Latest NAVCA news and updates

NAVCA welcomes Eric Pickles action on Nottinghamshire cuts

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s Chief Executive, has welcomed comments by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government that he will make public his disapproval of the cuts Nottinghamshire County Council has made in their voluntary sector budget. Eric Pickles also said that he will be writing to the Council. The comments came in response to a question from Joe Irvin at the New Local Government Network (NLGN) annual conference on 25 January.

Last year the Government issued Best Value Statutory Guidance saying that lcal authorities should not pass on disproportionate cuts to local voluntary and community groups. In Nottinghamshire the council has made 34% cuts to their voluntary sector grant aid budget. Cuts which Deputy Leader Martin Suthers admitted in Third Sector magazine are disproportionate. NAVCA has been campaigning to get the Government to intervene in Nottinghamshire for several weeks.

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s Chief Executive, said

“I am delighted that Eric Pickles has said he will make his disapproval of these cuts public and also write to the council. We know that budgets are tight but local charities should be treated fairly.

“We have been campaigning with our local Nottinghamshire members since before Christmas for the Government to intervene in this case and I am delighted that Eric Pickles responded to my question in such a positive way. I hope that the County Council will listen to the Secretary of State and re-examine their decision.”

Read the letter NAVCA sent to Eric Pickles in December

Find out more about the Best Value Statutory Guidance

Charities Minister Nick Hurd meets Joe Irvin

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s new Chief Executive, yesterday met with Nick Hurd MP, Minister for Civil Society. Joe took up his post last week and this meeting was an early opportunity for Joe to discuss with the Minister the key issues that NAVCA and the government are working on.

Following the meeting, Joe Irvin said:

“It was a really encouraging meeting, Nick is clearly a minister that both myself and the sector as a whole can work with. We discussed members’ areas of concern and actions we could take to help members. He told me that NAVCA is one of the most important strategic partners.

“Nick has been kind enough to make time to meet me in just my second week in post as NAVCA Chief Executive. I think this shows the high regard that NAVCA is held in, as well as the importance of our relationship with the Office for Civil Society.”

Joe Irvin also met later in the day with Gareth Thomas MP, the Labour Shadow Minister for Civil Society.

(Source: navca.org.uk)

Joe Irvin’s Work Programme concerns expressed in the Observer

NAVCA’s new Chief Executive was quoted in yesterdaysObserver expressing NAVCA’s Work Programme concerns. The Work Programme, the government’s scheme designed to tackle unemployment, has come under fire from a number of local charities. They believe the large private prime contracting companies are treating unemployed people unfairly by failing to make proper arrangements with the local charities working to help them get back to work.

Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s Chief Executive said;

“It is really important that we represent the views of our member and local charities and voluntary organisations. There is increasing concern over the Work Programme and the relationship between the big private companies who are the prime contractors and the local charities who are delivering much of the work to get people back to work.

“The fact a national newspaper is raising this shows it is an important issue. NAVCA will continue to speak out on this issue and I am really grateful for the information that NAVCA members have provided. We need strong evidence to be able to make this case, please help NAVCA by continuing to send me your evidence and information.” 

Read the article and what Joe said.

(Source: navca.org.uk)

Joe Irvin takes over the reins at NAVCA

Joe Irvin, has taken up his post as NAVCA’s new Chief Executive. He takes over from Kevin Curley who is retiring after 9 years in the post. Joe has quickly set out his priorities.

Joe said, “My job is to help NAVCA members through these hard times so that local voluntary and community action can survive and thrive in the future.

“NAVCA is here, first and foremost, to serve our members. I want to build upon the great work that NAVCA already does and look at how we can communicate more effectively with members. I want to make sure our actions are always guided by members.

“Secondly, we all know that we are in really tough times. I am a firm believer that we are stronger when we work together. This applies to organisations as much as it does individuals. There is a responsibility on NAVCA and other umbrella organisations to improve the way we work together, so we give better support to the sector in this time of real need.”

(Source: navca.org.uk)

Local authorities reminded to follow best value guidance

NAVCA, ACEVO and NCVO have written a joint letter to all local authority chief executives to remind them of the need to follow the Best Value Statutory Guidance when reviewing voluntary sector budgets. The guidance is important because it offers local voluntary organisations and community groups some protection from badly imposed cuts.

The letter, signed by the chief executives of all three national umbrella organisations highlights the key points of the statutory guidance that requiring local authorities to:

• Consider overall value, including economic, environmental and social value, when reviewing service provision
• Consult representatives of a wide range of local persons at all stages of the commissioning cycle, including decommissioning
• Avoid passing on disproportionate reductions by not passing on larger reductions to the voluntary and community sector and small businesses as a whole, than they take on themselves
• Give at least three months notice of funding reductions
• Follow the commitments in your local Compact

Neil Cleeveley, NAVCA’s Policy and Communications Director said;

“We have already seen the impact of the Best Value Statutory Guidance in Derby. The local voluntary sector used the Guidance to challenge council cuts and grants to 16 local charities were extended as a result. Every NAVCA member should make themselves familiar with this guidance. You should be prepared to use it if your local authority is making unfair budget decisions.”

