A look at how the VCSEF sector is shaping local health and care through the Integrated Care System, with updates on the One Wolverhampton Board, the upcoming VCSEF Alliance Meeting, and the lasting impact of the HOPE Project.
With so much to do and so many pressures on our time and energy, it’s sometimes easy to forget that every now and then, we need to stop to acknowledge and celebrate our work and achievements. We recently had an opportunity to do this when Creative Black Country (CBC) celebrated 10 years of working with communities, artists and creative people across the Black Country.
Well, what a fortnight, ‘things are coming fast!’ The government has announced a merger of functions of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. The major reforms aim to reduce bureaucracy and duplication, make savings and empower NHS staff to deliver better care for patients with more resources being put back into frontline services.
This week Sharon is celebrating International Women’s Day, unveiling our VCSEF Survey Report and also discusses the Government’s announcement regarding its new Plan for Neighbourhoods, which is a £1.5 billion program aimed at investing in 75 areas over the next 10 years, including Bilston.
Financially, these are challenging times. The Council has announced that it has reduced the amount it needs to save over the next two years from £32.6 million to £17.2 million by 2026/2027 and that it has set a balanced budget going forward.
We often highlight the importance of volunteering and one of the statistics that has come out of the survey is that in Wolverhampton over one year, if agencies had to pay volunteers the minimum wage, the wage bill would be £4 million – and that is just based on the 109 organisations who responded to the survey – so what is the real cost and the real value?