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E-Bulletin - 15/03/07
Welcome to the CVS North Wiltshire e-bulletin. To view the latest e-bulletin online click here.
Community Lunch in Malmesbury
Have you booked your place for the next Community Lunch? Wednesday 28th March sees the popular Community Lunches roll into Charlton, Malmesbury, we will be at Charlton Village Hall, from 12noon until 2pm (please arrive promptly at 12). We have guest speaker Ulrika Jonsson-Swinburne from the Wiltshire & Swindon Infrastructure Consortium to talk about the work of the Consortium. Organised by CVS North Wiltshire, the Community Lunch offers a chance for voluntary organisations, community groups and other representatives from the community to network over a good lunch with other people in the area and share information about their organisation, project or local event. Lunch is £2 per person (payable on the day). Please email Karen: karenm@cvsnw.org.uk if you would like to attend.
What future for St Andrew’s in Chippenham? YOU tell us
The Parochial Church Council of St. Andrew's and St Nicholas, Tytherton Lucas, have been discussing over many months the usage of the church and all the buildings on their Market Place site. An organisation called Ecclesiastical Property Solutions held a well-attended seminar recently on how all the buildings were used. Questions were asked as to how they would like to see the future use of the ancient site. It was a unanimous feeling that parishioners were merely custodians of the church and that every effort should be made to preserve its buildings for future generation, acknowledging it as part of the history of our district. Click here to read the full article and find out how to have your say.
Funding Surgeries
Need funding advice? Our dedicated Funding Advice Worker, Mary Waters, will be holding all day advice surgeries on the 17th April and the 15th May. Call on 01249 654089 or email beth@cvsnw.org.uk to book an appointment.
Accessibility Guides To Key Open Source Software
The ICT Hub have produced some help guides intended to provide support for the customisation of Linux Operating systems primarily using the Gnome desktop. Many disabled users find that simple changes to settings within the operating system can meet their computing access needs. Introductory Help sheets include: Introduction and sources of Information, About Linux, and Linux Download Basics. Other sheets deal with customising visual aspects, changes to the keyboard and mouse and the use of some of the inbuilt accessibility software such as GOK which is an onscreen keyboard and the use of Gnopernicus which is a magnifier and screen reader. Click here to view the list of guides.
IT Can Help - Do your Clients want Assistance with Computers?
ITCH are a voluntary organisation setup to assist people with disabilities or ill health to make the greatest use of computers and communication devices. To this end we have a network of volunteers, organised by county, who provide assistance or advice free of charge to the disabled person in their own home or place of residence. ITCH can: provide impartial advice on computer hardware and software, install new equipment and software, help you get connected to the Internet and use e-mail, Get you started with standard packages such as word processing, Solve technical problems that may arise, Give advice and assistance with hardware and software upgrades. ITCH are currently looking for more clients in North Wiltshire, for further information please contact Peter Allison (County Coordinator, Wiltshire) on wiltshire@itcanhelp.org.uk.
DSC Lottery Grants for Charities
Event
This workshop, delivered by DSC lottery expert Supriya Horn, is a detailed study of the policies and practices of the Big Lottery Fund’s main 'open application' grant programmes. With over £200 Million a year available from programmes like Reaching Communities, Basis, Advice Plus and Community Buildings, can you afford to miss out? The session will cover: The centralisation of the process, What grant officers are looking for, How final decisions are made, Practical exercises in completing the new application forms, The telephone interview with applicants and the early grants and the patterns that are emerging. The local event is in Bristol on the 22nd May. Click here to download the programme and booking form.
St Andrew’s Social Responsibility Committee Lent Lunches 2007
Our Annual Lent Lunches resume this year with a theme of Body, Mind and Spirit – Who Cares? We are inviting speakers this year who deal with the more difficult occupations that are undertaken daily for the crucial needs of our society in nearby locations. Those who we ask, in our name, to tackle difficult issues. The Lunches will as usual be in St. Andrew’s Hall every Wednesday at 1pm from 28th February to 28th March 2007. All are welcome to come and share. As usual there will be a tasty lunch served as befitting the Lent period. A hearty soup (one vegetarian) and a simple ‘Ploughman’s’ (£4.00). Proceeds will go to our WaterAid Project Commitment in Embidir, Ethiopia. More details from Mary Fallon 01249 651590 or 655947 (Church Office)
ChAP Newsletter and New Website
ChAP (Chippenham Area
Community Partnership) has just launched
the ChAP website:
http://www.freewebs.com/chapweb/index.htm
The first edition of the ChAP Update
newsletter is now available via the
website, or
click here to download your copy.
hard copies available from the
information points at North Wiltshire
District Council, Chippenham Town
Council and Tourist Information. As you
will see form the newsletter, ChAP is
embarking on some interesting projects
for both Chippenham and the surrounding
villages and they would be delighted to
hear from anyone who is interested. For
a copy of the newsletter or to find out
more please contact Vicky Welsh on
vwelsh@northwilts.gov.uk or 011249
706 446 or Julia Stacey on
juliasuk@yahoo.co.uk or 07909 885
134.