• Read the full letter
• Read more about the Best Value guidance
• Please continue sending in information about cuts in your local area to cuts@navca.org.uk

Understanding Local Giving

The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University and NAVCA are working together on a research project to better understand the contribution giving and philanthropy might make to local social action.

The research aims to understand and provide the basis for strengthening the contribution NAVCA’s members can make in promoting giving and philanthropy at a local level for the benefit of frontline organisations. This is an exploratory project and runs over three phases:

i. a review of the current evidence base around initiatives to promote local giving and philanthropy;

ii. case study research in three localities to explore specific approaches which have been used; and

iii. A reporting and dissemination phase which seeks to identify lessons for NAVCA’s members as well as policy makers and foundations.

The research is funded by Sheffield Hallam University’s Knowledge Exchange Programme which seeks to promote collaborative research in emerging fields of enquiry.

(Source: navca.org.uk)

NAVCA welcomes proposed changes to EU procurement rules

04/01/2012

NAVCA has welcomed the new proposals from the European Commission for revised public procurement directives, published on 20 December 2011. The proposals follow last year’s consultation by the European Commission and they recognise that social, health and education services have specific characteristics that do not fit with the current procurement rules. NAVCA believes these proposals will make it easier for local charities and voluntary organisations to deliver public services.

NAVCA particularly welcomes the proposed recommendations that the threshold for social, health and education services is significantly raised to EUR500,000 (from EUR200,000) and that only basic principles of transparency and equal treatment should be applied to the way these services are purchased. NAVCA campaigned for these changes in the EU procurement rules to help local charities and voluntary organisations and last year urged local voluntary and community sector organisations to get involved in the consultation. NAVCA believes these proposals give contracting authorities more flexibility and will allow them to give recognition to social value and the other benefits that local voluntary sector delivery can bring.

NAVCA also supports the Commission’s proposal to introduce a need to explain why contracts above EUR 500 000 have not been divided into lots, which would support local charities delivering public services. We also support the new regulations, that if implemented, would reduce environmental and social damage, for example, the ability to exclude bidders for breaching social, labour or environmental laws.

Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of NAVCA said;
“EU procurement rules have a massive impact on charities and voluntary organisations, which are increasingly involved in the delivery of public services. The Commission has shown that is aware of the problems many local charities have with commissioning

“These recommendations are a great step forward to making it easier for commissioning bodies to undertake the ‘intelligent commissioning’ processes that we have always campaigned for. Processes that recognise the true value that local charities and voluntary organisations bring to local public service delivery”.

• Read the full proposals from the Commission
• The Cabinet Office is also inviting comments to inform its negotiating position
• Read NAVCA’s original consultation response

NAVCA urges government to intervene in Nottinghamshire cuts

NAVCA has written to Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, asking him to intervene in the case of Nottinghamshire County Council, which has made disproportionate funding cuts to the local voluntary sector. These cuts go against the government’s own policies to support charities and voluntary organisations through the Big Society agenda.

In the letter, Kevin Curley says that Nottinghamshire County Council has cut its budget for supporting the voluntary sector from £3.2m in 2010/11 to £1.4m in 2011/12, a reduction of 56 per cent. This percentage cut is very much higher than overall cuts made by Nottinghamshire County Council to its own services.

Kevin Curley’s letter also says the cuts to the voluntary sector budget were made before the introduction in September of the Best Value statutory guidance from the government, which says councils “should seek to avoid passing on disproportionate reductions by not passing on larger reductions to the voluntary and community sector and small businesses as a whole, than they take on themselves”. The letter points out that had this guidance been available before the cuts were made, the local voluntary and community sector “would have been in a position to challenge the council”.

Eric Pickles is urged in the letter to ask Kay Cutts, the leader of the council, to reinstate some of the voluntary sector budget, so that the cut in voluntary and community sector funding is in proportion to the cuts the council has made in its own services.

Read the full letter

Parliamentary Big Society report released

The House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee has published its report into the Big Society. The report examines how Whitehall is responding to the Big Societyand whether the government is on track to meet its objectives. NAVCA submitted evidence to the committee and the report extensively quotes Kevin Curley, NAVCA’s Chief Executive, who gave evidence to the committee.

The report says that the Big Society will not occur overnight, it will take a generation. It says that the government has failed to communicate this and the public are confused by it. The Work Programme has also caused the voluntary and community sector to express serious reservations about the implementation of the Government’s ambitions in practice.

