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NCS UPDATE 92% of the 8500 young people who took part in last summer's National Citizen Service enjoyed and benefitted from it, says the first of a series of evaluations. Also, a trial of a week long NCS scheme will commence in Autumn 2012, it was announced in this C&YPNow article (Posted 18/05/12)
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk has announced the next stage of the Government's new £10 million ‘Start-up Loans' for young people pilot scheme. The initiative aims to provide budding entrepreneurs with support and a small amount of capital to help them get started as well as access to training and business mentors. The Government is now inviting organisations and consortiums who can offer the right level of support to deliver the programme to bring forward their proposals (Posted 04/05/12)
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CUTS TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S CHARITIES The National Children's Bureau has published Beyond the Cuts: Children's charities adapting to austerity. The report says that the 34,000 charities in England that work primarily with children and young people will lose £405 million in statutory funding in the five years from 2011-12 to 2015-16. It notes that children and young people's charities are particularly vulnerable to cuts, as they receive more of their income from statutory sources and are four times less likely to receive corporate support. It shows that charities are taking various actions to manage the impact of the cuts, including reducing the number of staff they employ and cutting back on the range of services they offer, as well as developing consortia and mergers. A small but significant minority of charities said that it was ‘likely' or ‘very likely' that they would be forced to close in the next 12 months (Posted 04/05/12).
LOCALISM ACT - COMMUNITY RIGHTS WORKSHOP – The Department of Community and Local Government (DCLG) has developed a separate website that provides information about the progress of the Community Rights -
Two Community Rights came into effect in April 2012:
• Community Right to Build – giving communities the right to build small-scale, site-specific projects without going through the normal planning application process
• Neighbourhood planning – giving communities more say about what can be built in their area
Two more rights are expected to come into effect between May and July 2012:
• Community Right to Challenge – giving communities the right to challenge to take over a council service they think they can run differently or better
• Community Right to Bid – giving communities the right to bid to buy and take over the running of local assets that are important to them (Posted 26/04/12)
NATURAL CHILDHOOD REPORT This report by Stephen Moss sparked a good deal of media interest in recent weeks, even making it to Radio 4’s News Quiz. The report highlights the causes and consequences of ‘nature deficit disorder’, a term coined by US writer Richard Louv, it goes on to recount the benefits to society of children connecting with nature before exploring the complex barriers to a ‘natural childhood’. With this report, the National Trust is launching a major consultation process: if you work with children or young people), they want to hear from you. Find out more here Download the full report here. Also, this week comes researchcommissioned by Ribena, surveying just over 2000 parents. The Ribena Plus Play Report, found amongst other things that:
• 9 out of 10 children watch TV, films or DVDs (91%), but only 1 in 3 children engage in non-competitive play that risks bumps and bruises, such as climbing a tree (33%);
• only 36% (parents)say that they play with their child outside, when 73% feel that it is an important part of play;
• almost half of parents (46%) want help and ideas on how to play with their children. (Posted 25/04/12)
GOVERNMENT PLAN TO WITHDRAW HOUSING BENEFIT FROM UNDER- 25S The Guardian have reported that Downing Street has proposed the withdrawal of housing benefits from under-25s. The proposal is yet to be developed. News reports have quoted a Downing Street source stating that "We are always looking at ways to change the welfare system to reward hard work and make work pay." Enough is enough!! What about all the young people who can't go home due to abuse, violence, substance misuse, parent's poverty, care leavers - the list goes on and on. Shelter have recently reported on 100,000 UK child runaways a year, the same children who are sofa surfing by the time they are 14 or 15 to escape abusive situations. This will create further poverty and encourage young people into risky situations such as the sex industry or illegal squatting. Its also age discrimination - if determined in this policy then the government should say to everyone, no matter what their age, that they go home and live with their families (parents or children) (Posted 16/04/12)
LAUNCH OF BIG SOCIETY CAPITAL – the world’s first ever social investment market builder Big Society Capital – a groundbreaking £600 million institution –was launched by the Prime Minister on 12/04/12 . Its mission is to grow a new market – social investment – and so make it easier for charities, social enterprises and community groups to access affordable finance. In turn, this will help them innovate, expand their services and develop better solutions to social problems. Big Society Capital will grow the social investment market which blends financial return with positive social impact. It will do this through the development of socially orientated investment organisations that support charities and social enterprises that have the ability to repay an investment through the income they generate. This will help those charities and social enterprises to grow and use their expertise to do more good in communities, whether it is supporting troubled families, providing job and training opportunities for young people or working with the homeless.For more information please click here (Posted 12/04/12)
COMMISSION TO EXPLORE YOUTH ENGAGEMENT The National Council for Voluntary Youth Organisations (NCVYS) has launched a 12-month Commission on Youth with think tank ResPublica, to explore the impact of youth engagement. The commission will examine how youth engagement can address the alienation of some young people. The commission has been set up as a response to the riots with the aim of "redefining the debate" surrounding the disturbances, by joining social theory with direct work with young people. For more information on this C&YP story click here (Posted 03/04/12)
OPEN PUBLIC SERVICES WHITE PAPER Cabinet Office has published a progress update on the Open Public Services White Paper – OPS 2012.
