Dear Colleagues,
You may remember recently that NCVO wrote a letter to the Chancellor (countersigned by approximately 7000 charities and voluntary organisations, including WVCA) regarding the proposed changes to employer National Insurance Contributions in the budget, which is estimated to cost charities about £1.4bn across the UK.
The response from the Chancellor has been that the decision cannot be changed but there is a ‘priority to reset the relationship with civil society and build a new partnership to harness their full potential by developing a Civil Society Covenant, recognising the sector as a trusted and independent partner’.
The aim of the Civil Society Covenant is to emphasise transparency, recognition, partnership, and participation, aiming to create a more equal partnership. There is still time to have your say on the Civil Society Covenant.
Additionally, there is The Purposeful Collaboration guide, commissioned by NCVO, the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales and the Local Government Association (LGA) to improve partnerships between local government commissioners and the VCSEF sector. You can read the guide here.
The key points are:
- Councils and the VCFSE sector share a ‘public benefit’ purpose; a natural starting point for shared vision and collaboration.
- Councils are tasked with supporting their communities and addressing high volumes and complexity of need with limited resource.
- Councils can most effectively change and improve outcomes for people and communities by working with the VCFSE sector across these systems.
- The VCFSE sector has a unique role to play. Not only does it align with councils’ public benefit mission, but the sector is uniquely positioned within communities and places.
- The sector is a vehicle for communities to contribute to and shape their futures. Throughout the history of local government, VCFSE organisations have been innovators of many services now mainstreamed into councils.
- Trust in shared public benefit is the starting point for council and VCFSE sector collaboration.
- As one of the main interactions between councils and the VCFSE sector, commissioning is an opportunity to drive better outcomes through purposeful collaboration.
- At each stage of the commissioning cycle, VCFSE organisations have skills, capacity, and knowledge to bring, including co-design and co-production with people and communities.
- The Procurement Act 2023 is an opportunity for change and for greater collaboration; it supports councils to follow the fundamental principle of proportionality and use professional discretion to design procedures that serve public benefit purpose.
This would all suggest that government is intending a more collaborative approach going forward, which recognises the experience and expertise of the VCSEF sector and its closeness to communities. It is also pertinent with regard to health colleagues and the integrated care system. We welcome discussions with our city council and health partners.
Sharon Nanan-Sen,
Chief Executive Officer
✉️ sharon.nanan-sen@wvca.org.uk