NCVYS STRATEGIC INFORMATION SERVICE BULLETIN NO. 421

9 January 2009

Relicensing Sector Skills Councils consultation

Government, via the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, is consulting on the relicensing of the Sector Skills Councils. NCVYS wants your views to inform a response to the consultation. Deadline for responses is 27 January 2009. A background briefing paper and NCVYS's consultation questionnaire is available on the NCVYS website.

http://www.ncvys.org.uk/blogs.php?act=view_topic&id=92

Young Social Entrepreneurs Scheme

Children and Young People's Minister Beverley Hughes has announced £9 million in funding for the Young Social Entrepreneurs Scheme as part of commitments in Aiming high. The aim is to support young people to think of new ideas for positive activities on Friday and Saturday nights. Third sector organisations are invited to bid to run the scheme. The closing date for proposals is 13 March 2009. The successful third sector organisation will be supported by the Youth Sector Development Fund Managing Body in delivering the Scheme.

http://ysdf.ecotec.com/default.asp

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0298

Sense of belonging

Communities and Local Government (CLG) has published new Guidance on building a local sense of belonging. It's aimed at councils, voluntary groups and other organisations, particularly local cohesion practitioners and will be particularly relevant where they are working in areas where building a sense of belonging is a key priority, or where it supports the delivering of improved community cohesion in other areas.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/senseofbelonging

Meaningful interaction

In addition, CLG has published Guidance on meaningful interaction: How encouraging positive relationships between people can help build community cohesion. This guidance sets out what the Government knows about meaningful interaction, based on research findings and the views of expert practitioners. It's also aimed at local cohesion practitioners and policy planners and includes some good practice. Feedback on whether this information is accurate is very welcome.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/meaningfulinteraction

Cohesion Delivery Framework

CLG has also published a good practice and guidance Cohesion Delivery Framework: Overview, which supersedes the previous Cohesion Delivery Framework from July 2008 and includes updated information on guidance and the good practice web portal.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/cohesiondeliveryrevised

Relationship summit

At the end of December 2008, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) held a relationship summit together with agony aunts, family and relationship experts and charities, to focus on what more can be done to support children and families experiencing relationship breakdown. Secretary of State, Ed Balls announced a three point plan to support children and separating families including £60 million for children and young people to access support such as counselling and peer mentoring through a schools based programme, and £5.5 million for better co-ordinated local and national support.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0293

Kids in the Middle

As part of a wider campaign, DCSF has also published a new Kids in the Middle booklet - written by agony aunts based on Deidre Sanders' guide for parting parents and their children, to go to a range of local services including Children's Centres, Citizen's Advice Bureaus and GP's surgeries. This guide aims to help separating parents realise the impact of their actions on their children and provide them with support. It includes a list of links for further support for those affected by separation. Available free online.

http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-01051-2008&

Families in Britain

The DCSF and the Cabinet Office have jointly published an analysis of family life in Britain in the 21st century. Families in Britain: an evidence paper looks at how and why families have changed in recent decades and the implications of those changes for children, adults and society. The study shows that some 3 million of the UK's 12 million children experience the separation of their parents during the course of childhood, and that stepfamilies are the fastest growing family form but they can encounter problems that reduce the potential to maximise outcomes of families.

http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-01077-2008&

Tackling child poverty

The Government's new Take Up Taskforce is asking local authorities and their partners for examples of good practice from across the UK, which demonstrate how local services have supported families at risk of poverty to take up the financial support they are entitled to. Local authorities and their partners are invited to share their best practices with the Taskforce, made up of experts from local authorities and the voluntary sector to develop ways to help local services improve the take up of benefits and tax credits, by 20 February 2009.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2009/jan/drc122-050109.asp

Volunteer Fund

Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne has announced plans to recruit 20,000 volunteers with £3 million in funding to encourage volunteering programmes that increase interaction between younger and older generations to tackle critical issues in their communities. It will help spread programmes like the Sixty Plus project in London which helps young people support older people with reading, language and computer projects. Or Mentor UK, which is helping grandparents protect their grandchildren from drug-related harm.

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2008/081227_fund.aspx

APA Ofsted

Ofsted has published the outcomes of the 2008 Annual Performance Assessments (APAs) conducted across 147 local authorities in England. 73% have been judged good or outstanding in the contribution they make to improving services overall for children and young people. However, four councils were judged inadequate overall, compared to none in 2007.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/News/Press-and-media/2008/December/Ofsted-publishes-2008-Annual-Performance-Assessments

Better Communication Action Plan

The Government has launched a £12 million action plan to improve services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. The plan is the Government's response to the Bercow review, published in July 2008, and outlines a range of cross-government initiatives building up to the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication in 2011-12.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/slcnaction/

Children's safety

The UK Border Agency has published new guidelines on the treatment of children within Britain's immigration system. Staff must adhere to the new code of practice which lays down how youngsters should be treated during any stay in detention or while being transferred into local authority care. The Code is the first stage in bringing the UKBA into line with other Government organisations entrusted with the care of children.

