The search for people to sit on the board of commissioners for Northern Ireland’s soon to be established Charity Commission  has officially begun.

The Department for Social Development has responsibility for this and needs to find a Chief Commissioner, a Deputy Chief Commissioner and three Commissioners.

Closing date 15th August, see CommuntyNI news item.

The new Northern Ireland Environment Agency launched on 1st July, replacing the Environment and Heritage Service. Alongside launching the Agency, the NI Environment Minister announced a range of new measures to modernise and strengthen environmental regulation.

See CommunityNI news for more, http://www.communityni.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/010708_environment_agency, or go direct to NIEA at http://www.ni-environment.gov.uk.

UPDATE: There has been criticism that this body isn’t an independent agency, as in the rest of the UK. Community NI quote Friends of the Earth: “This re-badging is a cynical and expensive exercise. The NI Environment Agency will be part of DOE, answerable to the Minister and subject to political interference. But its name may lead the unsuspecting to believe that it is an independent agency, like those elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.”

The Charities Bill for Northern Ireland completed its progress through the Assembly on Monday (30th June).

In a remarkably short Final Stage debate, the Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie said that she hoped to be able to announce the names of the new charity commissioners (up to 5) by the end of October, with adverts in early July. She also wants the commission to be up and running by the end of the year and restated a commitment to locate the organisation outside the greater Belfast area, with a staff of up to 16, including a chief executive, based on comparison with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

However, Ms Ritchie warned that it would take some time to get the necessary subordinate legislation and other mechanisms in place to implement all aspects of the legislation. http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/record/reports2007/080630.htm#6.

A report on the skills survey for the Northern Ireland voluntary and community sector, a collaboration between nine of the Sector Skills Councils and led by Skills for Justice and sector umbrella NICVA, found that ninety five per cent of sector organisations fall within the footprint of one or other of the Sector Skills Councils, with over half falling within two or more.

Other key findings include: Recruitment is difficult for organisations; Skills gaps exist across the sector; Current and future skills needs in relation to management and leadership are of particular importance.

News item at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/240608_Sector_Skills, or download the survey (pdf, 822KB).

The Social Development Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly met away from Stormont for the first time last week, visiting the offices of Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, with over 50 representatives from the sector having an opportunity to see how it operated.

NICVA gave a presentation on the tight funding situation with government efficiency savings squeezing services. More in NICVA news item at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/assembly_committee_nicva.

A coalition of groups is launching on 24th June to lobby more effectively on the issue of child poverty in Northern Ireland.

Groups involved include Barnardos, BBC Children in Need, Children in Northern Ireland, Disability Action, Gingerbread, NCH, NICCY, Parenting Forum, Rural Community Network, Save the Children, Shelter.

Further information from Anne Moore, phone 028 9043 1123, email: a.moore@savethechildren.org.uk

The Code of Good Governance developed by voluntary and community organisations in Northern Ireland, to help ensure the sector meets high standards, has been launched.

There is a poster and pocket-sized booklet, the latter available as a pdf, 638KB, or see CommunitySkillsNI site, http://www.communityskillsni.org.

The practical resources at http://www.diycommitteeguide.org are in the process of being reworked to connect with the seven principles of the code.

The Northern Ireland Assembly debated proposed amendments to the Charities Bill on 3rd June - the official record is at http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/record/reports2007/080603.htm#7.

Third Sector reports some of the main changes, such as lowering the length of time a religious charity has to be established before it can qualify for designated status - http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/815328/ (registration required). The legislation should go through the rest of its stages this summer.

For the legislation as originally published and amended, and the Committee for Social Development’s report on it, see http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/legislation/primary/2007/nia9_07.htm.

Northern Ireland’s Civic Forum, involving ten sectors of civic society (including business, trade unions and the voluntary sector), was set up as a consultative mechanism on social, economic and cultural issues. It lapsed during the devolution suspension and is now up for comprehensive review. Views on how such a Forum might contribute to good government and on other models of civic partnership are invited.

Sector body NICVA’s news item at http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/020608_Civic_Forum_review says “There is no appetite in our sector for a return of the Civic Forum in its previous form”.

Information and how to respond (by 29th August) at http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/civic-forum-review.

As usual there is a burst of volunteer-related news and information during Volunteers’ Week (http://www.volunteersweek.org.uk, to 7th June). Also see Consult section.

Volunteering for all — In Northern Ireland, ‘Volunteer - Play Your Part’ was launched by the Social Development Minister. The publication, which will also be available in Polish, Portuguese, Lithuanian, Cantonese and Urdu, is a simple guide to getting involved. It highlights that volunteering is open to everyone and aims to give that final piece of encouragement to those who may have considered volunteering before but never took the plunge. See http://www.volunteering-ni.org or download (pdf, 819KB) from http://www.volunteering-ni.org/pdf/Volunteer_Play_Your_Part.pdf. (But can I recommend a different design process next time?)

Record checks for volunteers — The Cabinet Office has published guidance which aims to clarify when organisations do and don’t need to carry out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks on volunteers. As Third Sector reports, a minority of charities that run unnecessary blanket checks could end up having to pay for these (which normally have no charge) if subject to a spot check. News release includes link to the guidance, http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/080604_crb.aspx, or go direct to pdf, 197KB.

The Social Development Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly is holding its weekly meeting on 19th June at the premises of NICVA, the sector umbrella body.

NICVA will be taking the opportunity to make a presentation on funding for the sector, and are collating information on issues.

See http://www.nicva.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/080508_DSD_Committee.

The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment is to investigate the role and barriers to development of Credit Unions as its first inquiry.

See CommunityNI news item
http://www.communityni.org/index.cfm/section/news/key/140508_credit_unions, submissions by 13th June.