Turning strategy into action

Policy announcements 

As always, despite us rapidly approaching Christmas and the New Year, there is very little wind down opportunities for our VCFSE sector as we continue to provide much needed services for our beneficiaries across the North West.

December has been a significant month for national policy announcements and strategies that will no doubt shape our social landscape for the next few years. For the VCFSE sector, these announcements are not just headlines, but opportunities to influence, collaborate, and advocate for the communities we serve.

As we head towards the New Year, we have done a quick recap of some major developments in Government strategy published this December and what they might mean for our sector.

The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework is now guiding priorities over the next five years, with Integrated Care Boards currently developing their five year strategies alongside annual commissioning intentions. At the same time, further national guidance and frameworks are expected in the coming weeks to support the new neighbourhood health agenda, building on the guidance published on 30 January. This will provide greater clarity on expectations for neighbourhood working, place based delivery, and partnership approaches focused on prevention, early intervention and reducing health inequalities.

While this blog is by no means a comprehensive overview of these strategies and publications and indeed does not cover everything coming out centrally that will impact the sector and communities, it highlights some key areas that we will be keeping an eye on as we head into 2026.

1. National Child Poverty Strategy – “Our Children, Our Future”

The Government’s long awaited Child Poverty Strategy sets out an ambitious goal: to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty by 2030. Key measures include:

• Boosting family incomes through benefit reforms and employment support.
• Reducing essential costs such as childcare and housing.
• Strengthening local early years services.
• Perhaps most significantly, removing the two-child benefit cap which has long been sought by campaigners and VCFSE groups.

For VCFSE organisations, this is a call to action. Community-based support, advice services, and advocacy will be critical to ensure families can access these benefits and navigate systemic barriers. Partnerships with local authorities will matter more than ever as the strategy places significant responsibility on local delivery, through the likes of early years services and family hubs, alongside a requirement for deeper collaboration to tackle child poverty at its roots. The VCFSE sector is essential for targeting support for low-income households and co-design (and co-delivery) of services that reflect community realities.

2. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

It doesn’t feel that long ago we wrote about the English Devolution White Paper when it was launched in January 2025. Earlier this month, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords. Described as “the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall to our regions and communities in a generation”, it is designed to enable mayors and strategic authorities to make locally-led decisions on transport, housing, planning, regeneration and more.

The Bill, now in its final stages in the House of Lords, will:

• Expand mayoral and combined authority powers.
• Introduce new rights for communities to influence local decision-making.
• Reform governance and accountability structures.

For our sector, this is a chance to shape local priorities. VSNW are working with VCFSE infrastructure across our regions and sub-regions to support them to engage with local leaders and emerging/established combined authorities to ensure community needs are front and centre. Devolution only works if communities have a voice—and VCFSE organisations are uniquely placed to amplify that voice.

If you’re a VCFSE organisation eager to learn more about devolution in your area, particularly in strengthening relationships with Mayors and Strategic Authorities, please sign up to VSNW’s “Great North VCFSE Exchange” event on 14^th January. Find out more here.

You can also read our previous write up on the English Devolution White Paper here.

3. National Plan to End Homelessness

Published on 11 December, this plan commits £3.5 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Described as England’s first comprehensive plan to end homelessness and rough sleeping, it sets out a three tier approach:

• Immediate action: Halve long-term rough sleeping and eliminate the use of unsuitable B&B accommodation for families except in emergencies.
• Medium-term: Introduce new prevention duties for public bodies—such as prisons, hospitals, and care services—to stop homelessness before it happens.
• Long-term: Address structural causes through investment in affordable housing, renters’ rights reform, and tackling poverty.

This strategy is a shift towards prevention and collaboration, and for the VCFSE sector it’s an opportunity to influence local plans, secure resources and innovate in service delivery. VCFSE organisations working in housing, advice, and outreach will play a vital role in delivering prevention and wraparound support. The plan also opens doors for innovative partnerships and funding opportunities—watch for local implementation frameworks.

4. Your National Youth Strategy – “Youth Matters”

This new strategy aims to empower young people and sets out a vision for young people to thrive in every community, focusing on three core pillars:

• Access to safe spaces and services: Investment in youth centres, digital hubs, and community-led provision to ensure young people have places to connect, learn, and feel supported.
• Skills and employment pathways: Programmes to boost life skills, vocational training, and routes into good jobs—particularly for those facing barriers such as poverty or exclusion.
• Youth voice in decision-making: A commitment to embed youth participation in local and national policy, ensuring young people influence decisions that affect their lives.

For VCFSE youth organisations, this is a moment to scale impact. The strategy recognises the importance of grassroots provision—so we should expect to see opportunities for collaboration and funding to strengthen youth engagement and wellbeing.

Taken together, these strategies signal a shift toward prevention, local empowerment, and partnership. They also underline the Government’s recognition of the importance of community-led solutions. For VCFSE organisations, the challenge—and opportunity—is to ensure these plans translate into real change on the ground.

5. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy – “Freedom from violence and abuse”

Published on 18 December 2025 by the Home Office, this flagship strategy sets an ambitious goal to half violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Framed around a “whole-of-society” approach, it aligns with other recent strategies by focusing on shared responsibility and partnership. The strategy encompasses three key pillars:

• Prevention and early intervention: Tackling root causes through education, community outreach, and chronically harmful attitudes.
• Relentless pursuit of perpetrators: Enhancing specialist police, strengthening enforcement and improving detection and deterrence.
• Supporting victims and survivors: Investing in coordinated, trauma-informed support services, including funding for safe housing and scaling up specialist police units.

The strategy emphasises the importance of all sectors coming together to play their role in tackling VAWG. For our VCFSE sector, this may present opportunities in delivering educational preventative programmes and providing safe spaces, integrating community-based support into police and health sector pathways, and delivering accessible, inclusive services. The strategy specifically mentions the Civil Society Covenant, valuing he sector’s vital role in “shaping and delivering VAWG services through trusted, lived experience-informed partnerships that strengthen strategies and support victims and survivors.”