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/keepingchildrensafefromharm

Honours List

The 2009 New Year Honours List has been published. The awards recognise the outstanding achievement and service across the whole of the community. Former NCVYS trustee and former Director of the Bradford Youth Development Partnership, Salima Hafejee was among this year's recipients of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

http://www.honours.gov.uk/lists/2009honours.aspx

CYPF grant

The DCSF has announced the recipients of the Children, Young People and Families grants programme for this year, distributing £46 million funding to more than 100 voluntary sector organisations for strategic and innovative activities over the next two years.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0299

Peer mentoring

DCSF has launched the National Peer Mentoring programme. With funding of £720,000 until March 2011, the programme will be delivered across England by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation, in order to enable young people to provide support and advice to one another in schools and build friendships.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0300

Additional apprentices

The Government will fund an additional 35,000 apprentices next year. The Government has already committed to increase spending on apprentices in the next year to just under £1 billion and the additional £140 million will go to expand the programme over the next twelve months.

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0002

Youth workforce common apprenticeships

The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) and the Children's Workforce Network have commissioned Atkin Associates to carry out a feasibility study into the development of a common apprenticeship for the youth workforce. It will test the demand and options for a common approach to apprenticeships across all sectors of the youth workforce engaged in the delivery of integrated youth support services. A web based survey is running until 20 February and a series of workshops, for practitioners as well as young people, is taking place around England to feed into the study.

http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/whats-new/news/1505_youth-workforce-common-apprenticeship-survey-and-workshops

December WFD Snippets

The Workforce Development Snippets December 2008 issue is now available to download from the NCVYS website. It features a range of news on policy, strategy, reform around workforce development issues relevant for the voluntary youth sector, including a new edition of the Workforce Development Funding Guide. The latest guide features new grant schemes and a section specifically for local infrastructure organisations.

December Snippets: http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?page=279

Funding Guide: http://www.ncvys.org.uk/index.php?page=282

Young Brits at Art

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is running a competition offering young people the chance to exhibit their work at a London gallery and win prizes. The competition seeks to capture young people's thoughts and feelings about living in Britain today through the medium of art. Young people and youth workers can find tailored information and resources on the EHRC website. The deadline for initial entries is 25 March 2009.

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/projects/yba/pages/youngbritsatart.aspx

Drinking banning order

The Home Office has announced that from summer 2009, drinking banning orders will allow police and local authorities to stop a person entering certain premises if they have been involved in criminal or disorderly conduct under the influence of alcohol. Breach of a drinking banning order, which can last up to two years, could lead to a fine of up to £2,500. The Government has also published new guidance on obtaining designated public place orders and establishing alcohol disorder zones.

http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/New-power-guidance-alcohol-crime

Faith and BME on the agenda

The NCVYS Communities of Interest on faith and BME issues will be meeting on Thursday 15 January to discuss how Faith and BME organisations working with young people can engage with Government and its policy priorities. To access the full agenda and to book your space at the event:

http://www.ncvys.org.uk/UserFiles/Events/Round%20tables/Faith%20and%20BME/FaithBMEagenda.pdf

EHRC funding consultation

As part of this event, we will be holding a discussion session on the ongoing EHRC Grants Programme consultation. Members who will not be able to attend the event but would still like to feed into NCVYS's response on behalf of the voluntary youth sector, can do so by sending their views to Ilona Pinter (ilona@ncvys.org.uk) no later than Friday 23 January 2009. To access the consultation document and questions: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/policyresearch/consultations/pages/consultnov08.aspx

Expenditure

The House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee has published its annual examination of DCSF's expenditure. The Committee predicts that future funding will be much tighter than at present and the rate of spending growth will be minimal come the next Spending Review. The Committee identifies key problems with the presentation of expenditure figures in the report, including confusion about which expenditure streams or grants deliver which objectives, and calls on the Department to rectify these problems in its next Annual Report.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmchilsch/46/4602.htm

Disability Rights

In its report this week, the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights called on the Government to end delays in ratifying the UN Convention on Disability Rights and justify the large number of "reservations" or exceptions it is putting forward. The Government has missed its deadline of ratifying the Convention by the end of 2008. In addition, the UK is proposing as many reservations as all the other states that have currently ratified combined. The Committee says this undermines the Government's claim to being committed to ensuring that all "rights are enjoyed by all people" equally.

http://news.parliament.uk/2009/01/committee-reports-on-disability-rights/

The EHRC has also raised this issue in letters to various Secretaries of State, including Ed Balls.

