#VSNW16 Conference Round-Up: Community Powered Change

How will devolution transform communities? It won't, unless communities transform devolution!

Thanks to all delegates and speakers for a successful conference. It was at the excellent People’s History Museum in Manchester, a museum dedicated to the history of working people improving their lives. We thought this provided an excellent setting for the event (apologies if it was a little cold!)

If you missed the Storify collection of tweets from the day, you can view it on our Twitter. Thanks for the hundreds of tweets throughout the day - #VSNW16 was trending on Twitter!  

"People have a right to feel left behind, they have been left behind"

Jim McMahon MP, the Shadow Minister for Local Government, Communities & Devolution kicked off the event. While the Brexit vote showed people feel left behind, new ways for people to have more power and control need to be found – and the voluntary sector has a significant role to play here. Politics and public services should be redesigned, argued McMahon, and he challenged the sector to make sure this is grassroots led. ‘Don’t wait for permission – make devolution your own!’

"Inclusive Growth isn't inclusive unless it's reducing poverty"

Next we heard from Professor Ruth Lupton, who is head of the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit, a joint JRF and University of Manchester project to track social prosperity.  While ‘inclusive growth’ is now entering the mainstream, ‘it isn’t inclusive growth unless it is reducing poverty’, and there is still a long way to go to deliver a truly inclusive economy. Lupton highlighted many sector led initiatives that can help: using social value, fostering social enterprises and implementing the living wage are all good starts. What is measured, counts,and Professor Lupton argued the sector needs a visible, credible voice on the economy. More widely though, social policies should be seen as investment too.  

As ever, we had a fantastic range of workshops throughout the day, delivered by colleagues from across the voluntary sector, public sector and think-tanks from the North West and wider, that gave attendees the chance to learn more about specific areas, and play a part in shaping policy, from Sustainability and Transformation Plans to social indicators.  

What does inclusivity look like? The theoretical and the practical

Delivering inclusive growth for communities was one theme for the day, and while CLES’s Matt Jackson had plenty of examples of ‘been and gone’ social projects, the economic development policy climate is changing, he argued. The voluntary sector used to be seen as an afterthought, but is now seen as a partner, and the centralised approach of the 80s, 90s, and 00s, is beginning to be replaced by place based approaches to local economic growth.

Professor Anthony Rafferty, also at the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit, wanted to know how social success could be measured, and posed the question of whether it is better to use what data you have, or abandon it and seek new methods. Those present had the small workshop task of designing these to feed into the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit!

Brexit and the implications for the voluntary sector

EU funding has supported many social inclusion projects, and Gill Bainbridge from Merseyside Youth Association gave practical examples of her organisation’s programmes supporting young people into work, through a wide lens approach. Network for Europe’s John Hacking suggested that, while EU funding may not be around forever, it is likely to continue to 2022. Nonetheless, a complete loss of European Social Funding could mean over 21,000 people in Merseyside losing out on life-changing support.

Assessing the sector's role in Sustainability and Transformation Plans

Over a third of VCSE organisations in the North West are involved in health and social care, and this was a popular workshop theme at the conference. Frances Newell, a patient and public partnerships specialist at NHS England gave an overview of Sustainability and Transformation Plans in England. Given the key role they have in delivering the Five Year Forward View, the lack of sector involvement thus far was an issue that came up and is likely to again.

Alternative and new approaches to improving health and social care

A practical model for health inclusion was outlined by Chris Dabbs, Unlimited Potential and Francesca Archer-Todde, Big Life, who presented the findings from the Realising the Value person and community centred care research project.  

Ben Gilchrist, VSNW’s Social Movement lead, and Chris Easton from Tameside NHS talked about how wider approaches to improving health can be achieved, in the context of their Social Movements for Health project with the Greater Manchester cancer vanguard. If you’d like to know more about the project or be involved, do contact Ben Gilchrist.  