Equality South West Spring Newsletter
Click here to view the latest newsletter from ESW.
Don't Raid the Lottery to Fund the Olympics - Sign the Petition
Rising costs of the Olympic and Paralympic Games means that National Lottery money may be diverted to meet the shortfall. This will unfairly penalise charities, voluntary organisations and grassroot community groups. We want the games to be a success but not by diverting lottery funds from other good causes. Please sign the following petition and encourage others to do so: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Defend-funding.
CRB Fees to Remain the Same
Fees for Criminial Records Bureau checks have been frozen at last year’s levels, the Home Office has announced. Disclosure fees for 2007/2008 will remain at Standard £31.00, Enhanced £36.00, POVA First Check £6.00 and Volunteers Free.
Reducing the Administrative Burdens on Local VCS Service Providers
One of the 18 actions contained in the Cabinet Office Action Plan re third sector involvement in public services reads as follows: Departments will develop simplification plans to reduce the administrative burdens on third sector service providers. Shargil Ahmad (Office of the Third Sector) and Clive Flemming (Better Regulation Executive) are leading this work. Clive Flemming and colleagues from the Better Regulation Executive are visiting NAVCA on 13 April. They want to talk about the administrative burdens faced by local VCS organisations delivering services under contract to public bodies. They want our views on how these burdens should be lightened. They know that NAVCA members have direct experience of these issues, which we described in For Good Measure
http://www.navca.org.uk/publications/forgoodmeasure/. If you have recent experience of disproportionate administrative burdens associated with local contracts, please tell me about these by Wednesday 4 April. If you have succeeded locally in reducing administrative burdens, please share this experience with me by the same deadline. If you do not have time to write a detailed message, please send me a short message and I will then contact you be telephone. I serve on the Public Services Action Plan Project Board set up by the Cabinet Office to oversee implementation of the Plan. NAVCA is therefore well placed to influence the government on your behalf. Accurate local information and anecdotes help NAVCA to improve the situation for local VCS organisations and groups. Kevin Curley, Chief Executive, NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) 0114 278 6636 or Email: kevin.curley@navca.org.uk
Valuing Community - Newsletter from the North Wiltshire Partnership
Click here to view the latest newsletter from the NWP.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Accepts Wiltshire PCT Decision
Tony Barron, Chair of Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, said: “I am delighted that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee has accepted the recommendations of the Task Group, and that it does not propose to refer Wiltshire PCT’s decisions to the Health Secretary. “As Chair of Wiltshire PCT, I am particularly excited to be leading the health services in the county through these changes, which I believe will help deliver health and care services fit for the 21st century, and of a quality which the people of Wiltshire have the right to expect. “I can confirm that Wiltshire PCT is absolutely committed to continuing to work with its public, patients, staff and stakeholders as our plans for reform unfold, and through this statement, I am publicly pledging our commitment to continue working with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as we implement our plans. “The first steps in delivering this programme of reforms is for the PCT to recruit staff to the 11 Neighbourhood Teams, which are due to come on stream in July 2007, and will be a key part of the way in which Wiltshire PCT starts to deliver its services in or very close to people’s own homes. I know that PCT staff, GPs and our partners in social services all want to make sure this new way of working is a success.”
The Charity Commission is consulting on a review of its policy on charities with vulnerable beneficiaries carrying out Criminal Records Bureau checks on their trustees. Responses are requested by 11 May. http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/enhancingcharities/crbindex.asp.
Introducing Social Enterprise, Swindon
If you or your organisation provides advice to socially minded individuals or voluntary and community groups, then it’s important you don’t get left behind with the growing importance and increasing government support for social enterprise – businesses that trade for a social purpose. The RISE training course “Introducing Social Enterprise” will develop and enhance your understanding of what social enterprise can mean and what it can deliver. This one day course, to be held in Swindon on 26th April 07, will give you a clear understanding of social enterprise and how relevant it may be to you, your clients or community. The course is fully endorsed by SFEDI against their standard for information advisors (unit h). Capital Quality Ltd’s SFEDI Endorsement Assessor states: “I cannot praise this course too highly.” If you would like more information, or to book a place, please click here. RISE is funded by the South West Regional Development Agency to develop the social enterprise sector in South West England. www.rise-sw.co.uk.
Using Mobile Phones in
Vehicles
From
27 February 2007
the fixed penalty for motorists
using a hand-held mobile phone
while driving or otherwise not
having proper control of a
vehicle will be doubled to £60,
and for the first time three
penalty points will be awarded.
For those who go to court rather
than paying the fixed penalty,
the maximum fine is £1000, or
£2500 for drivers of vans,
lorries, buses and coaches.
Employers should ensure that
their policies for paid and
voluntary staff who drive as
part of their work explicitly
state that hand-held mobile
phones must not be used and that
it is a disciplinary offence to
do so. Employers who do not have
and enforce such policies could
be in breach of their health and
safety duties. Basic guidance is
on the Department for
Transport's Think! Road Safety
website at
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/advice/mobilephones.htm.
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