Even bloggers have holidays!

Well , I have swapped the bucolic delights of the gorgeous Cotswolds for the lovely Essex village of Orsett; I'm at my parents for a relaxing long holiday weekend. I arrived as the combine harvester was finishing off in the fields behind the house.

We are not far from the Rainham Marshes, a wetland area of huge importance for wildlife and largely untouched since the middle ages. It is a nature reserve run by the RSPB. The RSPB , run by CEO Mike Clarke , is one of our country's foremost environmental charities; as they say , they are a " million voices for nature". This is a charity that is proud of it's huge membership. Their annual meetings attract large numbers and the membership is closely and passionately attached to what they do. Whilst we might think it's just about birds , it is also about securing the natural habitat and they have strong financial resources to back their campaigning and have the strength to speak out for nature, unfazed by Governments or vested business interests.

So on the basis a third sector CEO is never truly on leave , it was great to go and see their nature reserve on the marshes. It's an award winning building that has all the best in environmental conservation ; solar energy and clever use of tunnels to funnel sunlight and the clever use of rainwater gathered. And , of course they are at the forefront of campaigning to stop mad Boris's Thames estuary airport which would pose a huge threat to the wildlife here.

And to cap a third sector day it was off to see the Royal Opera House store at High House in Purfleet. Important to remember that the ROH is a charity , not a public institution even though it has always played a major role in national life. Then to cap the day off my parents and I went to see the famous St Clements Church. Why famous? Well it was , as you will probably recognise from the photo, one of the venues used in " Four Weddings and a Funeral" that brilliant film! I was lucky enough to be at its Premier ( and after film party I might add!).

Reforming NHS funding!

Yet another study that shows better health care in the community saves money ! Shock !

£500 million and 7000 beds could be saved by cutting the numbers of elderly people in emergency admissions to A+E, the Kings Fund say. We all know that the care of the elderly in the NHS is poor and that the absence of proper community support and an integrated health and social care system often results in hospital stays which actually make things worse.

I remember at our last ACEVO health conference one of the new CCG leads saying they know that the way they commission dementia and elderly care is bad and often ends up making things worse for people not better.

The real issue is not the interesting results of this study, but that the NHS seem unable to act on the findings.

And the reason they are not is that we have a health service that is dominated by acute care in hospitals. We have to shift resources from hospitals to community and prevention services. That means closing hospitals.

It also means expanding choice and, yes, using a greater number of providers; especially from the charity and social enterprise sector.

And it is an inevitable conclusion that to achieve change we need to move resources from state run NHS services into third sector run provision. Age UK have been campaigning for radical change and have been pioneering new approaches. As the thinking over the next spending review starts we have to tackle the hold that hospitals have on the system. We need a national health service but we get a national sickness service.

We also need to put resources into prevention. Sir Hugh Taylor, Chair off my old hospital Guy's and Tommie's ( and former Perm Sec at DH ) is currently chairing an ACEVO task force on prevention; aiming to report in the autumn. It draws together leading figures from health , social care and councils with our own ACEVO CEOs. I hope it will make an important contribution to the debate on moving resources in an increasingly cash strapped NHS.

Better banking

So , another British bank is accused of bad practice; Standard Chartered is described as a " rogue bank".

On top of all we now know about malpractice in our finacial industry there can be no doubt on the need for reform. The ACEVO led " better banking coalition" have achieved a notable success in our own campaign to secure transparency in banking.

The Labour Party have today published their " banking transparency policy review ( Read it here).

It recognises how knowing where bank lending is happening, or not happening, could help national, regional and local policymakers to better shape support to small and medium-sized businesses, and  tackle poverty and financial exclusion. And adopts the introduction of a US style Community reinvestment act in the UK as recommended by the Better Banking Coalition.

The review also explores what can be done to encourage much stronger joint working between mainstream banks and other parts of the financial services industry such as community banks and credit unions.

Youth Unemployment

For those of us who remember the mass youth unemployment of the 80s its remarkable how little attention is being given to the huge level of youth unemployment in the UK now.

It is one of the most damaging aspects of the current recession and we appear to have learnt nothing from the lessons of the 80s. We know that youth unemployment casts a long shadow. Whilst the Olympics have been on , we have largely ignored the first anniversary of the riots. The Government- notably from the DPM- have been taking some steps to tackle the problem , but by no means enough.

But against this background there are some local councils who have decided they need to act. I have reported on the recent Jobs Summit in the NE which ACEVO organised with the local authorities there. Now Birmingham City , the country's largest Council is to act.

Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, held a press conference yesterday at which he signal his determination to tackle youth unemployment in Birmingham - the city with the highest levels of youth unemployment in the UK.

His renewed determination to tackle the issue was linked directly to ACEVO's Commission on Youth Unemployment. Dr Kyle and Ralph Michel met with both Sir Albert and Liam Bryne MP recently in the run-up to this announcement.

The third paragraph of the press release from yesterday states the following:

"The Leader of Birmingham City Council has commissioned third sector leaders ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) to carry out a piece of rapid scoping work to identify what organisations are already doing to tackle youth unemployment in the city; the real scale of the issue in Birmingham; and the key problems and opportunities."

For a Chief Executive body like ACEVO it is important not only to lead the debate about the challenge of youth unemployment in the country, but to become instrumental in how the solution is rolled out.

