NAVCA News
Browse our latests news articles below
NAVCA and Voice 4Change alarmed by Government equalities ‘backwards step’
Voice4Change England and NAVCA have responded with alarm to last week's equalities announcement by the Home Office, calling it a backwards step. Last week's Home Office statement, on the outcome of the Equalities Red Tape Challenge and Reform of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), confirmed the Government will repeal the Socio-economic Duty and delay the implementation of the Dual Discrimination Duty....
NAVCA gets greener
NAVCA has produced a sustainable development progress report, measuring how successful the organisation has been over the last 12 months in our aim to become more sustainable. The report shows that NAVCA has made good progress over the last year. Achievements include:...
NAVCA signs up to LGA procurement pledge
NAVCA has turned down an invitation to sign up to the Government’s recently launched Procurement Pledge, drawn up by the Cabinet Office. Instead, NAVCA is supporting an alternative Local Government Association (LGA) pledge and is urging other voluntary organisations to follow their lead. The government procurement pledge takes a top down approach that places too much emphasis on multi million pound companies to the detriment of the voluntary sector and local businesses. The LGA’s draft pledge, which is currently out for consultation, starts with users and citizens and gives a greater emphasis to voluntary organisations....
NAVCA welcomes support for small charities in Queen’s speech
Today's Queen's speech included a Small Donations bill. This bill will allow charities to claim top-up payments similar to Gift Aid on small donations totalling up to £5,000 a year without individual paperwork. It will put in place support for small charities that was first announced in the Budget in March 2011....
Joe Irvin looking forward to his first CORE
The programme has been announced for CORE 2012, NAVCA’s residential event for Chief Officer’s and senior managers. The event is being held at Yarnfield Park, Staffordshire on 13/14 June. Details of eight workshops have published, which include ‘New approaches to strategy formation’ and ‘Making links with local businesses’. CORE 2012 is also the first opportunity for Joe Irvin, NAVCA’s new Chief Executive, to address a national NAVCA conference....
NAVCA response to the Charities Act review
NAVCA has published our response to the consultation on the review of the Charities Act 2006, being led by Lord Hodgson....
BIG set out their aims and priorities up to 2015
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has published its strategic framework refresh. This sets out the principles that will inform BIG's work and the funding priorities that will guide them up to 2015. The refresh document includes BIG's fundamental principles, their key priorities for funding and new and emerging issues. The document follows on from the new policy directions for BIG, published by the Cabinet Office recently. It also includes how BIG reduce admin costs, as all lottery funders have been asked to reduce their core admin costs to five per cent by 2014....
NAVCA welcomes launch of Big Society Capital
NAVCA has welcomed the launch of Big Society Capital, the wholesale bank that aims to make £600 million of loan finance available to the voluntary sector over the next four years. NAVCA is pleased that funding from dormant bank accounts and high street banks is being made available to charities and voluntary organisations to help local communities. However, NAVCA warns that Big Society Capital needs to value social impact to realise its potential. If interest rates are set with only the financial return in mind, many small charities, which could benefit from loan finance, will be priced out....
New policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund
The Cabinet Office has published its new policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund (BIG). The new policy directions follow a consultation held last year....
NAVCA chief says Budget should have helped charities
Joe Irvin, Chief Executive of national umbrella charity NAVCA, has used a speech to Involve Yorkshire and the Humber’s annual conference for support and development organisations to say that the Budget was a squandered opportunity. He argued that the Budget should have been used to help communities hardest hit by the economic downturn, by providing support for local charities. Joe made his remarks at Involve’s conference at Cober Hill in Scarborough on Friday 23 March....
NAVCA response to the Budget
Joe Irvin said, "This budget should have gone further. Charities supporting the most deprived communities are facing the double whammy of cuts in funding and rocketing demand. This budget is a squandered opportunity to help Britain's hardest hit communities. This government needs to understand that the big society only works if the local society works as well."...
