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Prosperity without growth: economics for a finite planet
We must repudiate traditional economics if we're to save the planet, says Jeremy Leggett (Guardian). Every day the system in which we live tries to persuade us that our prosperity (put simply, a state in which things are going well for us) is intimately linked to whether or not gross national product is growing and whether stock markets are riding high. The core of the debate is that endless growth is a ridiculous notion because we live on a planet with finite resources, the mining and use of some of which is undermining our planet's life-support systems.
Your views on the impact of the cuts
Following GMCVO’s recent survey of how communities in Greater Manchester are coping in these times of economic difficulty, Oxfam is making a short film about how the economic downturn has affected the families, work and wellbeing of ordinary people. The charity would like to hear from members of voluntary and community groups who are interested in being interviewed for the film.
Working with the grassroots seminar
At GMCVO on Thursday 28 June
This policy seminar, hosted by GMCVO, will bring together academics, policy-makers and voluntary and community sector staff and activists to look at what past experience with community development and the latest research into the topic can tell us about supporting grassroots activity in times of financial austerity.
The need for leadership to redress inequalities
In her report, ‘Close to Parity: challenging the voluntary sector to smash the glass ceiling’, Rowena Lewis sets out to demonstrate how well the voluntary sector is doing on women’s representation in the voluntary sector, to inspire debate and to celebrate the rich diversity of women leaders that drive the sector. She explains that the harsh reality is that voluntary sector women are simply not making it into leadership in the numbers we would expect.
Hate crime survey
Tameside Hate Incident Panel (THIP) are a group of local partners (Police, Housing Associations, Tameside Council and Victim Support) who meet every 6 weeks to look at Hate Crimes within Tameside. THIP are in the process of launching a new campaign to look at all aspects of Hate Crime such as race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability.
This will focus on supporting victims rather than targeting the perpetrators. They are asking members of the public to help them understand what the focus of the campaign should be. Fill in the survey online.
Deadline: End of May 2012.
For more information: Email: shain.miah@tameside.gov.uk Tel: 0161 342 2412.
EHRC publishes strategic plan
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published its strategic plan for the next three years. Its three strategic priorities will be: To promote fairness and equality of opportunity in Britain’s future economy; to promote fair access to public services, and autonomy and dignity in service delivery; and to promote dignity and respect, and safeguard people’s safety.
Community rights made real
77 people from voluntary, community and faith groups and organisations from across Tameside and Oldham gathered together on Wednesday 14 March at Dukinfield Town Hall for a one day workshop on the Government’s introduction of new community rights. These rights are meant to give residents the chance to take action on local services, assets and development. This Voice event facilitated by T3SC, and our sister organisation Voluntary Action Oldham, as part of a national tour organised by Urban Forum, aimed to make sure that groups were equipped with the knowledge and skills to take advantage of these rights so that local groups and organisations can make a difference together.
The workshops:
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Briefed people on the details of all the new community rights and discussed their practical implications for communities.
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Shared experience of existing community action - successes and pitfalls.
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Supported community groups and community activists to consider the next steps in taking action using the new rights.
90% of those voting in our interactive poll at the event said that the workshops had increased their knowledge of the community rights. Full results of people’s opinions about the different community rights can be found here: 
Interactive poll results
Interactive poll resultsCopies of the talks:
Audio files:
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Introduction to community rights and localism
Neighbourhood planning
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Community right to bid
Closing discussion
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Further useful information can be found here:
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We recommend Urban Forum's community rights policy page in particular their succinct Localism Act briefing
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Links to blogs based on Dudley project feedback:
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VSNW (another partner in the event) would like to support groups to make the most of the new Community Rights. To do this, VSNW are asking people to fill in their short Community Rights survey
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Locality’s (another partner in the event) community rights policy page
For more information about local follow up work please, Email voice@t3sc.org Tel: 0161 339 4985.
Serving deprived communities in a recession
This report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that local authorities in the most deprived areas bear the greatest burden of the public sector funding reductions. Some of the highest ranking local authorities on the Index of Multiple Deprivation are losing the most while some of the most affluent local authorities are losing the least. Riots Panel Report
The Riots Communities and Victims Panel has published its final report including recommendations for the Troubled Families Programme, child advocates, schools, job guarantees, advertising standards, young adult mentors and the police.
The new Social Justice Strategy
The government has published its Social Justice Strategy, which is designed to make ‘society function better - providing the support and tools to help turn lives around’.
Preparing for the new police and crime commissioners
The government has announced plans to replace Police Authorities with directly elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales. Voluntary organisations and community groups need to be prepared for the arrival of PCCs to position themselves to have voice and influence in the setting of the PCC’s local community safety priorities, and to access any service delivery / partnership opportunities that arise.
For more information see the Safer future communities website.