We're also in discussion with several other local authorities who are keen to have our support.

Our sector is at the forefront of the demand for action on youth unemployment. ACEVO members know only to well the damage being done to communities. It's time for a determined to do something about it.

Yes we can!

The next phase of the National Citizen Service is to involve private companies like SERCO. The Government need to tread with care when they commission this expansion.


Contracts that are based on genuine partnership between companies and charities can open up great opportunities; for scale and logistics tied with a charities ability to reach out, driven by their mission and ability to motivate staff and volunteers.


But it depends entirely on the contract and the deal reached . Catch 22 and Turning Point have reached entirely sensible contracts with SERCO in prisons. There is a genuine partnership. But the Work Programme has not been quite so clear cut.

The involvement of small voluntary organisations has not lived up to expectation following DWPs promises at the outset. And dare I mention that A4E has not been a shining role model for the private business apporach?

The sector will therefore rightly be keeping a close eye on how the Cabinet Office commission the NCS using private companies.

I urge them to take a look at a report out today by the IPPR. It concluded that charities run schools better than businesses.

They showed that there is no conclusive link between higher business school providers and school performance in the US,Sweden and Chile. The argue the Government should not allow business to run free schools. They argue there is a vibrant and strong non profit sector and we should continue to use it.

I think we are beginning to see a more balanced approach in policy on business and the sector. Gone are the days when it was assumed only private companies knew how to run a successful business. That you need to stuff executives mouths with gold to get them to perform.

I was always irritated by leadership studies that lauded the private sector whilst ignoring the third sector leadership approach. Now we know the corrupting culture of the financial industry we should be doubly aware of assuming only private companies can deliver good outcomes.

As the sector continues to grow I believe there is a role for partnership between business and sector. I think we will see this grow and help us expand. We already know that boundaries are blurring between the sectors. If you have a client based outcome model you obsess less on what uniform the staff wear- private, public or third sector.

But it's an approach based on mutual respect, profit/surplus sharing and a genuine focus on outcomes for clients not shareholders.

So let's hope the Cabinet Office will base NCS on that model. Join up the strengths of our sectors and commission that way. But I also hope that as we grow we will see third sector SERCOs competing on equal terms with business.

Gold..

Well...


That was certainly a good day to see the Olympics. Nothing like a good Gold win for team GB ( and a few world records) to raise the spirits.

And what an atmosphere in the veledrome as Hoy and team sped round that track! Some photos from my trusty blackberry for your delectation !



 

The Olympics and the voluntary sector

Well , here I am at the Veledrome for the Olympic cycling finals. A gold for Hoy, Pendleton and team? I hope so! The veledrome is a gorgeous building , though I'm also rather fond of the Veledrome in Herne Hill; the hound and I usually pop in if we are making our way to Dulwich Park. This was the early scene of Bradley Wiggins training!

But it is worth reflecting on the role of the country's charity sector in making this a great Games. We all know about the role of the thousands of volunteers. But there have been many national charities intimately connected with the Games. Take the example of the RNIB.

When London was awarded the Games there was cross partysupport and ministerial commitment to the most inclusive and accessible Olympics ever. LOCOG, ODA and the Olympic partners have been rising to that challenge with guidance from RNIB. All those involved have been working hard to guarantee that blind and partially sighted people get the best from this commitment, demonstrating that the UK leads the world in this practice. We can be really proud of this achievement , which could not have happened without the power and strength of RNIB. It's often fashionable to disparage national charities but no single local or regional charity could have done what RNIB has achieved.

This began with the ticketing . RNIB worked closely with LOCOG on an accessible ticketing strategy, which included companion's tickets for sighted guides, a website and payment system usable with assistive technology and colour contrasting tickets to help people with low vision. RNIB also ensured that spectator information relating to the tickets will be available in Braille, audio, and larger print.

Then of course lots of blind people wanted to participate in all aspects of the games, and they have; with 4 blind torchbearers, and 5 blind Para-Olympic torchbearers. RNIB supported more than 50 blind and partially sighted people to find Olympic jobs, and over 70 blind and partially sighted people in applying to the volunteering programme, Many of these roles are "Front of house".

Possibly best of all is the agreement RNIB secured with LOCOG of an audio description service at every event for spectators across the country and to cap this, the first ever live audio description on TV of a major event; The Opening ceremony.

Working with the BBC, RNIB has been helping train the commentators and BBC colleagues have been working up to the wire to solve some big technical challenges. And lots of the cultural events included audio description.

The opening ceremony was a triumph. Interesting that a number of MPs criticised the event; Burley for it's "multicultural crap" and Halfon's criticism of Shami Chakarabati of Liberty for helping escort the Union Flag . But one of the great features of the ceremony was the celebration of the country's civil society. So whether that was the suffragettes or the Jarrow marchers ,we were reminded that one of this country's great contributions to the world has been our tradition of a strong and vibrant civil society ; there to champion the excluded and to advocate for a fairer and more just society. Messrs Burley and Halfon should reflect on what is happening in Russia where NGOs are being suppressed for expressing dissent. A vibrant democracy encourages and celebrates organisations like Liberty.

So for me the glory of that Opening was how it brought together the distinct and important roles of our country's civil society; it's ability to galvanise volunteers , to provide services for beneficiaries and to speak truth to power. Long my that continue.