H) to
301 organisations. The 2012 budget announced that an additional £20m
will be made available in 2013/14, and again in 2014/15.
• Funding Central-a free website that provides access to thousands of
funding opportunities. It has channelled £73m in 2011. Funding Central is
funded by OCS and run by NCVO. www.fundingcentral.org.uk
Not-for-Profit Advice Services
Non for Profit organisations are a vital part of our national support
infrastructure... Government is providing new funding to help not for profit
advice providers to continue helping their clients whilst redesigning their
services to reflect the new financial realities.
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, Not for Profit Advice Services Review 2012
• In October 2012, the Government published a review the not-for-profit social
welfare advice sector in England. It shows that the Government has a role to play
in supporting the sector to adapt to the new funding realities, but advice
providers will also need to take the initiative and change the way they work.
• http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/65-million-free-advice-services-helpvulnerable
• The Cabinet Office and BIG will each contribute 50% to the £65M Advice Services
Transition Fund. Grants between £50,000 and £350,000. Partnerships
applications to be submitted by 28 January 2013.
• http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_advice_services_transition_fund?fromse
arch=-uk
Strand 3
Getting more resources into the sector - Social Action
• Community Organisers: 113 Senior Community Organisers currently in
the programme total budget £16m to 2015
• Community First – Neighbourhood Match - 600 CF panels established,
over 3,500 social action projects have been funded. Endowment Match
Challenge Fund also being build by Community Foundations
• National Citizens Service- 30,000 places delivered in 2012. 90,000 places
available in 2014-£21m spent on NCS in 2011/12
• Social Action Fund - grant funding to expand at speed, social action
mostly volunteering. Over £20m allocated to projects through 2 rounds of
the fund
• Innovation in Giving - £10m programme supporting innovative platform
ideas-£2.5m in R1, R2 just closed, further rounds in the pipeline
Community First – local solutions
Aims to help communities come together to identify local priorities, plan and
become more resilient focussed on areas with significant deprivation and low
social capital - www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/community-first
• £30m Neighbourhood Matched Fund Programme to provide financial support
for community-led projects, in targeted neighbourhoods of England with low
social capital and significant deprivation www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/neighbourhood-matched-fund
• Each ward receiving the Community First Fund has set up a Community First
Panel, there is at least one ward in each top tier local authority area
• £50m Endowment Match Challenge available throughout England with a clear
priority to build local endowments. In the long run these endowments should
create a sustainable source of grants for neighbourhood projects –
www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/endowment-match-challenge
National Citizens Service 2013/14
16-year-olds from different backgrounds: takes place over 3 weeks activity based residential followed by a project in their local community
while developing skills and confidence
• NCS Promotes:
• A more cohesive society by mixing participants from different
backgrounds;
• A more responsible society by supporting young people’s transition into
adulthood; and
• A more engaged society by enabling young people to work together to
create social action projects in their local communities
• Support to NCS graduates, access to work
• http://nationalcitizenservice.direct.gov.uk/
• http://www.facebook.com/ncs
Big Society Awards
Created to recognise individuals, groups or organisations that are
demonstrating the Big Society in their work or activities.
The award focuses upon the three Big Society theme areas:
Promoting Social
Action
Empowering
Communities
Opening up public
services
The next round closes on 12 April 2013
http://www.bigsocietyawards.org/
www.number10.gov.uk/take-part/recognising-others/big-society-awards-2
How we can work together?
Keen to hear
of projects /
activity that
provides
examples of:
• Community led initiatives where local people
have come together to support each other or
get something changed
• Evidence of new partnership working to meet
community need – public sector / business /
civil society / community / faith groups
• Innovation in public service delivery
• Business contributing to the community in new
and interesting ways
• Improved democratic participation and
accountability
• Examples of generosity to support community
• Citizens stepping up / local responses
Paul Schofield
Local Intelligence Team (Y&H),
Office of the Civil Society, Cabinet Office
[email protected]
07825 257069