Dear Colleagues,
We had the last consultation meeting on the council’s VCS Strategy at Bob Jones Community Centre today. Overall, the consultation workshops across the city and online, have gone well, and we have had some very good engagement and detailed feedback.
There is still time to complete the council’s survey here before the information is collated and the final report produced.
As we know, the VCSEF Sector delivers incredible activities and services for residents but continues to face challenges in these changing times. The Charity Commission recently surveyed 3000 charities across the UK and found that a quarter of charities are being affected by social division including threats to staff and vandalism.
One in 20 charities said they had been forced to stop or change some of their activities. This increased to 22% for human rights, religious and racial harmony, and equality and diversity charities. Vandalism or property damage was reported by 4% of charities, while 3% said misinformation had been spread about their organisation. Staff, volunteers and trustees have also been threatened in person, with 2% of surveyed charities flagging this. Read more at civilsociety.co.uk.
Going forward, what does having a new prime minister mean for the VCSEF Sector? We know that Andy Burnham has worked closely with charities in his former mayoral life and may understand the role and importance of civil society in strengthening communities and addressing complex social challenges, which bodes well for the sector.
With regard to the Civil Society Covenant, and models are being worked up across the country, there is the principle of working together to create strong foundations for partnership with a greater understanding and recognition of the value that charities bring. But this also means acknowledging and removing barriers in commissioning and procurement practices to ensure that charities can really partner with the public sector to deliver prevention services whilst recognising the financial sustainability needs of the VCSEF Sector.
In the future, there are plans to develop the Civil Society Covenant in Wolverhampton. We are looking forward to working together to create it, across the VCSEF Sector, with the council and interested partners.
If there are any issues that you would like to raise or anything that you would like to hear more about, please contact me.
If you would like more information, please remember to check out our website and newsletter regularly – there is always new information, and opportunities are always presenting themselves.
Thank you,
Sharon Nanan-Sen
Chief Executive Officer