CVSF & Members
Commissioning Review
CVSF has published the review of the sector's experiences of undertaking the recent ‘prospectus’ commissioning process which we carried out during late summer. Thank you to those groups who gave their feedback and input into this review. Our staff met with commissioners to discuss our initial findings and sought feedback from them to include in the report.To read the report please visit our website: http://t.co/AcAQd5WI
Good News Roundup!
Congratulations to Harvest, who have been named Best Environmental Project by the National Lottery good Causes Awards http://bit.ly/NwP57V
Great news for Grassroots Training who secured £10,000 funding from the Big Lottery Fund to upgrade their IT. Executive Director Chris Brown said “The upgrade will allow us to make use of new technologies for using social media in getting the Grassroots message out. Suicide is still a taboo subject and the contact through Twitter, Facebook & Skype will improve engagement with those at risk who find it difficult to get in contact face to face”
Olympic Donation
Steve Ovett has donated the shirt he wore to win gold at the 1980 Summer Olympics to Brighton Mayor Bill Randall’s charity appeal. It is expected that once it is auctioned, the shirt will raise thousands of pounds for Allsorts, the Martlets Hospice and Brighton Women’s Centre.
Scrumptious!
Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas lent a hand at the Scrumping Project run by Brighton Permaculture Trust. http://bit.ly/SS3KRO
Community Cafés
The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership has just published findings from its recent community cafe survey. http://bit.ly/RDfx5D
Brighton & Hove
MP News
Catch up with what Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas has been up to here: http://bit.ly/X63YHz
Brighton Mayor: Beware of SPADs
Bill Randall takes to the Guardian Online to discuss relationships with Councillors and Officers. http://gu.com/p/3bfte/em
Brighton Business
The latest edition of the Business Improvement District (BID) Newsletter can be read here: http://bit.ly/Z5mT3u
Rebirth or Slow Death of Local Government?
An Argus report looks at the future of Brighton & Hove City Council in the context of £50m savings to be made over the next two years. http://bit.ly/SbCIkT
Living Wage
The Argus also investigated wages in Brighton & Hove and interviewed workers earning less than the living wage. http://bit.ly/Yv2iFu
Local Health
Brighton and Hove NHS have developed a 'Brighton & Hove Healthy Living Directory' for workers/practitioners in the city. It lists a range of different services that promote healthy living. A copy can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ctgcvjm
Local Apprenticeships
A scheme has been launched that will enable small businesses in Brighton & Hove to take on an apprentice without formally employing them or committing to a long-term arrangement. http://bit.ly/SBOYxy
City Deal
The government has announced that Brighton & Hove will be given the opportunity to bid for new powers to boost local growth via a tailor-made City Deal. City Deals are a key part of the Government’s objectives of rebalancing the economy and boosting private sector growth. http://bit.ly/QZoO6j
Wild Park Management Plan 2012-2022
Wild Park is Brighton & Hove's largest Local Nature Reserve with extensive woodland walks and views over the city. This plan is the result of a local consultation. http://bit.ly/UglY1r
Drugs in Brighton
Fewer people died from substance abuse in Brighton last year but the city is still the UK city with the most drug deaths per capita. http://bit.ly/RgNSWJ
Third Sector
Public Health Partnerships
From next April local councils will assume responsibility for public health. This article looks at the kind of cross-sector partnerships that may need to be established to produce the best results. http://gu.com/p/3bfa5/em
Politics in the Third Sector
This article looks at how charities can maintain confidence by ensuring avoiding political bias. http://gu.com/p/3bebn/em
The Changing Face of Fundraising
Charities are now using special events and social media as their main means of fundraising. http://gu.com/p/3becz/em
Energy Co-ops
Could co-operative energy, one of the fastest growing sectors of the co-operative economy, solve climate change and save money for local communities? http://bit.ly/Ss15OA. The Co-operative and Co-operatives UK have published a ‘Manifesto’ advocating energy co-ops. http://bit.ly/SBAA8q.
BME Mental Health
This article argues that the voluntary sector has a bigger role to play in improving the mental health of people from ethnic minorities. http://bit.ly/T4OZs9
Evidence forEarly Intervention
Preventative investment could reap great benefits to society and the public purse but remains a marginal component of expenditure. To stimulate the debate Nesta has published two papers; the first introduces the current prevention landscape and the stages involved in developing a preventative strategy, the second makes a compelling case for greater preventative investment in children's services. http://bit.ly/SErO7C
Christmas Time
vInspired has a directory of opportunities to volunteer over the Christmas period. Help spread the cheer! http://bit.ly/SvUFvl
National
Gov.uk New Website
www.gov.uk is the new site for all central government services and information online, replacing Directgov and Business Link. New format has jargon- and clutter-free pages.
Under the Living Wage
A report by consultants KPMG says that one in five workers in the UK – 4.82 million people – are paid less than the ‘Living Wage’ of £7.20 an hour, including over half a million workers in the South East. http://bitly.com/TPmddH
Substance Stigma
Adfam have published ‘Challenging stigma: tackling the prejudice experienced by the families of drug and alcohol users’ a report that looks at drug and alcohol-related stigma through the eyes of the family. http://bitly.com/RyRLWJ
NICE Alcohol Briefing
This briefing summarises NICE's recommendations for local authorities and their partner organisations on how to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. www.publications.nice.org.uk/alcohol-phb6
Social Justice
The Department of Work and Pensions’ Strategy for Social Justice sets out how the coalition government will aim to tackle the root causes of problems in order to make changes to people’s lives. http://bitly.com/z7FwEt
Universal Credit
A report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looks at the implications for service users of the implementation of the new universal credit. http://bit.ly/PEcMCz
Green Spaces
How should parks and open areas in towns and cities be funded? http://gu.com/p/3beyj/em. In related news, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund have pledged £100m to fund public parks. http://bitly.com/VHJ3ek
Data Transparency
A report from Compact Voice shows that central government has been unwilling or unable to share information about funding for the voluntary sector. http://bit.ly/RudjFH
Impact of spending decisions on vulnerable children and families
Action for Children has published The Red Book 2012: The annual review of the impact of spending decisions on vulnerable children and families. It says that 2 out of 3 of the most vulnerable families were struggling with more severe issues than a year previously and with welfare reforms still to be implemented, it argued that the situation is 'only going to get worse'. http://bit.ly/RkT8sq
Read more http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=9f14f1ff6454f1ab0e4486a9b&id=7790edbd12
