Voluntary Sector North West
St. Thomas Centre
27 April 2011
Early indications from the 'Equality, Big Society and Localism' research commissioned by the North West Infrastructure Partnership (NWIP) are that there are a number of areas of concern for VCS Equalities groups.
New Start magazine's headline article, drawing on the desk-based review phase of the research, explores the implications of five pillars of Government policy:
The article also draws on the experiences of a number of representatives from BME VCS groups who attended a roundtable discussion facilitated by 1NW and CLES.
"Current Government policy has already had a big impact on the groups we work with. If we are going to shift from equality to 'fairness', and from formal audit of public sector bodies to a system of transparency," said Dan Silver, 1NW's Co-ordinator, "then we need to fully understand the impact and we need to give local groups the tools they need to make sure things really are fair and equal."
The research will next explore the hard evidence and begin extensive consultation with VCS groups across the North West before focussing on three case study areas.
Key links
Regional Voices, of which VSNW is a partner, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding from the Department of Health (Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund) to support voluntary and community sector influence on health and wellbeing boards
The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has published the findings of a research study on European Social Fund delivery with the aim of informing thinking around the next round of programmes
Healthwatch England was formed in April 2013 and is the independent consumer champion for health and social care in England. They have now published a list of local Healthwatch, including those for the North West
The Local Government Chronicle held a webinar to explore the essential elements to ensure local healthwatch organisations are effective in scrutinising local health services and provide a voice for communities. Regional Voices, of which VSNW are a part, are mentioned.
An analysis has been published by NAVCA of the 74 areas that received Transforming Local Infrastructure and provides a national perspective, and allows the sharing of information and ideas