It calls for a single Big Society Minister with a cross-cutting brief, to drive through the Big Society agenda and an impact assessment, applied to every Government policy, statutory instrument, and new Bill, which asks the simple question: “what substantively will this do to build social capital, people power, and social entrepreneurs?” The report warns that without this the Big Society agenda will fail.

Kevin’s evidence is quoted frequently in the final report, including his warning that social investment will not adequately replace other traditional methods of funding being cut and the problems local charities were facing with commissioning.

Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of NAVCA, said:

“I really appreciated the opportunity give evidence to the committee and try to explain what was needed to support local voluntary action. I am gratified that the committee have listened to my evidence and have come out so strongly with recommendations to help the ‘little society’.

“They have understood the problems local charities and voluntary organisations face with the commissioning agenda, particularly with the work programme. This report supports the arguments NAVCA has been making for the last 18 months. If the Big Society is to succeed the government must act in support of ‘little society’. That means commissioning policies need to help local organisations not just the big nationals.”

Read the full report

(Source: navca.org.uk)

NAVCA Appoints Joe Irvin as New Chief Executive

NAVCA’s Board of Trustees are delighted to announce that they have appointed Joe Irvin as the new Chief Executive of the organisation, with the forthcoming retirement of Kevin Curley. Joe has a rich and varied background in senior posts having worked as Director of Parliamentary affairs for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Director of Public Affairs at the British Airports Authority, Chief Special Adviser to John Prescott (as Deputy Prime Minister), Director of Policy at the Transport and General Workers Union, and in the 10 Downing St Policy Unit.

Mike Martin MBE, Chair of NAVCA, said:

“After the outstanding contribution of Kevin Curley to the cause of local voluntary action, trustees were looking for a candidate who could bring fresh thinking and new skills to steer NAVCA through the difficult times ahead. With his senior leadership experience in Government, the corporate and not for profit sector we believe we have found just such a person in Joe. Among a strong field of candidates, we were looking for someone who would put the interests of our members and the people they serve at the heart of NAVCA’s operations. In addition we sought someone who could work across organisational and political boundaries because partnership is central to our approach. On both counts Joe was completely convincing.”

Joe Irvin said:

“I am delighted to be taking up the reins as Chief Executive of NAVCA - one of the most important posts in the voluntary sector. People really value what we do in local voluntary and community action - in health, housing, disability and social care, championing communities, combating poverty and inequality, conserving our heritage and the environment, giving consumer or employment advice, and working with children and young people. But organisations are facing huge challenges in a time of austerity. NAVCA has built a tremendous reputation under Kevin’s leadership. It has excellent staff and an impressive set of trustees. I will be putting all my experience and effort into supporting NAVCA’s members and ensuring the local voluntary sector’s work is recognised and supported.”

(Source: http)

NAVCA backs Newcastle plan to use strikes savings to support the sector

NAVCA Chief Executive, Kevin Curley, has praised a council’s plan to give savings from the public sector strike to voluntary and community sector groups fighting poverty.

The idea came from trade union members in Newcastle and has won the support of the council - meaning up to £100,000 could now go to hard-pressed community projects tackling poverty, reducing worklessness and improving neighbourhoods in deprived areas.

NAVCA is urging all other public service employers who will benefit from strike savings to follow this example.

Kevin Curley said: “It would have been very easy for Newcastle City Council to quietly pocket the savings from the strike.

“The fact that they followed the advice of their unions and put that money into local voluntary organisations shows real leadership and a genuine concern for the people who are suffering most from the public spending cuts.

“Voluntary organisations across the country are struggling to maintain their services as their funding gets squeezed.

“I hope others in the public sector will follow Newcastle’s lead and put their savings to good use by supporting voluntary organisations tackling poverty. If they do it will bring much needed resources to the most deprived communities.”

(Source: navca.org.uk)

I mean what I say

24/11/2011

Kevin Curley made his final address to a NAVCA Conference after 40 years in the NAVCA movement this week, at NAVCA’s Annual Conference in London. Kevin first spoke at a NAVCA (NACVS) Conference in 1971.

In his speech Kevin stressed that although sometimes you need to bite your lip he said that he firmly believed that “we achieve more at the table inside the town hall than if we stand outside the town hall banging on the door and waving a placard.” He did add that NAVCA members also support campaigning.

However, although we may compromise on the means Kevin was clear that we must not compromise on the values. Our values “sit beneath everything we do and say. They help us to steer a course through confused waters. They bind us together.”

Kevin ended his speech by saying that NAVCA members “embody the very best of localism.  Localism built on the right values. Unchanging values for rapidly changing times.” He added that NAVCA members great strength is their values, confidence and belief “in the potential for independent local voluntary action to transform people’s lives and people’s neighbourhoods”.

Kevin’s final message to members was that “the cuts will draw blood but no transfusion will be needed. The wounds will heal. And you, your organisation and this movement will be strong and will continue to fulfil its mission”.

Read the full speech