News

Faith to Engage East Midlands newsletter for January and February 2012 is published.  To view this either click here or go to East Midlands page.

The government's plans to reform welfare were badly hit on Wednesday night, when their Welfare Bill suffered three defeats in the House of Lords.

On 11 January 2011 the government's plans to reform welfare and the benefit system were badly hit. Three aspects of the Welfare Bill were defeated in the House of Lords: these included benefits for disabled children and cancer patients, and time limits on employment and support allowance (ESA). 

Ministers had planned to place stricter limits on who can claim ESA, which is currently paid to people who are too sick or disabled to work. They also planned to limit to one year the amount of time people could claim ESA without being means tested. 

However, by voting for exemptions for cancer patients, young disabled people and an overall extension of the time limit, peers have set back those plans significantly.  Attention this week will be firmly focused on further developments. 

More information can be found at:   BBC website and the Guardian website

The Faith to Engage project is in its 4th year of the five year project.  In 2011, the nine regional partners facilitated strong capacity building events across the country, each focused on their main aims of objectives in their region...

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Tuesday 31 January 2012 click here for more information

Stockton-on-Tees Wednesday 1 February 2012 click here for more information

This is a guide for charity trustees about commissioning and tendering for public services, published by NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) in partnership with the Local Government Association.

To read the guide click here

Tracking the impact of the cuts on voluntary groups in England's most deprived areas

This study is compiled by CUF (Church Urban Fund) and it looks at how church and faith-based projects in deprived areas are coping in the light of the spending cuts.

To read the report click here

Supporting social investment in England: deadline 14 December 2011

The Big Lottery will award between £40,000 and £1million to help realise a range of specific and already well-developed social investment proposals. They are interested in funding:

•Investment ready proposals  – to set up a social investment vehicle that will achieve outcomes for people in need.
•‘Nearly there proposals’– to complete the development of a social investment vehicle that will achieve outcomes for people in need
•Pilots  – to test out a social investment concept and/or establish its feasibility

For more information click here

Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has formally launched Near Neighbours - a £5 million government-funded programme bringing people together in diverse communities.

The Near Neighbours charity was created by the Church Urban Fund and the Archbishops' Council following the grant award by the Department for Communities and Local Government in February. It is co-ordinating work in Bradford, Birmingham, Leicester and London.

For more info click here

Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action in the field of housing and homelessness and they are inviting people to a talk on Thursday 8 December.  The talk will explore the tensions between Christian and Statutory responses to the needs of homeless rough sleepers.

To view the invitation click here  

Climate Week is Britain’s biggest climate change campaign, inspiring a new wave of action to create a sustainable future. You can help accelerate action on climate change by making Climate Week happen where you are. Ask an organisation or group you know to start planning an activity now for 12-18 March 2012. To find out more click here

To read the Climate Week newsletter click here

Organisation: Diocese of Derby

Deadline: 25 November 2011, 12 noon

Interview: 12 December 2011

Derby Diocese has advertised a new vacancy in Social Responsibility Department.  A Church Growth Officer for Chesterfield Archdeaconry.

To find out more click here

A press release from The Inter Faith Network on National Interfaith Week have  been released on Monday this week.

To view click here

Pecan is a Christian charity based in Peckham and is looking for a new Finance and Office Manager.

To find out more about Pecan click here

To see the job advertisement click here

Small grants of between £100 - £500 are available for a charity or voluntary group who supports communities within Solihull Borough.

To find out more click here

The Solihull Voluntary & Community Sector Reference Group election took place last month.

To see the results click here

On 28 September 2011, Oasis Charities Parliament and Faith to Engage gathered insights from members of the public, for submission to the ‘Riots Communities and Victims Panel’ set up by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, in response to the summer riots.

The Faith to Engage and Oasis Charities Parliament event saw over 200 young people, community activists and interested stakeholders come together to feedback to the panel on:

•What motivated the rioters to wreak havoc on the nation's streets?
•What will it take to bring lasting peace to our streets?
•How best can we tackle the root causes of the issues?

To read the paper click below link:- 

Paper for Riots Community & Victims Panel 31 October 2011

The Voluntary & Community Sector (VCS) in Solihull is electing its Refrenece Group members. 

Vote before 5.00pm on 31 October.

To find out more and/or to vote click here 

WRC (Women's Resource Centre) and Voice for Change England are carrying out a survey to gather information from voluntary and community organisations focused on equality about what the Big Society means for you and your beneficiaries.

To find out more click here

To participate in survey click here

The Riots Communities and Victims Panel was set up by David Cameron and Nick Clegg in response to the riots this summer, August 2011. 

The Riots Panel are currently travelling around the country to speak to people directly and to gather evidence. 

To find out where next meetings are held please click here.

NCVO, in partnership with the Charity Finance Directors Group (CFDG) and insolvency experts MacIntyre Hudson and PricewaterhouseCoopers have opened up CFDG’s Insolvency Helpline to provide support and benefit to the wider sector. This helpline provides specialist support for Voluntary and Community Organisations in financial crisis free of charge.

For more information visithttp://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/free-insolvency-help-line

As you may have seen in many media sources this month, NCVO has just published the 'Counting the Cuts' report detailing the impact of spending cuts. It contains lots of information and statistics and lists our recommendations to Government.

One fact from the report:

"The sector stands to lose £2.8 billion over the spending review period (2011- 2016)”

Read the report (pdf 428 KB)

On 18^th August 2011, the Government asked the NHS Future Forum to continue a new phase of conversations with patients, service users and professionals following its listening exercise on the proposals to modernise the NHS.

The NHS Future Forum, a group of health experts led by GP Professor Steve Field, will provider independent advice on four new themes:

1. Information

How to make information improve health, care and wellbeing

2. Education and Training

How to develop the healthcare workforce to deliver world-class healthcare

3. Integrated Care

How to ensure the Government’s modernisation programme leads to better integration of services around people’s needs

4. The Public’s Health

How to ensure the public’s health remains at the heart of the NHS

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published One year on: Snapshot of activity in vanguard areas. The report gives information on activity in the Big Society vanguards over the last year.

IFN has produced a new e-resource about young people and inter faith engagement. The resource is based on display boards produced for Inter Faith Week 2010 to highlight the excellent work being done with young people and includes numerous photographic examples. It is hoped that the resource will be both a source of information and a visual teaching aid

This resource is free to download and is available in both high and low resolution in pdf format.

The UK government has announced a ten million pounds 'Investment and Contract Readiness Fund' to help charities and social enterprises develop the skills and infrastructure to win more capital investment and public service contracts, over 3 years from April 2012.