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Wed, 13/04/2011 - 1:16pm
Summary
The Department is consulting on new Best Value guidance, setting out some reasonable expectations of the way best value authorities should work with voluntary and community groups when facing difficult funding decisions.
We would welcome comments from any organisations and individuals affected by the new guidance and any others with an interest.
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Best value: new draft statutory guidance - Consultation<
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Priti Taneja
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Related publications
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Best value: new draft statutory guidance and other measures - Equalities impact assessment<
- Published: 13 April 2011
- Site: Local government
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/bestvalueconsult<
Action to boost support for voluntary sector and cut red tape for councils
Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, today announced a new fair deal for voluntary and community groups, wrapped up with cutting reams of red tape on local councils.
Mr Pickles is proposing a 'social responsibility' deal which will ask that councils give greater support for local community groups, including:
Central government departments will be signing up to the same principles.
This follows a call in a tough talking speech to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations in March when Mr Pickles challenged town halls to resist any temptation to 'pull up the drawbridge' and pass on disproportionate reductions in funding to the voluntary and community sector.
In order to reduce bureaucracy for councils Mr Pickles is scrapping 56 pages of statutory guidance on local priorities issued under the previous Government. The guidance spells out how councils should engage with the people in their area, how they should feed back information, and even a definition of what a 'local person' is. The change will remove barriers and burdens which Ministers believe currently forces councils to focus more on working to top down priorities than on serving their local communities.
Many councils are already working well with the voluntary and community sector. For example, Reading council is increasing the money it gives to voluntary groups, Worcestershire is publishing online all details about grant awards and payments to the voluntary and community sector to increase transparency, and Hampshire using 'microlots' to make it easier for small groups to bid for opportunities. The new 'Fair Deal for the Voluntary and Community Sector' will help ensure that all councils will give voluntary and community groups the opportunity to work together to provide services in new ways.
Mr Pickles said:
Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said:
Greg Clark, Decentralisation Minister, said:
Notes to editors
1. The new best value guidance can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/bestvalueconsult<.
2. The current guidance being withdrawn is Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities. This contains 56 pages of guidance on a range of duties and associated issues around how local authorities should agree their priorities, engage their citizens, lead their communities and commission public services. Ministers also plan withdrawing two associated statutory duties. It follows withdrawal last month of other detailed guidance (21 pages) on workforce matters in local authority service contracts, such as terms and conditions of employment - this includes the 'two tier code'. Taken together, this will result in nearly 80 pages of central government guidance being withdrawn. The Local Government Association has called for the revocation of such guidance (www.lga.gov.uk/lga/publications/publication-display.do?id=14334815< - external link).
3. The new guidance, taken together with measures such as Community Right to Challenge in the Localism Bill, reduce the barriers that often prevent voluntary organisations competing for local authority contracts. Both measures aim to promote local authority leadership in providing a level playing field for all, including local voluntary and community groups and social enterprises.
4. A number of local authorities are already working with the voluntary and community sector to deliver cost-effective, innovative public services. These include:
7. Once published, the new Best Value Guidance will apply to all best value authorities, which are councils plus a range of other authorities including Police, Fire, Broads, Waste and Transport authorities. The full list is:
8. Further details on the Communities Secretary's speech to the National Council of Voluntary Organisations can be seen at: www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1855041.<
9. Further details on the transparency code for the voluntary sector can be seen at: www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/1836144<.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1885482<
also refer http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/news/civil-society/new-dclg-guidance-councils...<