Momentum - News

NCVYS has submitted a response to the UK Workforce Hub on its Third sector skills strategy. Recommendations include the need to build competences around soft skills and support for third sector specific training opportunities in management and leadership.

Communities and Local Government has published its summary of responses to the Standing for Office: Time Off Entitlements consultation. The consultation considered extending the right to time off to people serving in a wider range of civic roles and also considered other ways to encourage people to take on governance roles in third sector organisations. NCVYS's response is available on its website.

HM Government has published Youth Crime Action Plan Handbook for Practitioners which sets out the goals of the Youth Crime Action Plan and describes key programmes such as Operation Staysafe.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Children's Minister Delyth Morgan have announced that the Government accepts Sir Roger Singleton's findings in his report Keeping our schools safe and will look at how best to implement his recommendations alongside those made by Lord Laming in his recent report The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has launched the Co-location Fund; a £200 million cross-Government fund to support capital projects that enable the co-location of local services.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published a paper to help faith groups identify sources of funding that could develop places of worship to make them better able to deliver public services, and to build the capacity of faith groups to engage strategically at local and regional levels around the delivery of local priorities and access to funding allocations.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new Third Sector Taskforce on Climate Change and Environment. The group will be jointly chaired by Defra, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Cabinet Office Ministers and third sector representatives. Applications for membership of the taskforce are now invited from third sector organisations. The recruitment process is being coordinated by Green Alliance and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations who will provide the secretariat for the Taskforce. Third sector co-chairs will be nominated at the first meeting.

The Office of The Third Sector has appointed Liz Liston-Jones as the new Deputy Director for Social Enterprise and Finance. Liz is an experienced civil servant, who has helped to drive the Government's social enterprise agenda since 2005.

Communities and Local Government has announced that England will have an Inter Faith Week, 15 to 21 November, with a launch the preceding week. Aims of the week include strengthening inter faith relations at all levels and increasing understanding between people of religious and non-religious belief.

The Ministry of Justice has issued a new Bill of Rights and Responsibilities which includes a section on children's well-being. It states that the ambition for every child to achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes should not place unrealistic and unsustainable burdens on public bodies or interfere in resource decisions. The Bill also outlines the responsibilities of parents and other carers to ensure that children have access to opportunities to help them to develop and thrive.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has published statistics on post-16 education, learner participation and outcomes and level of highest qualification held.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority's VBS contact centre is now live and available to answer any questions or queries about VBS.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has admitted that the roll out of ContactPoint has been temporarily suspended because of security problems. Local authorities were supposed to have shielding policies for vulnerable children in place by 13 March, yet a third of councils have missed the deadline.

The Database State report, published by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, suggests that children are among those most at risk of having their privacy breached as a result of databases. The report assessed the most prominent databases across the major government departments and found that ContactPoint, eCAF and ONSET are the three systems with the most critical problems concerning issues of legality, privacy and consent.

The UK Council for Child Internet Safety has launched working groups to take forward the Byron Review recommendations, leading the groups will be four respected senior figures from the world of child internet safety.

Third Sector Minister Kevin Brennan has asked the Commissioner for the Compact to revise the national Compact. A new version of the national Compact will be published in November 2009 and will take account of the implications for Local Compacts, and the new local performance framework, Local Strategic Partnerships, Local Area Agreements and the Comprehensive Area Assessment.

The Audit Commission is publishing regular e-newsletters about the creation, development and delivery of Comprehensive Area Assessment. Back issues are also available.

IDeA has published an online local government glossary which gives the latest definition of terms used in local government.

The Health Protection Agency has published a strategy to improve the health and well-being of children in the United Kingdom by changing the environment in which they live. Recommendations include that measures are taken to ensure children and young people have easy and safe access to well-maintained green open spaces.

The Big Lottery Fund is looking for young people to sit on its decision-making committee for the Young People's Fund 2 Local Grants programme. The young people involved will receive training in May and will need to attend meetings in June and July. Deadline for applications is 31 March 2009.

Children's Minister, Beverley Hughes, responded to a question posed by James Brokenshire (Con, Hornchurch) about what pilot projects are being undertaken by the Government to deter young people from entering the criminal justice system.

Ann Winterton (Con, Congleton) introduced a House of Commons debate around improving the care provided for children with long-term, complex health needs.

Lord Northbourne (Crossbench Peer) raised a question in the House of Lords about young mothers under the age of 16 and adoption rates for children born to young mothers.

Cyberbullying

James Brokenshire (Con, Hornchurch) asked Sarah McCarthy-Fry, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families, what guidance has been provided to schools on reducing levels of cyberbullying.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090324/text/90324w0040.htm#0903254000014

Children's Trusts

Tim Loughton, Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families, asked Children's Minister Beverley Hughes about qualifications and requirements for chairs of Children's Trusts.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090324/text/90324w0040.htm#0903254000007

Safeguarding

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes responded to a question asked by Tim Loughton, Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families around reviewing Working together to safeguard children.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090323/text/90323w0020.htm#09032333000003

ContactPoint

Tim Lougthton, Shadow Minister, Children, Schools and Families, asked Children's Minister Beverley Hughes two questions around the implementation of ContactPoint.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090323/text/90323w0019.htm#09032333000002

Child poverty

Kitty Ussher, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions, responded to a question posed by David Drew (Lab, Stroud) around the Child Poverty Bill and date of publication.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090324/text/90324w0017.htm#09032470000084

Unemployment

Philip Hollobone (Con, Kettering) asked Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, Siôn Simon, about the impact of the recession on young people not in education, employment and training.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090323/text/90323w0031.htm#09032341000038