1) Advocacy and campaigning

Third sector organisations have an important role in delivering specific activities (especially with marginalised/disadvantaged communities), but also because they have the potential to strengthen communities and empower individuals who participate in them.

• More needs to be done to ensure that consultations are effective and reach socially excluded people. Government is reviewing its current approach and is seeking to develop more innovative methods.
• Government wants to support the sector’s campaigning role. At present, many organisations don’t feel they/their members have sufficient resources to do this effectively. Government is looking to address this through a small grants fund to promote community action and advocacy and back this up in revised versions of the Compact and its Codes. It also plans to liberalising the regime for controlling ‘political’ advertising by third sector organisations on radio and TV.
• To enhance the sector’s ability to influence Government policy and make engagement more coherent, OTS will fund a number of key partners at national and regional level. CLG is also developing its own ‘strategic partners’ programme.

2) Strengthening communities

There’s a big focus on the role of community groups, who are seen to play a key role in neighbourhood renewal and civic engagement. There’s quite a close fit between this and proposals outlined in the Local Government White Paper, Strong and Prosperous communities (Nov 2006) championing the active involvement of communities and ‘bottom up’ decision-making.

• Community groups need to be given access to ‘community assets’ (village halls, community centres and the like) - currently in the ownership mainly of local authorities, but also the police and health trusts. A new Community Assets Fund, delivered through the Big Lottery Fund will support this.
• The quality and consistency of local partnership working between the third sector and public bodies needs to be improved: CLG will work with umbrella bodies to strengthen involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships and developing Local Area Agreements; OTS and CLG will explore how to include the contribution of the sector in the new local authority performance framework.
• Local authorities will be allowed to continue grant funding third sector organisations, backed up with an £80M fund to provide core funding for community organisations involved in campaigning and further small grant support from BLF and ESF.
• Local independent foundations will receive £50 M in capital grants to local independent foundations to invest in endowment funds (to generate income for frontline organisations);
• Government will invest in large neighbourhood-based organisations (known as ‘community anchors’) who will support other smaller organisations and generate wealth for communities; infrastructure organisations that are able to support the local community sector.
• Public sector employers will be encouraged provide volunteering opportunities in their own services.

3) Transforming public services

The aim is to create further opportunities for the third sector to deliver public services, but also to be involved in their wider reform. Again, there is a need to improve current practice in some areas.

• The third sector will have a role in advising public sector commissioners on the design of services and innovative practice. A Third Sector Commissioning Programme will train commissioners in local authorities, NOMS, Jobcentre Plus and PCTs in how to work more effectively with the sector.
• There needs to be more attention paid to strengthening commissioning and procurement frameworks, eg to ensure that more small and specialist organisations can participate in public service delivery contracts; recognise the value of an organisation’s broader social impacts, rather than just focusing on value for money criteria.
• Health and employment services are expected to explore possibilities for third sector organisations to become involved in delivering their services.

4) Social enterprise

There’s strong support for social enterprise. The review re-states some of the measures contained in the Social Enterprise Action Plan, Scaling new heights (2006), such as enabling social enterprises to access appropriate finance; increasing public service delivery by social enterprise in health and delivery of the Olympics; increasing support through Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). The review would like to see closer links between RDA s and Capacitybuilders and for more capital funding to be made available via Futurebuilders.

5) Other issues

The review re-states the previous commitment to making three-year funding contracts the norm; full cost recovery (including an appropriate element of organisational overheads in contract prices).

The new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) will work in consultation with the Sector Skills Development Agency, OTS and third sector staff to develop an action plan to address skills issues arising out of this review. There is also a plan to establish a new centre to take forward research into the third sector.

Improving relationships

• Ensuring that third sector organisations have sufficient time to respond to consultations and are fully involved in policy formulation.
• Establishing a Third Sector Partnership Board to provide oversight and ‘facilitate critical challenge’ between the sector, local government and the sector.
• Developing a network of strategic partners to advise CLG and provide effective links between national and local action on its priorities (and forming a link with community groups). This will also monitor progress on engagement.

Taking up the theme of the national review, CLG also wants to improve the quality and consistency of partnership working. These include:

• Work with OTS to identify national indicators for inclusion within the local government performance framework indicator set (due later in 2007) and Comprehensive Area Agreements;
• Considering the need for statutory guidance on the third sector’s role in local government;
• Re-stating the commitment to three year grand funding in statutory guidance to local government;
• Working with national umbrella bodies, such as NCVO on how the third sector can organise itself to ensure it is effectively represented on Local Strategic Partnerships and elsewhere;
• Considering ways to incentivise partnership with local authorities and LSPs.

The document supports the development of community assets and social enterprise as a means of providing stable income streams and replacing funding lost through the end of the Single Regeneration Budget. It also makes similar points to the Review in relation to social enterprise being able to meet social and employment needs within disadvantaged communities; community anchor organisations acting as a focal point for local communities and other organisations.

CLG is looking for suggestions also on how it can engage with the sector sub-regionally and regionally.

If you want to respond please send your response to:

thirdsector@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Towards a third sector strategy, Department for Communities and Local Government, Zone 1/E5 Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE

Deadline: 20 September 2007