Drop the charity tax
The cap on income tax reliefs that George Osborne announced in the Budget will negatively affect many charities, both large and small, by discouraging the major donors that give large, one-off donations. Today's gifts are tomorrow's grants - these donors are behind many of the grant-giving trusts and foundations that support frontline organisations.
A coalition of national charities believe the Chancellor must reverse this decision – add your voice to theirs as an individual and/or organisation at Give it back George. More information on what the problem is.
So how can you show your support?
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Add your backing for the campaign
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Raise awareness of the campaign among your supporters, staff, your local MP and any other of your political contacts.
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Add your comments on Twitter - they will be campaigning using the hashtag #giveitbackgeorge
Charities suffer
Charities have faced a 'toxic mix of circumstances' over the past year, with increased demand for services, rising costs and an unprecedented fall in income, according to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). New figures from NCVO, released today for the first time, depict a charity sector struggling with the worst recession for fifty years.
For more information: http://tinyurl.com/charitycut
Voice Update
Following consultation with the networks that are part of Voice priority issues have been identified. The many groups in each network have worked together to address these issues and continue to do so. Brief updates on their progress are found in this handout.
For more information and to get involved: Email: voice@t3sc.org Tel: 0161 339 4985.
Stay updated!
The new Voice Networks News continues to go from strength to strength with over 700 subscribers now receiving free, useful monthly updates. If you want to know about the latest opportunities to have your say on local decision making from consultations to policy developments then make sure you are signed up. Each issue has news from your network including great training and interesting events – all at no cost to you. Make sure you don’t miss out!
To subscribe: http://t3sc.org/uM-register.asp
Cuts action
NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations), ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) and NAVCA (National Association of Voluntary and Community Action), have written a letter to all local authorities (http://tinyurl.com/lettertoauthorities ) reminding them of the government's official advice of a three month notice period for any funding cuts. If you are expecting funding cuts in April, you should use this guidance as a basis for conversations with Tameside Council. Also see their guide to challenging funding cuts.
NCVO are trying to build up a picture of where the cuts are hitting the sector hardest. By sharing information we can better work together to make sure the voluntary sector is treated fairly when public bodies are trimming their budgets.
Report your experiences and see the impact of cuts region by region using their cuts website
Compact concerns
The National Audit Office (NAO) has published the findings from its inquiry into how government departments are implementing the Compact with the voluntary sector in their work. The report’s findings include that 40% of consultations issued since the renewed Compact was launched in 2010 had shorter than 12 week time periods. The report sets out a number of recommendations to address the concerns raised.
The big conversation – proposed council savings
As a result of the government’s deficit reduction plans, Tameside Council is facing unprecedented cuts to funding. This year (2011/12) the council expect to deliver £35million of savings and they have now developed ideas to start to address the £31.4million of savings needed for next year (2012/13). Everyone is invited to become involved in the ‘Big Conversation’ to have a say on these ideas. The webpage is grouped into five areas: ‘Current Consultations’; Corporate and Back Office Services; Adult; Children; Place – to help you can find the proposals most relevant for you to comment on. There is also a helpful link to a rolling programme of decisions which the Council expects to take over the next four months and reports of decisions taken.
Women and the cuts
Would you like to know how to carry out a human rights and equality impact assessment of the spending cuts on women in your community? The Trades Union Congress have produced a toolkit for the sector to do this. Although the toolkit focuses on women and the cuts, much of the information it contains can be used to look at the impact of the cuts on other groups.
Do you organise transport for meetings, events and trips for your group?
A new series of information leaflets and factsheets have been produced by the Community Transport Association for different types of groups about this question. There are many more transport leaflets available (including information for those who own or operate a minibus) on their website as well. If you know anyone interested or concerned about transport issues then email voice@t3sc.org to be kept informed about T3SC’s work on this topic.
One Voice - Let’s get together!
Thank you to everyone who came to the 'Let's Get Together - One Voice' event at Dukinfield Town Hall on 11 October. Please find below summary network meeting reports and reports from each of the workshops:
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The workshop consulting on the new Economic Strategy for the borough that will oversee Tameside’s economic future for the next 15 years.
Economic Development Strategy Consultation Workshop -
The workshop discussing proposals for neighbourhood working.
Neighbourhood Management Workshop Report -
The workshop on the redrafting of the Tameside Sustainable Community Strategy a pivotal strategic document focusing on the overarching vision and priorities for the borough. Tameside Sustainable Community Strategy Consultation Workshop
Full network minutes will be circulated by each network officer.
For more information on the networks and Voice see the Voice page, Email: voice@t3sc.org Tel: 0161 339 4985.
Networks future – Your feedback
Thanks to the 42 groups who filled in our survey about the future of your networks. As we explained in these challenging times for T3SC, and our partners, we wanted to take the opportunity to consider our future work with your networks, and proposals for this work, so that we can still meet your needs with fewer resources.
Find out what the Voice has been doing in our Voice update - we said we did
Voice update - we said we did
