[WiLT] 3rd Sector Review - Government's Final Report

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3rd Sector Review - Government's Final Report

Cabinet Office and HM Treasury review of the future role of the third
sector in social and economic regeneration

Budget 2006 announced a review of the future role of the third sector
in social and economic regeneration.

The review is part of a series of reviews informing the 2007
Comprehensive Spending Review which will set departmental spending
plans and priorities for the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.

The third sector review is overseen by a cross-departmental
ministerial group and is advised by a third sector advisory panel,
drawn from organisations across the third sector.

Budget 2006 announced that the review would be informed by the largest
ever consultation with the third sector, reaching all parts of England
and listening to all parts of the sector. The first stage of open
consultation from May 2006 to November 2006 reached over 1,000
organisations through 93 consultation events, held in partnership with
Government Offices, Government departments, and national, regional and
local third sector networks and organisations. During the first stage
of consultation, over 250 written responses were also received.

The interim report of the third sector review, published alongside the
2006 Pre-Budget Report in December 2006, brought together the most
consistent messages from the consultation. Further analysis of the
consultation can be found on the publications page.

The interim report also identified areas of work requiring further
investigation and in the second phase of the review from December
2006, further consultation and analysis has been undertaken under five
themes:
* enabling voice and campaigning;
* strengthening communities;
* transforming public services;
* encouraging social enterprise; and,
* supporting the conditions for a healthy third sector.

The final report of the third sector review is published on the 24th
July. The final report sets out measures under these five themes to
build the partnership between the Government and the third sector. Key
measures in the review include:
* a new focus on enabling the third sector's role in campaigning and
voice activity, including investment in innovative consultation
approaches and better using the Compact to protect the right of
organisations to campaign;
* a new £50m local endowment match fund enabling local independent
foundations to develop community endowments to provide sustainability
in future grant making, building on the £80 million small grants
programme for community action and voice announced in Budget 2007;
* at least £10 million of new investment in community anchor
organisations and community asset and enterprise development, building
on the £30 million Community Assets Fund announced in the 2006
Pre-Budget Report;
* £117m of new resources for youth volunteering, building on the work
of v, alongside other volunteering programmes;
* building capacity of third sector organisations to improve public
services, through the Futurebuilders Fund, training for public sector
Commissioners and work to build the evidence on opportunities for the
third sector;
* additional investment to raise awareness of the social enterprise
business model and support for Government Departments to investigate
areas for social enterprise delivery;
* better mechanisms to drive best practice in funding the third
sector, including in the expectation that when Government Departments
and their agencies receive their 2008-11 budgets, they will pass on
that three year funding to third sector organisations that they fund,
as the norm;
* a new programme to build the third sector evidence base, including a
new national research centre;
* a new third sector skills strategy;
* over £85 million of new investment for third sector infrastructure
development through Capacitybuilders, with new programmes on voice and
campaigning, social enterprise and a focus on reaching down to the
smallest community groups; and,
* continued focus on the Compact as a means to build the relationship
between the third sector and all levels of Government.

PDF file of The future role of the third sector in social and economic
regeneration: final report ( 602KB)(ISBN 978-0-10-171892-9)
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/2/7/future_of_the_third_sector_in_social_economicregeneration.pdf

Source
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_spending_reporting/charity_third_sector_finance/psr_charity_thirdsector_consultationindex.cfm

Posted on WiLT blog at
http://www.freecharity.org.uk/~womeninlondon/?p=367