Voluntary services – fingers crossed for survival

children matters“Children Matter”, set up 14 years ago, aims to support children by increasing community activity, building networks, improving lifestyles and reducing isolation and poverty. Using a model designed for a rural area, it undertakes outreach work with vulnerable families, providing support in their own homes and communities. Since setting up it has also offered a … Continue reading

Voluntary action – part of the everyday fabric of life

water adventureWater Adventure Centre (WAC) is a vibrant youth project located next to the Ashton Canal in Tameside. It works within the Tameside and Manchester local authorities and organises canoeing groups, festivals and events over the wider Greater Manchester area. Though its sessions are available for booking by groups of all ages, its main focus is … Continue reading

Commissioning & consortia – an advantage or a threat?

rivers edge

Rivers Edge Community Project (RECP) defines its overall mission as ‘to promote a vibrant, self-sustaining community in the Rivers Edge estate and surrounding area’ and its core values as:
working ‘with’ members of the community and not ‘for’ them.
– developing activities and resources that are locally owned and run’.
– helping those involved … Continue reading

Do charities campaign?

kvvlogo_2What happens when charities and voluntary groups are asked by Government to punish unemployed people and take away legal entitlements?  In April 2014, the “Help to Work” programme was launched by Government. It consists of no help and no work. Instead, it continued previous policies that withhold unemployment benefits, unless those entitled to such benefits … Continue reading

Insiders and outsiders – fighting for change together and apart

tenants rightsConditions for private renters – now a bigger group than those renting ‘socially’ from the council or a housing association – have become so bad that a new wave of housing activist groups has begun to form. Since the deregulation of private renting in 1989, when rent control and long-term tenancies were done away with, … Continue reading

Big Society unravels

Image by Dmitry Bogdanov / wikimedia commonsEver wondered where our money goes? The National  Audit Office has. So has Adur Voluntary Action, who are “mega pissed off” by the grim story painted by Radio 4’s analysis last night of the chaos that is the Big Society Network. “The receipt, and use, of funds by the Big Society Network’s associated projects…is … Continue reading

Silencing dissent – it’s a global thing

gaggingYou know those gagging laws and clauses we’re faced with in UK? Well, don’t take it personally. It’s a global thing. In Australia, new conditions , which come into force on July 1st 2014, specifically state that organisations cannot use Commonwealth money for any activity directed towards law reform or advocacy. The federal government is … Continue reading

Peterborough Prison and Social Impact Bonds – what’s going on?

Kenneth Clarke, then justice secretary, talks to an inmate at Peterborough prison in 2010Recently the Government announced that it was pulling the plug on the Peterborough Prison Social Impact Bond (SIB) pilot, despite an interim evaluation showing “promising results”. This scheme – due to have run for seven years instead of the three now planned – has been dragged round the conference circuit now for several years by … Continue reading

How come we didn’t know?

nhs for saleThe privatisation of our public services and common wealth is taking place with stealth and subterfuge, and at a great pace. Our money is going to multi-nationals such as SERCO, currently under investigation for falsification of data and sub-standard services. But there are ways to expose what is going on and get it into the … Continue reading

G4S given job of community placements

skull and crossbonesG4S is the biggest winner of “Help to Work” contracts, the latest workfare programme which started yesterday. G4S is currently under investigation for fraud. As part of this contract G4S will seek placements in voluntary groups, which will be responsible for reporting claimants for benefit sanctions if they fail to comply with the placement.

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