How can we ensure the disempowered are represented? Exploring 'what works' in the voluntary sector

Transforming the voluntary sector was the task of those in the Engine Hall, and we heard from a range of perspectives: Anne Lythgoe, Salford Council, covered investment strategies for the sector, while David Beel discussed the sector’s inclusion in urban governance, with learning from cities across England and Wales. Whether the current model of devolution is more like ‘central government localism’ was his question, but in any case it was useful to hear from members voluntary sector partnerships in Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester that have been spurred on by devolution processes, and have set out ambitious visions for their areas.

Policy silos and linking up the economic and the social

Delegates got a chance to hear about the emerging findings of the RSA’s Inclusive Growth Commission from Jonathan Schifferes, who is the RSA’s Associate Director of Public Services and Communities. Schifferes spoke passionately about linking up social and economic policy, and asked why the only focus is on infrastructure projects such as HS2. The task of the Commission is to join up the silos, and inject ‘inclusivity’ into governmental policy, said Schifferes. Building a shared agenda – across the voluntary sector, public sector, business, politicians, and wider society, was certainly a message that came through strongly on the day.  

"Let's use the energy in this room - and capture it for social and economic ends"

The conference finished off with a panel discussion on how ‘communities can transform devolution’, and what the voluntary sector’s role is. We were pleased to hear from Kathy Evans, Cllr Sean Anstee, Conservative candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor, Hal Meakin, from Youthforia, Cllr Jean Stretton, the GMCA portfolio holder for fairness and equalities, and Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES.

Although all of the panellists came from different perspectives, many of the points raised suggested shared sentiments: the current political climate is unprecented, unstable, and unpredictable; but there are reasons to be positive, with inclusive growth and devolution providing opportunities for progress. Much more needs to be done, and Hal Meakin argued that young people are currently being left out. It was clear from the discussion that policy over the past few decades has largely not improved lives for many in the North, and if 2016 is to be a critical juncture that ends positively, the voluntary sector and communities need to be driving change themselves.

Jim McMahon MP - The voluntary and community sector has a key role to play in devolution

Jim McMahon MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Devolution

Labour & Cooperative Member of Parliament for Oldham West and Royton

It was a pleasure to address Voluntary Sector North West’s annual conference earlier this month at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. In thirteen years as a councillor and a year now as an MP, I have seen firsthand the difference that can be made by local people coming together to make their area a better place. The voluntary and community sector plays a vital role in making that happen.

I have also heard firsthand on the doorstep, ahead of the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, the sense that many ordinary people consider established politics to be an elite, distant and disempowering affair to which they cannot relate. People want and need a stake and a say in the way their society is organised. Too many people feel that they lack that voice. We need to address, not dismiss, this profound and prevailing sense of democratic deficit. Our centralist settlement currently leaves people feeling powerless. The voluntary and community sector, properly supported and mobilised, can help to fill that gap.

For devolution to be meaningful, it can’t just mean power passed down from Whitehall to the Town Hall: it needs to be passed down further still to communities themselves. Those communities can better exercise that power if they are well organised. The voluntary and community sector organises communities on the ground better than anyone else. So, part of the point of devolution must be to empower civil society, rather than hoarding power in the market or the state. Accordingly, the voluntary sector is absolutely right to look to harness devolution to give communities more of a say in the decisions that affect the lives of them and their families. The sector should be insistent in its demands to help shape devolution deals as they are struck and as they then unfold.

We all want to tackle poverty and reduce inequality. The best way to do that is to support more people into decent work. But a national, one-size-fits-all approach to helping people from welfare into work has failed. Devolution offers the best hope of a skills and employment offer that is tailored to the local job market and there is growing evidence that such an approach delivers results. In Oldham, the council has stepped in to fill the gap created by national contracted providers, supporting people into work. The council don’t receive any central government funding for this but they decided they weren’t willing to sit back while so many fell through the net. In just two years, over 3,000 people have been helped into work and a genuine partnership has been created with businesses, community organisations and the public services working together. When BHS closed and the shutters came down, as Sir Philip Green sailed off into the sunset, it was thanks to Get Oldham Working that every employee who wanted a new job had one lined up.