The document outlines how, through its major reform programmes, the Government is beginning to bring about a change in the fundamental nature of the UK’s public services, outlining work with schools, health, police and welfare; and all those who serve the public should be recognised as public servants – regardless of whether the organisations for which they work are traditional public sector agencies, independent trusts, employee mutuals, private enterprises, social enterprises or community groups. Key announcements in the publication include:
• All government departments will start to report on progress against the Open Public Services White Paper priorities as part of their business plans in spring 2012;
• To ensure that citizens have more powers to demand choice and control and to drive improvements in public services, there will be an Independent Review into the barriers to choice and a ‘You have the right to choose’ campaign. This will include a Call to Evidence to get views on the value of enshrining a right to choice in legislation;
• A network of Choice Champions will be created. The Champions will promote choice and provide independent scrutiny and challenge to commissioners and providers of public service;
• A Commissioning Academy will be established to equip commissioners with the skills to engage knowledgably and confidently with suppliers and to better understand outcomes-based procurement;
• To ensure that the benefits of mutualisation are available across the wider public sector, there will be new Rights to Provide – empowering employees to form public service mutuals and to bid or request to take over the services they deliver;
• A consultation will take place in May on how to make it easier to set up and create neighbourhood councils – helping local citizens play a bigger role in the design and delivery of services. Additionally, work will be undertaken with the LGA and the NALC to clarify what powers can be devolved to neighbourhoods, the kinds of assets that can best be managed at community level, and the roles and responsibilities of Neighbourhood Councils and local authorities
The full document can be found here (Posted 30/03/12)
COUNCILS TO RECEIVE £4,000 FOR SUCCESS WITH TROUBLED FAMILIES Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has revealed the government will pay councils up to £4,000 of the estimated £10,000 cost of turning around a family's life. Councils will be judged on school attendance, employment and anti social behaviour. The details form part of the framework for the troubled families programme, which is aiming to turn around the lives of 120,000 households with the most complex needs. This includes a payment of £3,900 if children in the family achieve an 85 per cent school attendance record and are subject to fewer than three exclusions from school. More of this story here. (Posted 29/03/12)
POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONERS You can now get involved in your local VCSE network to prepare for the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners. As part of the Safer Future Communities project, every Police Force area has an identified network co-ordinating organisation, who will pull together a network of all VCSE organisations who have an interest in crime and community safety and want to influence the agenda of the new PCC. Please contact your local network co-ordinator and let them know you want to be involved. The PCCs will have considerable influence over issues around crime. They will also control significant budgets for community safety across the whole Police Force area. Among the dangers of this new post is that negative perceptions about young people and crime will become electoral tools for PCC candidates. Youth organisations need to work together to combat this and to promote PCC policies that are positive about young people. Candidates are already coming forward and they need to be engaged before they write their manifestos. Click here for more information. (Posted 19/03/12)
BRIEFING ON THE BEST VALUE GUIDANCE
NCVO, NAVCA, Locality, and Volunteering England have produced a briefing on the Best Value Guidance, including examples and suggestions on how organisations can use it. The briefing also includes suggestions for action if you believe the guidance has been breached. (The Department for Communities and Local Government published Best Value Statutory Guidance in September 2011 for all local authorities in how they should work with voluntary and community groups.) Read more .... (Posted 09/03/12)
NEW NEET SCHEME - Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has unveiled a new scheme to help at least 55,000 young people - those 16- and 17-year-old NEETs with no GCSEs at A* - C at the highest risk of long term disengagement. The Government will, for the first time, target funding through tailored support on a payment-by-results system. The Government is making £126m of new money available to give teenagers opportunities to train, work and get their lives on track. Charities and businesses with expertise in supporting young people are being invited to bid for contracts worth up to £2,200 for every young person they help. Support will be tailored to suit individuals' needs, and may include support to help them access and remain in education, training or an apprenticeship. Click here for further details. Also, click here for SLIM's comment on The Youth Contract.(Updated 25/04/12)
PUBLIC SERVICES (SOCIAL VALUE) The Public Services (Social Value) Bill has been passed through the House of Lords and is set to become law. The Bill stipulates that public bodies will have to consider social and environmental benefits as well as financial aspects when awarding contracts.
