The Office of the Third Sector published the implementation plan for the Charities Act 2006 last Tuesday (5th December).

It sets out when different parts will come into effect in date order (from ‘early 2007′ through to ‘early 2008′, although voluntary registration provisions are to start only when the exempt and excepted charities required to register have been processed). Download from http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/law_and_regulation/charities_act_2006/.

In the first half of 2007, the sector will see
- A plain English guide to the Charities Act;
- A series of regional events to explain the Act to charities in England and Wales;
- Initial reductions in the regulatory burden on charities, especially smaller charities;
- A modernised framework for the Charity Commission;
- Consultations with the sector begin to ensure clear guidance is available on the public benefit test.
Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) provisions will not be in effect until early 2008.

Sandy Adirondack has a detailed summary covering most of what most small and medium size charities are likely to need to know about the Act, now with the timetable added, at http://www.sandy-a.co.uk/managing.htm#charitiesact.

The latest Charity Commission twice yearly newsletter is also now out, mostly looking at what the Charities Act will mean: http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/tcc/newslist.asp.

Volunteering England’s blog focusing on risk reports on a case where a volunteer car driver had to pay his own costs to defend an action when a client fell after getting out of his car.

Luckily he was found not to have been at fault, but it highlights the need for proper insurance cover arranged by the organisation.  http://www.volunteeringengland.blogspot.com.

The smoking ban in enclosed public places and workplaces will take effect in England from 1st July 2007. The detailed regulations are being finalised and will be laid before parliament shortly.

The draft regulations and updates can be found at http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk. The Welsh regulations  come in from 2nd April - http://www.smokingbanwales.co.uk.

The Non-Governmental Public Action research programme, based at the Centre for Civil Society at the London School of Economics and funded by Economic and Social Research Council, has a new ‘Call for Applications’ for Practitioner Fellowships.

These are aimed at members or representatives of NGOs, voluntary organisations, cooperatives etc, with two strands - an opportunity to reflect upon and research a relevant theme or an opportunity to work together with members of a project on the research programme to develop the practical applications of a research project.

See http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/NGPA/fellowships.htm for details, deadline 15th February.

(Source: VSSN)

Boards Count, a new benchmarking initiative, will allow voluntary organisations to compare their governance processes with others in the sector. Launched at NCVO’s Trustee Conference, it is being run Agenda Consulting and Transform in partnership with the Governance Hub.

Costs of taking part start at £240 plus VAT for those with an income below £1 million - you need to register by 22nd December. See http://www.boardscount.com for details.

(Source: Charity Finance news alert)

Macdonald Youth Services, based in Winnipeg, Canada, has been using the low cost broadband telephony (VOIP) service Skype in working with online volunteers.

As well as describing Skype’s use in online volunteering (http://www.mys.mb.ca/volunter/announcements/news_54.html), a downloadable video tutorial on how to use Skype has been produced - details at http://www.mys.mb.ca/volunter/announcements/news_57.html.

Chief executives’ body acevo has been asked to increase the engagement of third sector leaders in influencing the G8 agenda. According to their press release, the ‘Civil G8 international advisory committee’ consisting of third sector leaders from the G8 countries was formed at the final session of the Civil G8 in Moscow on 2nd December.

Head of acevo’s International Programme Filippo Addarii said: “We are honoured by this request. We want to ensure that the network of the Civil G8 grows to become a major force for lobbying G8 governments. This work ties in with our new European network of third sector leaders: we will ensure that leaders from around the world can engage in committed dialogue through these platforms.”

Acevo’s international pages: http://www.3rdsectorleaders.org.

A short item in Computing magazine on the Downs Syndrome Association overhauling its email system includes the quote: “New parents don’t always want to reveal their name when contacting us about their child who has Down’s Syndrome; email seems to break down the barriers, as there is an element of anonymity to it.”

The Canadian ‘Values Added’ initiative is, according to a recent Charity Village cover story, the culmination of much discourse and debate and the end result of the Voluntary Sector Awareness Project which has involved a large number of sector representatives.

The article explores the development of this “attempt to create a brand for the nonprofit charitable sector in Canada” (permanent link is http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/archive/acov/acov06/acov0637.html), or go direct to the Values Added web site, http://www.valuesadded.ca/default_e.aspx.

Community venues are getting a new web facility as part of promoting sustainable travel. Community TravelWise, http://www.communitytravelwise.org.uk/index.aspx, is being piloted in Birmingham by the St Teresa’s Community Centre in Perry Barr.

Community groups and centres, places of worship and health and leisure venues which pledge to promote sustainable travel can get customised web pages, tapping into all the travel information currently available online, which can be tailored by the group to suit their venue. Kablenet news item.

The latest newsletter from the Centre for Charity Effectiveness as Cass Business School includes a piece from its Director, Professor Ian Bruce, on ‘Does contracting really need to lead to mission drift and loss of independence?’.

http://www.centreforcharityeffectiveness.org/Newsletter_Nov06/Nov_06Bruce.htm.

BT Community Connections, the scheme which has awarded more than 4,600 internet-ready PCs to local community and voluntary organisations since 2000, is open for the second round of 2006/07 applications.

Groups need to demonstrate how a PC and internet connection will benefit their work and the local community. Those short-listed will be judged by a regional panel in England or national panels in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Apply (online or by post) by 15th February - see http://www.btcommunityconnections.com.