The Community Alliance networks (of bassac, Community Matters, the Scarman Trust and Development Trusts Association) are promoting the sharing of best practice between their community-based membership.

They have government supplied funding, until March 2007, available to assist visits and training under the Knowledge & Skills Exchange Programme - http://www.dta.org.uk/kandse.htm.

An “eInclusion Charter”, launched last week (15th May), calls on industry, government and the voluntary sector to work together to ensure that computers, mobile phones, TVs and other information and communication technologies are made accessible to disabled and older people.

http://www.ictrnid.org.uk/adi/charter.html, or see news item with more background at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/5977.

A Family Mediation Helpline (https://www.familymediationhelpline.co.uk) has been set up by the government, with support from the main family mediation organisations in the country. This is mainly a signposting service explaining what is involved.

Note: mediation is not counselling or guidance, but intended to help separating couples make the best arrangements they can.

(Press release at http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=200866&NewsAreaID=2.)

Why voluntary organisations attract bad press while ‘good news’ is ignored, reasons for their higher vulnerability and what can be done about it.

These are the focus of ‘Trust, But Cut the Cards’, an article first published in the Nonprofit Online News Journal: http://news.gilbert.org/TrustButCutCards.

We’re pleased to note that despite recent funding cuts, Scottish umbrella body SCVO is continuing to update the resources on its web site. For example, a page on the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation legal model coming in next year, and other updates in relation to new charity law on areas such as accountability and campaigning by charities.

Latest updates via http://www.scvo.org.uk/scvo/Information/LatestUpdates.aspx.

A review of the funding of political parties, run by Sir Hayden Phillips, has launched with a web site at http://www.partyfundingreview.gov.uk.

He is to report to government by the end of the year. Department for Constitutional Affairs press release.

Anyone involved in the Voluntary and Community Sector is presented with a bewildering and extensive range of acronyms and terminology. A number of jargon busters exist, but with the pace of change in the Sector, they soon become out of date.
ladder4learning has developed a VCS Jargon Buster Wiki. For those not familiar with Wikis (pronounced Wick-ee), they are interactive websites that anybody can edit, delete or add to. On the Jargon Buster Wiki you can search alphabetically for the word or acronym you are looking for and if you don’t find it, just enter the word and somebody will enter the definition for you.
This ‘living’ and fully collaborative jargon buster for the Voluntary and Community Sector can be found at: http://vcsjargonbuster.wikispaces.com/. Please feel free to alter and add to it as you see fit.
Feedback and development ideas always welcome at ladder4learning (www.ladder4learning.org.uk). Tel: 02380 458659. enquiries@ladder4learning.org.uk

GuideStar UK has put together geographic data (for England and Wales) on numbers of charities, charities per head of population, totals of income and expenditure, stats on client groups and areas of activities.

Data by region is available on the web, with breakdown for local authority areas in England available under a range of data licence arrangements. http://www.guidestar.org.uk/gs_areaprofile.aspx#local.

Help the Hospices has provided funding to Lancaster University for new research looking at the role of hospices in the community, with an aim to increase innovation in their care facilities.

From Charity Finance magazine, http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/news/124/may2006/hospice.asp.

We covered the April rise in Criminal Record Bureau disclosure fees for England/Wales (to £31/£36) some weeks ago, but missed the Disclosure Scotland increase.

This is ‘only’ to £20, for either level of disclosure, but it is a massive 47 per cent uplift, which has been highlighted by the Liberal Democrats. No charge for volunteer checks.

See http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk or news item at http://election.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=783&id=734382006.

With hosepipe bans potentially leading to a greater use of ladders and buckets for at-height cleaning, the HSE is drawing attention to its information on minimising risks in such activity. They are also running a Height Aware Campaign this month and next. (OK, these news pages aren’t for window cleaners, but we know that many small groups ‘do-it-yourself’ on maintenance.)

A range of leaflets can be downloaded from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/fallindx.htm, including a recent ‘Safe use of ladders and stepladders: An employers’ guide’.

Costs under Pricing in Proportion, the new postal pricing structure taking into account size as well as weight coming in on 21st August, have now been finalised. They are available at http://www.royalmail.com/pip along with a variety of information on preparing for the change.

Royal Mail reckons that 70% of business mail will not be affected, however.