Social Enterprise UK has published a guide to social value and what the new law will mean in practice for public bodies, social enterprises and voluntary and community sector organisations (Posted 05/03/12)
CHARITIES TO PLAY A BIG PART IN FULFILLING THE YOUTH CONTRACT Chris Grayling the employment minister stated at a voluntary sector round table event that he detects a willingness from sector to play part in work placements for young jobseekers, especially with the 16 - 17 age range. Read more of the Third Sector report here. (Posted 09/02/12)
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS The ACEVO led Commission on Youth unemployment which is chaired by david Miliband have launched their findings in a report Youth unemployment: the crisis we cannot afford. The report shows that with youth unemployment spiralling the future cost to public finances could be £28 bn. At the launch David Miliband called to the voluntary sector to use their knowledge and expertise to help resolve the crisis. (Posted 06/02/12)
£10M TO TRAIN NEW UNIFORMED VOLUNTEERS Children & Young People Now have reported an announcment by Eric Pickles the Community Secretary regarding training funding for new volunteers to uniformed groups. The money goes to Youth United to recruit and train enough volunteers to be able to form 400 new uniformed groups. Click here for more information. (Posted 03/02/12)
POSITIVE FOR YOUTH The long awaited Positive for Youth strategy has now been published and sets out the Government's aspirations for young people, their families and communities. It's worth taking some time to see how your work fits into this thinking - the Regional Youth Work Unit will be making a response so please let us have your views if you would like to be included in the response. Also, click here to read Community Matters's analysis of what this means for the VCSE sector.(Updated 20/02/12)
THE CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONERS MID TERM REPORT The 4 Children's Commissioners have produced a mid term report which looks at the impact of the Spending Review on children and young people; questions if their rights under the UN Convention are being respected and focuses on the impact of the Welfare Reform on child poverty in the UK. (Posted 25/11/11)
TACKLING CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION The Department for Education has relased its action plan around sexual exploitation of children and young people. The 3 year plan will include £15m. of funding for the voluntary sector to support the actions. Read more here. (Posted 25/11/11)
BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL SURVEY ON RIOTS Young people call for cuts to youth services to be reviewed in a survey released last week. Other issues raised were policing, sentencing, investment in communities and jobs. For more information please see the article in Children & Young People Now. (Post 14/11/11)
RESPONSE TO EDUCATION SELECT COMMITTEE The government has responded to the House of Commons Education Committee inquiry into Services for Young People. Click here to download the response. It disagrees on the negative views of the committee onthe NCS but agrees on some of their points including the lack of evidence surrounding good youth work. The Select Committee has asked for further clarification on some responses - read this latest article in Children & Young People Now for more information. Also, here is the link to the original report -click here. Happy reading!! (Posted 18/10/11)
CHILD POVERTY REPORT A new forecast of income poverty among children and working-age adults in the UK has been published today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The research forecasts poverty for each year between 2010-11 and 2015-16, and for 2020-21. It accounts for all announced tax and benefit policies, including Universal Credit, and incorporates the latest official economic and demographic forecasts. The report uses two of the four measures of poverty defined in the Child Poverty Act (2010). The report suggests that 'Even if there were an immense increase in the resources made available, it is hard to see how child poverty could fall by enough to hit this supposedly legally binding target in just nine years'. (Posted 14/10/11)
AN EVALUATION OF APPROACHES TO COMMISSIONING YOUNG PEOPLE'S SERVICE Ofsted have produced this report after a small scale survey examining the approaches to commissioning of services for young people in 12 local authorities - including 2 in the SW. The 28 page report highlights good practice and areas where more development is needed including better understanding of the process, more collaboration between agencies and better monitoring of provision. (Posted 30/08/11)
SW YOUTH ADVISOR AT HoC SELECT COMMITEE - To see the film click here. (Posted 31/3/11)
MAPPING THE CUTS - It is absolutely vital that the impact of public sector funding cuts is publicised and understood. Visit www.voluntarysectorcuts.org.uk now and tell your story. (Posted 10/2/11)
COUNTING THE COST, UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFIT - To see the voluntary children and young people’s infrastructure services in the south west report click here. To feedback about the report click here (Posted 25/01/11)
For more topical and up to date News Stories please see this months edition of Youth News