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/newsandcomment/Pages/DelaysinratifyingtheUNDisabilityConventionriskdamagingtheUK%27sreputationasaleaderondisabilityrights,Commissionwarns.aspx

Road safety

As part of the Government's THINK! campaign for greater road safety, a new advertising campaign - called 'The Girl who didn't Dress Bright in the Dark' - joins 'The Boy who didn't Stop, Look and Listen' in the Tales of the Road series (launched in November 2008) to explain to children the dangers they can face on the roads. The campaign is aimed at children aged 6-11 and was devised following extensive research with parents and children which showed that children today demand a more forthright approach to road safety messages.

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=388405&NewsAreaID=2

Updated training on integrated working

The Every Child Matters website now gives access to updated training resources on integrated working for the children's workforce. In addition to the national guidance and support materials provided by government, frontline staff and management will need training to address the specific requirements of the integrated working processes and tools, such as information sharing, CAF and lead professional.

http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/deliveringservices/integratedworking/training/

Changing leadership consultation

In December 2008, CLG launched a consultation on Changing Council Governance Arrangements: Mayors and Indirectly Elected Leaders, as part of the White Paper, Communities in control: Real People, real power. The consultation seeks views on permitting e-petitions to demonstrate support for a governance referendum, as well as reducing the threshold to trigger a governance referendum. The closing date is 13 March 2009.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/electedmayorsconsultation

Prime Minister's Thank You

Before the end of 2008, the Prime Minister made a statement thanking the staff and volunteers working in the third sector for all their time, energy and support to the causes they care about.

http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17861

Awareness of CRB

According to research carried out for the Criminal Records Bureau by Ipsos Mori, nine out of ten people are in favour of criminal record checks for those working or volunteering with children. Findings show that more than 70% think the CRB helps protect the vulnerable and that three out of four people are more likely to use a business if staff have been CRB checked.

http://www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=5215

CRB Interim Chief Executive

On 18 November 2008 the CRB announced that Chief Executive Vince Gaskell would be leaving in early 2009 to join the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) as the Executive Director for New Service Implementation. The Home Office has appointed Steve Long as the new interim Chief Executive. Steve is currently the Head of Unit for the Pay and Pensions Service and Director of the Home Office HR Change Programme. He was also the Chief Executive of a Merseyside youth charity.

http://www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=0

Life worth living

According to a Prince's Trust report YouGov Youth Index, one in ten young people do not find life worth living. From interviews carried out with 2,004 young people across Britain, 12% of respondents felt that life is meaningless, 27% of 16 to 25-year-olds admitted they are ''often'' or ''always'' down or depressed, and 47% said they are regularly stressed.

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/wellbeing/

Recording participation in positive activities

The National Youth Agency has developed two guides for Connexions staff to support the recording of young people's participation in positive activities (National Indicator 110).

http://www.nya.org.uk/information/110601/positiveactivities/

Link Up: Invitation to Tender reminder

This is a reminder that NCVYS's invitation to tender for the Link Up project closes on Friday 30 January 2009. Through its diversity work and Factor in Faith programme, NCVYS has identified that many organisations working with young people from BME and faith backgrounds have found it difficult to access support and information available to other voluntary and community organisations. Therefore we are looking for three partners who will help to address this situation in different localities in England. These pilots will explore how strategic interventions can be made that will improve the context for organisations working with young people from BME and faith communities.

http://www.ncvys.org.uk/blogs.php?act=view_topic&id=89

Talking Diversity Taster Days reminder

NCVYS has developed a new course tailored for the sector to look more closely at culture, faith and diversity, and how youth work can help. We would like to offer colleagues an opportunity to sample the training by attending one of two FREE Taster Days to be held on 4 and 17 February 2009 at the NCVYS office in London. These sessions will be aimed at those who: work with young people; run organisations that work with young people; or support organisations that work with young people and those who want to explore how diversity relates to their work.

http://www.ncvys.org.uk/blogs.php?act=view_topic&id=88

THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

The House of Commons and House of Lords are currently in recess and will return on 12 January 2009.

Support for the voluntary sector

Before the Christmas and New Year holidays, Lindsay Hoyle MP (Lab, Chorley) put forward an Early Day Motion to support the voluntary sector, calling on the Office of the Third Sector to introduce the necessary measures to help voluntary organisations, both small and large, cope with the challenges they face. The motion also called on local government to increase its efforts and do everything possible to support the work of voluntary organisations in their area.

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37369&SESSION=899