Welcome back and Happy New Year to you all. It feels like the world is changing so quickly it is impossible to make predictions for what 2012 will bring. So, I will confine myself to some of things I know we will be dealing with.
Child Poverty Strategy for York. The Strategy was launched on December 20th and was a sobering reminder that for many children and young people life is not as comfortable as we would wish it to be. The latest data for York tells us that 4705 children and young people are living in poverty. That is the equivalent of 3 decent sized secondary schools. Please take a moment to read the strategy and more importantly, the action points it contains. We know these actions will be challenging given the current economic situation. If you think your organisation can help in any way or you have ideas for innovative ways to tackle these issues please get in touch with either myself or Bernie Flanagan at City of York Council.
City of York Council budget for 2012-14 As you are aware, the Council has some tough decisions to make about its future budgets. There will be a consultation meeting on Monday 16th January from 10am – 12 here at CVS where you can talk to politicians and officers about their budget plans. Please come and have your say on how funding should be used in the next 2 years. If you can’t get to the meeting but have a question to ask or comment to make please let me know and I can speak on your behalf.
Volunteering in York Volunteering enquiries continue to rise but the world of volunteering faces a number of challenges. What is the difference between a volunteer and an intern? Are we taking advantage of young people to get routine tasks done at low cost, or providing them with much needed experience for their CV’s? What is the role of volunteering in the health and wellbeing of the city’s residents? Is volunteering replacing some more structured forms of activity for vulnerable people and how can that be supported? How can we help more organisations to provide good quality, meaningful and enjoyable volunteering opportunities?
In 2012 the Volunteer Centre, as part of a Volunteering Partnership in York, will be launching a Charter for Volunteering – the main aim of the Charter will be ensure a consistently good quality experience for volunteers through establishing standards that organisations sign up to. Support and training to achieve the standards will be provided. Liz Hamilton is the Volunteering Manager at York CVS and can be contacted on 01904 621133 or liz.hamilton[at]yorkcvs.org.uk
Apprenticeships Did you know there are 3 new apprenticeships available to support voluntary sector employers? The roles focus on campaigning, fundraising and volunteer management. We are working with Your Consortium and City of York Council to see how we can support voluntary organisations in York to take young people into their organisations via this apprenticeship route. Please get in touch if you are interested to find out more.
Localism and the Big Society The Localism Act was passed in November. Many of the measures included in the Act, including Community Rights, will come into force in April 2012. Urban Forum has produced a useful briefing on the final Act that you may find helpful. It will be interesting to see how this translates locally in the coming months. One of our questions for the CYC budget consultation is to ask how the Council intends to facilitate more detailed discussions about changes to service delivery and the role of the voluntary sector in that delivery.
The Public Administration Select Committee has published its findings on the Big Society. Their press release can be found here. In summary the Committee says “Big Society doesn’t do enough to help ‘the little society’: Without a coherent implementation plan, there is confusion over message, whilst smaller charities face barriers in contracting and commissioning policies”. Whatever your thoughts or views, the “Big Society” debate hasn’t gone away and this report makes interesting reading and highlights some of the issues that many of us have been facing in recent times. I am sure this will continue to be a lively point of interest for 2012 too.
Health and social care As discussed last month, 2012 will be a huge year of change in the world of health and social care, covering everything from the way in which services are commissioned and delivered to how patients and the public have their say on local services. We will be talking to you early in 2012 to make sure the sector is represented as effectively as possible in the new structures that are emerging.
And finally…I am delighted to say that York CVS successfully renewed its Quality Award with our national body NAVCA (The National Association of Voluntary and Community Action) in December. This involved much gathering of evidence of our work and its impact, as well as a full day’s audit visit. Many of you received random phone calls to check out your experience of the services we provide. But this Award can’t be something that sits on the shelf till it expires in 2014, so if you have views or ideas on what CVS should be doing to support you, or have feedback on a service you have received please get in touch.
With very best wishes for 2012
Angela Harrison
