#RightNow campaign
Wednesday saw the launch of the #RightNow campaign that NCVO is supporting along with hundreds of other charities. Using the #RightNow hashtag, charities and their supporters are sending a public message to government that the sector urgently needs an emergency support fund so it can continue to provide vital support for our communities and causes. You can show your support by joining other organisations on Twitter or by signing the open letter to the prime minister which so far has over 900 signatories.
Consultation on public procurement
The government is currently consulting on reforming public procurement rules. This is not only important for public bodies like central government departments or local authorities, but also for the thousands of charities involved in the commissioning and delivery of public services. Civil Society Media has summarised here representations from some charity leaders about the government’s plans to a House of Lords committee.
Along with our sector partners we’ll be responding to the ‘green paper’. We’re keen for our response to reflect the real-world experiences of charities involved in service delivery, so if you have thoughts on the government’s plans that you’d like to feed into our response, please get in touch.
You can also join us, Lloyds Bank Foundation, Children England, Clinks, Locality, and NAVCA on 25 February at 14.30 where we’ll be discussing the government’s plans and what they potentially mean for the sector. You can sign up online here, or get in touch at: policy@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk.
Consultation on NHS Provider Selection Regime
The NHS is consulting on a proposed regime on how healthcare services are arranged following the removal of the current procurement requirements. The proposals aim to provide more flexibility in making decisions about arranging care in a streamlined way, including without competitive tendering. They are inviting interested stakeholders to provide their views on the proposals by either completing a short survey or by emailing your responses to england.legislation@nhs.net.
Inquiry into covid-19 government support for charities
The Public Accounts Committee is holding an inquiry into how well the £750m of funding support to help charities during the coronavirus outbreak has been distributed and whether it is achieving its objectives. Working with our infrastructure partners, NCVO will be submitting a response to the Committee’s call for evidence. If you have any thoughts to share on your experience of the funding process, we’d like to hear from you. Alternatively you can submit evidence directly to the Committee until 18.00, Monday 8 March.
https://twitter.com/NicoleSykes_/status/1361655416669827077?s=20
Update on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
According to Civil Society, charities will have to wait until June for information about applying for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). A speaker from DCMS told an online audience: ‘We are expecting a prospectus in the summer months on the fund itself, and that will provide more information as to how organisations can apply for funding and support some of the outcomes outlined as part of the UK SPF.’ Applications for the £1.5bn funding are not expected to open until April 2022.
My blog on last November’s Spending Review includes some of NCVO’s initial thoughts on how the UKSPF is shaping up and the questions that remain unanswered.
Take our latest survey on covid-19’s impact on charities
As we approach the end of the financial year, we are interested to explore in more detail the impact that covid-19 has had on the financial position of different VCSE organisations and your expectations for the next financial year starting from April 2021.
Last month you told us the following.
- 77% expect covid-19 to have negative impact on delivering their objectives this year.
- 11% said it was likely that their organisation would no longer be operating next year.
- 35% of organisations said in the number of people volunteering had decreased since March 2020.
- The amount of unpaid time contributed by volunteers has decreased in 40% of organisations since March 2020.
Our reports are already being shared with policy makers and industry leaders. The results of the study have been presented recently to an All-Party Parliamentary Group and Civil Society Stakeholder Group.
The latest round to the survey is now open. As a small thank you to everyone who completes the survey, there is an option of being entered into a prize draw to win £200 each month and a £2000 prize draw at the end of the project.
Wellbeing and fundraising
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has published a ‘Wellbeing and fundraising‘ set of resources. Topics covered include: Wellbeing and covid-19; Understanding fundraising and wellbeing; Issues impacting the wellbeing of fundraisers; Wellbeing and resilience; Wellbeing and employment; Planning to manage pressure; and Tips for looking after your fundraisers. If you’d like to contribute to the Institute’s work on wellbeing, email them at policy@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk.
Last chance to apply for Youth Covid-19 Support Fund (closes Friday 19 February)
The Youth Covid-19 Support Fund is open to grassroots youth clubs, uniformed youth groups, and national youth and umbrella organisations. It aims to mitigate the impact of lost income during the winter period due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ensure services providing vital support can remain viable. The closing date for applications is 17.00, 19 February.
Paul joined NCVO over seven years ago after working for a leading public affairs agency. Since then he’s led our policy work on a variety of issues, including welfare-to-work reforms, volunteering, the Compact, public service commissioning and procurement regulations. He now leads our work on funding and finance with a particular focus on charity tax relief and safeguarding EU funding post-Brexit. 
