Normal adolescent behaviour is being criminalised because of the ‘overzealous’ treatment of young pe

The main provisions of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 come into effect today (24th April). As the Scottish Executive press release says:

“All new charities must meet a new two-part Charity Test, showing that they have one or more charitable purposes, and provide public benefit. Charities must also seek consent from OSCR for proposed changes such as amendments to their charitable purposes or a proposed change of name.

“The aim of the new legislation is to reinforce public confidence in the charity sector and create a more appropriate, modern environment for the operation of charities in Scotland.”

See the rest of the press release for official quotes and key points of the new legislation, plus relevant links.

Certified Open, a new kitemark system from the council-led independent Open Source Academy will give local government IT managers a simple way of checking how well IT solutions conform to open standards.

Perhaps the ICT Hub can tap into this resource? http://www.opensourceacademy.gov.uk.

(Source: E-Government Bulletin)

Keynote and workshop presentations at the recent public service delivery conference run by the Charity Commission (with DSC) are available to download from http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/news/psdconf.asp.

Although in pdf format, they seem to be mainly PowerPoint slides so not that exciting, but a detailed report is due by the end of April.

The Home Office has published its official Year of the Volunteer Review, commissioned from GfK NOP Social research, in pdf format, 1MB.

New from Department of Education and Skills, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’. Addressed to practitioners, front-line and senior managers.

In pdf format, 1.1Mb.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection has redesigned its web site “to give the public better information on choosing the right care for them”.

They have involved people who use services in checking the design for maximum accessibility. News item at http://www.csci.org.uk/about_csci/news/csci_launches_new_website.aspx.

A review of the development needs of the voluntary sector in the current climate has been commissioned by the Scottish Executive, for the Strategic Funding Review Partners which also involves SCVO and local authority body CoSLA.

Voluntary organisations can become involved through focus groups happening throughout Scotland or via an online survey. http://www.rocketsciencelab.co.uk/review/.

The Fire Safety regulations originally intended to come into effect from 1st April will now be implemented from October 2006 in England and Wales. They make employers, landlords and occupiers of premises responsible for fire safety.

See Sandy Adirondack’s legal update at http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/employment.htm#firesafety, or wait for the specific guidance to be published - we’ll let you know when.

Both the Workforce and Performance Hubs, set up to provide national sources of expertise for the sector, have recently launched new web sites. UK Workforce Hub at http://www.ukworkforcehub.org.uk takes over from the old Voluntary Sector Skills site (which currently still exists although it’s not being updated). There are some distinct oddities, such as some internal links opening in new windows, and there’s more material to come. Performance Hub is at http://www.performancehub.org.uk.

Various Hub Helpdesks are due to start operation this week. Workforce Hub is on 0800 652 5737, email: helpdesk@ukworkforcehub.org.uk; Performance Hub 0800 652 5787, email: helpline@performancehub.org.uk. ICT Hub: 0800 652 4737, email: helpdesk@icthub.org.uk; and Governance Hub phone 0800 652 4886, email:  governance.hub@ncvo-vol.org.uk

The Criminal Records Bureau has launched an Umbrella Body database covering over 1700 organisations that offer an umbrella service which allows non-registered organisations to gain access to CRB checks.

This is part of their effort to reduce the number of organisations that are registered, currently around 14,000, of which about 10,000 carry out less than 100 checks per year.

CRB press release http://www.crb.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=3339 or more background in Kablenet article.

Community-based organisations risk being left behind in the race to enter the primary care market unless the government does more to support them, according to a report from the King’s Fund, an independent charitable foundation working for better health.

Social Enterprise and Community-based Care suggests that the government could do more to support those seeking to set up social enterprise organisations. Its main recommendations include:

• creating guidance at a national level to aid the development of social enterprises in primary and community care
• bringing forward the date (currently April 2007) for the government’s proposed Social Enterprise Unit which will provide advice, access to finance and developmental help to social enterprises
• ensuring that primary care trusts are accountable in providing support to the development of social enterprises
• providing support networks to potential leaders of social enterprises, allowing them to share ideas and problem solve jointly; and
• providing guarantees that NHS pension rights will continue to exist for staff transferring from the NHS to new social enterprise organisations.

See press release: King’s Fund calls for more support for social enterprise in primary care: