A thriving third sector has been recognised as a high priority for nearly two thirds of top tier local authorities in England. In drawing up a shortlist of 35 ‘National Indicators’ on which they will be measured (out of the set of 198), 62 per cent chose to include one or both of the two third sector indicators: NI6 - participation in regular volunteering; or NI7 - creating an environment for a thriving third sector. Society Guardian has a short item at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jul/02/voluntarysector.localgovernment, or see the Office of Third Sector news item. The latter quotes the chief executive of Acevo (the chief execs body) saying “The take up of these indicators is far better than I expected.”

You can find out what local priorities in your area have been negotiated with government at the Local Priorities site, http://www.localpriorities.communities.gov.uk/. See Podnosh blog for a few comments on how helpful this is, or could be.

Work Re-tune is a new web tool to help senior professionals and managers to understand, negotiate and implement more flexibility in their roles.

It has been created using the expertise of the Working Families charity with government funding. http://workingfamilies.ionetwork.ac.uk/retune/pages/EG1.html?menuID=0_2.

(Source: HRzone)

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).

‘Time to Train’ is about how up to 22 million workers in England should be able to use a proposed new legal right to request time to train, published by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Consultation closing date 10th September, http://www.dius.gov.uk/consultations/con_180608_timetotrain.html.

The government’s independent volunteering champion Baroness Neuberger is seeking views on volunteering in the criminal justice system.

This follows her first report on volunteering in health and social care, and Plaza Publishing news alert last week quoted her as saying that this second review was proving to be “more complicated”. Responses by 1st September - the Office of the Third Sector news item includes some specific questions.

As announced in November, the government funded Train to Gain service, which provides specialist advice to employers on training and skills needs, now covers volunteers as well as paid workers.

A sector specific guide to Train to Gain has been produced by the Learning and Skills Council, and can be downloaded from http://www.lsc.gov.uk/whatwedo/employer/VCS.htm, or direct link to pdf, 943KB, http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/lsc/national/nat-traintogainandthethirdsector-jun08.pdf.

The employment relations body Acas has now issued draft guidance to accompany its new Code of Practice on discipline and grievance.

The code has been revised to reflect changes being made to workplace dispute resolution due to upcoming employment law, and has also been streamlined to 12 pages. The guidance is more detailed and somewhat longer.

While this is only draft, the importance of the Code is such that it is worth taking into account. http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2080.

The Institute for Volunteering Research published a number of research bulletins for Volunteers’ Week, based around Helping Out: the 2007 national survey of volunteering and charitable giving.

Titles include ‘Managing for success - Volunteers’ views on their involvement and support’, ‘Regular and occasional volunteers - How and why they help out’. See What’s New page, http://www.ivr.org.uk/whats-new.htm.

The Rural Youth Network collects and disseminates examples of good practice on various topics relating to children and young people in rural areas. They have put out a call for examples in Transport, Leisure, Positive Activities and Volunteering - submit using the form (Word format).

Or for more information contact Sarah Hope, phone 0116 242 7441 or email: ruralyouth@nya.org.uk

(Source: Voluntary Arts Network newsletter)

The Department of Health is consulting on ‘Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care’.

The aim is to
* raise the esteem and profile of volunteering;
* help improve management and support for volunteers;
* support more robust evaluation of the outcomes and benefits of volunteering; and
* allow more coherent investment to support their involvement.

The consultation runs to 30th September, working towards a final strategy and implementation plan in early 2009. See the documents available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/DH_085186.

The Morgan Inquiry, an independent inquiry on the future of young adult volunteering between the ages of 18 and 24, produced its report for the start of Volunteers Week. This looks at the real reasons for more young people to volunteer, the barriers that prevent them from doing so and has “practical recommendations for change”.

Recommendations include that the Department of Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus should fully recognise volunteering as a legitimate job-seeking activity for those on unemployment benefits, an “industry standard” certificate which would recognise skills developed through volunteering, an employee volunteering scheme, and consolidating the varied sources of information on how to volunteer into a one-stop-shop.

The report (pdf 496KB) can be downloaded from the inquiry site at http://www.morganinquiry.org.uk, Society Guardian news item at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/02/voluntarysector.welfare.

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.