But Oldham also knows when to let go to, as was evident in the establishment of the Oldham Action Fund which benefited from a transfer of charitable trusts and historic dowries which brought together almost £1m of funding together for local voluntary and community sector groups to invest in long-term, sustainable funding.

It is true though that much of the discussion of devolution to date has been primarily economistic in character. That, to be honest, is a failing in our current politics in general. The voluntary and community sector is well placed to highlight the social dimension of devolution, deploying as it can the testimony of community members’ lived experience. People need to hear the stories and understand the relationships that matter, rather than forever merely looking at the graphs.

We rightly hear a lot about the pressing challenge of economic inequality in the world around us today. But the challenge posed by democratic inequality is no less stark. People do need money in their pockets, but they also need to feel that they have some influence over the environments in which they lead their lives. A cooperative approach to devolution, supporting the voluntary and community sector, offers the opportunity to level the playing field of our democracy.

We need to agree a compelling new settlement and give a greater voice to the people we came into politics to represent. And so, with any discussion on devolution, we must be open to new partnerships and, rather than see it simply as a transfer of responsibilities, we ought to see it as an opportunity to redefine how we govern, how we grow our economies and how we deliver the best possible public services. Devolution ought to mean politics done with people, not just for them. And that means we need you and the communities you help organise and empower together with us in the driving seat.

Third Sector Grants Programme in Salford found to have significant positive impact

The Salford Third Sector Fund Grants Programme – a two year partnership between Salford CVS and Salford CCG,  funding voluntary and community groups supporting wellbeing – has been found to have a significant positive impact, valued at over £11.4m; over seven times the £1.6m awarded.  

The evaluation, which was carried out by Voluntary Sector North West and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, found that the partnership was effective, the programme was well designed, and a robust application process has boosted overall standards in the third sector. 

Although Salford CCG funded the programme, Salford CVS were given relative freedom to administer the grants. The evaluation highlighted the importance of this degree of separation, saying that it had identified ‘the competency of Salford CVS in managing the programme from design, through to delivery; and in strategically developing the capacity of the voluntary and community sector.’

158 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in Salford received funding through the programme, in addition to 69 primary schools. A review of all the grants awarded showed that they generally promoted healthy eating in children, provided new community facilities and reduced isolation, and improved capacity in the third sector.   

The programme has been hailed as a success, and Salford CCG have already agreed to roll out the programme for another three years. The evaluation recommends that the values of the programme are ‘replicated across Greater Manchester’, and that the programme is joined up to other agendas.

Warren Escadale, VSNW’s Chief Executive said that “this highly successful grants programme shows that effective partnerships between the NHS and third sector are not about over prescriptive contracts but about developing a shared vision and framework, and then giving freedom to partners when they are best placed to deliver.”

“Our evaluation shows that grants can be the most effective way to award funds, particularly for smaller organisations who do not have the capacity to extensively monitor their own work. Trust between partners is vital, and the history of joint working between the NHS, council and third sector in Salford no doubt underpinned this.” 

To view the summary of the Salford Third Sector Fund Grants Programme, click here

To view the full evaluation of the Salford Third Sector Fund Grants Programme, click here

Community Based Wellbeing takes centre stage at Liverpool City Region Health Summit

Warren Escadale made a presentation at the summit, in which he championed the role of the sector moving forward, and covered various aspects of community wellbeing, with the support of the VS6 partnership. The city region’s lead on Health, Cllr Andy Moorhead (leader of Knowsley Council) made a formal commitment to drawing together a partnership in order to drive improvements in health and social care, which the VCSE sector will be a part of.

Warren's presentation is shown below.  

Warren Escadale: Community Wellbeing from sampopperVSNW

Warren Escadale: Community Wellbeing from sampopperVSNW

The rest of the presentations from the night can be viewed by following the links below:  

Clare Duggan: Challenges and Opportunities for Health

Matthew Ashton: Improving Health and Wellbeing in our Region

Rhiannon Corcoran: Mental Health and Wellbeing

Citizens launch 'People's Plan for Greater Manchester'

A new citizen-led initiative, the People’s Plan, has been launched in Greater Manchester. All who live, work or study in Greater Manchester are encouraged to get involved and to share their views, priorities and proposals for devolution across the region.