NAVCA responds to Big Lottery Building Capabilities consultation
NAVCA has responded to the Big Lottery Fund’s ‘Building Capabilities’ consultation. This consultation has been undertaken by the Big Lottery Fund who has decided to change how it will use its funding to provide organisational support to local voluntary sector organisations. The changes and consultation questions are in their consultation document Building capabilities for impact and legacy....
NAVCA welcomes Government support for early intervention
NAVCA has welcomed the reports that the work and pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith will later today (Tuesday 13 March) announce that the government will publish tender documents to establish an Early Intervention Board. ...
NAVCA publishes regeneration report to support Transition Fund campaign
NAVCA has published a report to support the recent call made by the leading voluntary and community sector umbrella organisations, including NAVCA, for a second wave of transition funding to help regenerate the most deprived areas. The report evidences the impact of public spending cuts since 2010 on the local voluntary sector. After compiling the evidence in NAVCA's report, NAVCA has written to George Osborne MP to further urge him to use his Budget on 21 March to provide transition funding to help people who are suffering most from public spending cuts....
New data reveals damaging decline in grant funding for charities
The Local Grants Forum says that the 2012 NCVO Civil Society Almanac, published today, provides conclusive proof that a major shift from grant funding to contracting by local public bodies is taking place....
Focus on the impact of the cuts
NAVCA has called for politicians to focus on the effects of charities cuts rather than get caught up in the argument over the size of the cuts. Newspapers yesterday ran stories about a leaked report Acevo sent to the Government. The report about the Transition Fund suggested that charities could have lost up to £5.5 billion pounds due to the recession and public spending cuts. Questioned about the cuts from the Labour Shadow Charities Minister, Gareth Thomas MP, the Cabinet Officer rejected the figures in the report saying that they do not 'consider these figures reliable.'...
Parliamentary Reception
NAVCA held a reception on Monday 27 February in the House of Commons to celebrate the work of our members and say farewell to Kevin Curley and welcome to new Chief Executive, Joe Irvin....
Charities set to benefit from new social value law
The Public Services (Social Value) Bill has cleared its final hurdle in the House of Lords and is set to become Law. The Bill will mean public bodies have to consider social and environmental benefits alongside financial considerations when awarding contracts. NAVCA believes this will help charities and local voluntary organisations win more public service contracts as they provide a high level of added social value to the contracted services they deliver....
NAVCA welcomes Government plan to help unemployed 16-17 year olds
Joe Irvin, NAVCA's Chief Executive, has welcomed the plans announced today by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to help young people find work, training or get back into education. Nick Clegg MP has announced a £126 million scheme to help at least 55,000 "neets" - those not in education, employment or training. As part of the scheme, charities and businesses will be invited to bid for contracts worth up to £2,200 to take young people on....
NAVCA joins Early Intervention Foundation Consortium
NAVCA has joined the Early Intervention Foundation Consortium. The Consortium was set up by Labour MP Graham Allen and is supported by David Cameron. The consortium seeks to become a centre to champion Early Intervention, develop an evidence base of what works and provide advice to practitioners....
NAVCA joins influential health board
NAVCA's Chief Executive Joe Irvin has been invited to join a key Department of Health Board. This will allow NAVCA to input the views of the local voluntary and community sector....
Free learning events for LINks members
The Department of Health has asked a consortium of its voluntary sector strategic partners, including NAVCA, to run a series of learning events for LINks members over the next few months....
NAVCA’s six point test for local Healthwatch
NAVCA has issued a six point test for local Healthwatch to make sure they are genuine grassroots bodies. To pass the six point test, the Government needs to amend the Health and Social Care Bill so that local Healthwatch organisations are not 'statutory bodies', which would create over 150 new local quangos....
Transforming Local Infrastructure
Following the announcement from the BIG Fund of the Transforming Local Infrastructure funding decisions, Joe Irvin, Chief Executive of NAVCA said.....
Local charities and community groups have voice thanks to NAVCA members
A NAVCA report highlights the part its members play in bringing together the local voluntary sector to strengthen its voice. A survey carried out in November finds that most places have a local voluntary and community sector forums thanks to the work of the local NAVCA member....
