Local government

The voluntary and community sector  is increasingly being asked to work in partnership with public bodies to revitalise the economic, environmental and social well-being of our citizens.

The role of the sector will continue to expand and diversify in response to new opportunities and demands, such as the Government's Big Society agenda. Similarly the role of the sector's infrastructure bodies will expand and diversify in response to demands for strategic leadership and practical support of the sector.

We welcome the Government's commitment to a healthy and vibrant voluntary and community sector in all localities; however it will not be achieved unless there is strong, high quality infrastructure to support it. This requires investment from local authorities in local infrastructure services, and in support for local infrastructure organisations to achieve nationally recognised performance standards.

Local area agreements (LAAs)

For many voluntary and community sector organisations, progress on LAAs has been limited to date. There is, for example, evidence that the level of sector involvement in LAAs is directly related to the quality and level of resources available for voluntary and community sector infrastructure . This, in NAVCA's view, demonstrates a clear link between investment in local infrastructure and strong support for a healthy local third sector.

A strong and well networked voluntary and communitysector is vital to:

• effective community engagement - developing a voice for communities to enable them to participate more effectively and to increase the accountability of service providers within local authorities;
• building social capital and civil renewal - to increase the confidence and ability of individuals and groups to get involved in activities that hold communities together;
• improved service delivery - to ensure that local communities can properly influence and, where appropriate, deliver services on behalf of local government and other public bodies.