Ahead of Greater Manchester’s first Mayoral election on May 4th 2017, the People’s Plan aims to amplify the voices of local people and civil society and provide a constructive challenge to the region’s strategies and delivery.

Devolution could be a unique opportunity for citizens and civil society to have a greater say about the future of Greater Manchester.  The People’s Plan seeks to gather a wide and deep range of ideas and thoughts on what the future for all areas of Greater Manchester should be, exploring key issues such as the economy and jobs, health and social care, transport, housing, the environment, and how to build a citizen-led democracy. 

The People’s Plan organisers aim to involve as many individuals and groups as possible, and people are encouraged to engage via social media, by completing a short online survey, going to events, or holding their own People’s Plan gatherings, which will feed into the wider project.

Events will cover the areas outlined above, and will take place over October, November and December.

For a full event listing go to http://www.peoplesplangm.org.uk/events/

To complete the online survey go to http://www.peoplesplangm.org.uk/online-inputs/

For more information on the People’s Plan, go to http://www.peoplesplangm.org.uk/

VSNW's Conference and AGM 2016: Community Powered Change. Book now

This year's VSNW conference, Community Powered Change, will look at how, in the context of inclusive growth and devolution, communities can be the drivers of transformation. Keynote speakers and panellists include: Professor Ruth Lupton, Head of the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit, Kathy Evans, Chief Executive of Children England; Cllr Sean Anstee, potential Conservative candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor, Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES, and Cllr Jean Stretton, Inclusive Growth lead for GMCA.

We will be partnering with CLES, Network for Europe, and colleagues from across academia, the public sector, and of course VCSE sector, to deliver workshops along three themes:

• Inclusive Growth: devolution, post-Brexit era social inclusion funding, regeneration in the North West, and measuring social success 
• Transforming the Voluntary Sector: Voluntary sector partnerships, the sector’s role in devolution, and investment strategies for the sector
• Health and Social Care: Social Movements for Health, Realising the Value, and Sustainability and Transformation Plans

The conference will take place on the 5th December, from 09.30 - 16.30 at the People's History Museum in Manchester. 

Places are limited, so please book using Eventbrite via the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-powered-change-vsnws-annual-conference-2016-tickets-28721125660

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Agenda

9.30am Refreshments and Registration

10.00am   Introduction

Chair – Warren Escadale, Chief Executive, VSNW

Keynote speaker: Professor Ruth Lupton, Head of the Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit 

Keynote speaker: Jim McMahon MP, Shadow Minister for Communities & Local Government and Devolution (invited)

Q&A with the speakers, Chaired by Debbie Dalby, VSNW Chair

11.00am Morning Workshops

Inclusive Growth for Communities

Economic regeneration in the North West: Matthew Jackson, Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Transforming the voluntary sector

Developing an investment strategy for the voluntary sector: Anne Lythgoe, Salford City Council

Health & Social Care 

The sector’s role in Sustainability and Transformation Plans: TBC

12.00pm Lunch, AGM, and Voluntary Action in Action Photo Competition

13.15pm Afternoon Workshops 1

Inclusive Growth for Communities

Measuring social success: Dr Anthony Rafferty, Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit

Transforming the voluntary sector

Building effective voluntary sector partnerships: Representatives from the Cumbria Third Sector Network, GM VCSE Reference Group and Liverpool City Region VS6. Chaired by Warren Escadale 

Health & Social Care 

Person and Community Centred Care for Wellbeing - Realising the Value: Chris Dabbs, Unlimited Potential and Simon Kweeday, Big Life Group

14.15pm Afternoon Workshops 2

Inclusive Growth for Communities

Funding social inclusion in a Brexit era: Andy Churchill & John Hacking, Network for Europe and  Gill Bainbridge, Merseyside Youth Association

Transforming the voluntary sector

The VCSE role in devolution: lessons from Sheffield, Cardiff, Greater Manchester, and Swansea: Dr David Beel, University of Sheffield 

Health & Social Care 

Social Movements for Health: Ben Gilchrist, VSNW & Action Together & other speaker TBC  

15.15pm Afternoon refreshments

15.30pm How will devolution transform communities? Panel discussion

Kathy Evans, Chief Executive of Children England

Cllr Sean Anstee, Conservative candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor

Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Cllr Jean Stretton, GMCA lead for Inclusive Growth

Chair: Warren Escadale, Chief Executive of VSNW

16.20pm Round up and finish

Booking

Places are limited, and if more than one delegate wishes to attend from the same organisation they must book individually. Please book by Wednesday 30th November via the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-powered-change-vsnws-annual-conference-2016-tickets-28721125660

If you are a VCSE organisation in the North West, the event is free to attend.

If you work for a non-VCSE organization or are an individual, the cost is £50 plus VAT per delegate. 

For any queries regarding the conference, please contact Sam Popper on 0161 276 9300 or at sam.popper@vsnw.org.uk.

CQC Inspections in the North West

CQC have announced upcoming hospital inspections for the next year in the North West. Care Quality Commission inspectors will be visiting the following hospitals, on the following dates:

• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust - 27 September
• The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust - 27 September
• University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust - 11 October 

If you have been a patient or visitor to one of these hospitals in the past 12 months, then you are invited to share your experiences. To find out more about the inspections, please click on the relevant inspection above.

You can also share your experiences in a number of other ways:

Visiting CQC website link: www.cqc.org.uk/syemorecambebay

Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk 

Letter: CQC, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA

Phone: 03000 61 61 61

New survey looks at joint working between Jobcentres and VCSE organisations

VSNW has conducted a survey of VCSE agencies to understand the strength of relationships between Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise groups and Jobcentres, particularly where health and work initiatives are involved.

The results show that although there is some activity between the two, this is limited in most areas, and it is never at a strategic level.  The results also show divergent standards across localities, depending on individual relationships.

The five respondents unanimously agreed on three measures to improve joint working on health and work outcomes between Jobcentres and VCSE organisations:

• Co-working or co-location of Jobcentre Advisers with other community services
• New information standards to support monitoring of health and work issues
• More funding for specific VCSE-led services or initiatives to improve health and work together

The main barriers were mainly around Jobcentres having poor knowledge and understanding of VCSE services, and a lack of time and resources for both Jobcentres and VCSE organisations (shown below). 

VSNW conducted the survey on behalf of DWP’s Joint Health and Work Unit, who were interested in Health and Care Strategic Partners’ views on how well Jobcentres are working with VCSE organisations.

Warren Escadale, VSNW’s Chief Executive, commented: “At present, it seems evident that Jobcentres are not making the most of the holistic support on offer in the voluntary sector for the unemployed. However, it’s pleasing to see unanimity on measures to address this: co-working, improved information for Jobcentre staff, and specific funding streams for joint health and work initiatives.”

Government responds to letter from charities regarding the Lobbying Act

After over forty organisations, including VSNW, Children England, NCVO, and NAVCA, wrote to the Minister for Civil Society to express worries over the effect of the 2014 Lobbying Act on charities' activity, the Government has responded. The letter says the Government supports political campaigning of charities, albeit with a limited scope. 

The letter, which was written by Chris Skidmore MP in his role as Minister for the Constitution, outlined the extent to which the Government sees this type of activity as valuable, saying that: 

"The Government recognises that charities have the right to undertake campaigning and political activity where it supports their charitable aim, trustees consider it to be an effective use of charitable resources and provided they do not engage in party politics. The Government respects that right and Ministers have consistently said as much in public."  

The Minister also said that the Government is in the "early stages" of considering the recommendations made by Lord Hodgson, and is therefore unwilling to meet with stakeholders at this stage.  

The full letter can be viewed here.

For reference, the original letter to the Government is copied below.