E-Bulletin

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E-Bulletin - 19/07/07

Welcome to the CVS North Wiltshire e-bulletin. To view the latest e-bulletin online click here.

NEW Living Natural Chi Kung Classes at Wellbeing Centre from September

From September 3^rd we will be holding Chi Kung classes at the Wellbeing Centre on Monday mornings from 10 – 12 and Monday evenings from 7 – 9 pm. The classes are being run by Geoff Bellinger who is a registered instructor with the Tai Chi Union and The School of Living Movement. These classes will be small and friendly, with a maximum of 5-6 participants in each class, so if you’d like to attend please book early. Geoff can be contacted on Freephone no 0800 0778909, or on mobile no 0794 111 5352. Click here to read the full article and benefits of Chi Kung. Click to visit the Wellbeing website.

Wiltshire & Swindon Voluntary Sector Forum

The inaugural Voluntary Sector Forum for Wiltshire and Swindon took place on 10th July in Chippenham. It was a successful event with representatives from organisations across the area attending. Dhara Vyas, policy officer at NCVO gave a comprehensive policy update which was enjoyed by all. There was also a networking lunch and the opportunity for the attendees to give their views on how they would like the Forum to operate and the first draft of the Terms of Reference. Ulrika Jonsson-Swinburne, development worker for Wiltshire & Swindon Infrastructure Consortium (WSIC) and organiser of the forum, is still interested in hearing your thoughts on the Forum. You can download the questionnaire here and further information about WSIC can be found at www.wsic.org.uk.

Westlea - Housing Consultation

We are putting together a disability equality scheme this year which will tell Westlea residents how we are going to make sure that we treat everyone equally. That may mean we need to do things differently, or provide extra services or help. We need to find out what problems residents with disabilities (including physical disabilities, mental health issues and learning difficulties) have with living in our homes and what would make things better for them. We are contacting Westlea residents directly but if you support or care for someone who is a Westlea resident, we would welcome your views too. If you are a service provider there may be general issues that you could feed back to us. We are interested in what people think about: * Living in their home – the physical aspects. Does the building meet their needs? * Customer services – how they access our services, and * How we communicate with them. Please contact: Clare Chambers, Research and Improvement Manager, Tel: 01249 466046 or email clare.chambers@westlea.co.uk

Updated Acas Guides
Acas has recently updated its website guides on flexible working and annual leave.

Draft Carers Policy and Strategy 2007-2009 Consultation

This Policy and Strategy updates and builds on the previous strategy which was written by a working group which included Carers, Carer Support workers, and staff from Health and the Department of Community Services in Wiltshire (formerly Social Services). A similar working group wrote this document. You can download the policy by clicking here. Responses are requested to the Commitments and the County Action Plan within the above document. Please send comments on the feedback form by Friday 28th September 2007 to: Maggie Moger, Carers Lead, Department of Community Services, Planning and Performance, Central Office, County Hall (West), Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wilts BA14 8LE.

External Funding Network Bulletin

Please click here to download the EFN Bulletin for mid-July. In this bulletin the new section on Other lottery funding has been extended. Usage of the Grantnet system has continued to grow – we have one person reporting difficulty with getting a password (see P7) – if anyone else has experienced problems in the last few weeks can they let me know please. If you would like to join the CVS Funding Mailing list to get regular funding bulletins please email beth@cvsnw.org.uk.

New Ministerial Positions for the Third Sector

The new Minister for the Third Sector is Phil Hope MP. Phil has been Minister for Skills at the former Department for Education and Skills since 2005.

MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, Phil comes to the role with a wealth of third sector experience including previous positions in the National Youth Bureau and as a youth policy adviser to NCVO before entering Parliament. He has also previously chaired the all party parliamentary group for the voluntary sector. Phil said: "I am greatly excited by the new role I have been asked to undertake. The third sector plays a critical role in building economic success, encouraging social justice and developing stronger communities. “I hope that my firsthand experience of working in the sector, both before entering Parliament and as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Voluntary Sector as MP, will benefit me in my new role as Minister for the Third Sector. “I look forward to working with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Ed Miliband and colleagues across government, so that we can build on the great work that the Office of the Third Sector has already achieved.” Ed Miliband, former Minister for the Third Sector is now the Minister for the Cabinet Office and will continue to have oversight of third sector policy.

A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain - A Consultation Paper

Consultation period: 12 June 2007 to 4 September 2007. This consultation paper sets out the Government’s proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain. The proposals have been developed as a result of the Discrimination Law Review, launched in February 2005 to consider the opportunities for creating a clearer and more streamlined discrimination legislative framework which produces better outcomes for those who currently experience disadvantage. This consultation seeks your views on various specific proposals for achieving this. Click her for more details.

New Website for Young People with Disabilities - GOJO
GOJO is a new campaign to help young disabled people get the best out of public transport and be more independent. See http://www.mygojo.co.uk

Investing in Volunteers Toolkit
This e-learning toolkit is available to all organisations - regardless of whether or not you have registered your interest in, or signed up to Investing in Volunteers. The Toolkit contains a number of modules that take about 5 minutes to complete and you can go back and view them at any time. See http://iiv.investinginvolunteers.org.uk/newsviews/IiVToolkit

Breaking News from NCVO

The Social Justice Policy Group has issued its "Breakthrough Britain" report today, which makes policy recommendations to the Conservative Party on tackling Britain's social problems. The report follows 18 months of hearings, research and evidence, which included NCVO and many NCVO members. The report can be read at http://povertydebate.typepad.com/. Of particular interest will be the chapter on the Third Sector. NCVO has broadly welcomed the report: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/press/releases/?id=5650. In particular, we are pleased about the focus on increasing charitable giving, strengthening the Compact and tackling VAT reform. We are also pleased that the report supports our proposals for a parliamentary Third Sector Select Committee and a dedicated Third Sector research body, similar to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. We will be producing a more detailed response to the specific proposals in the coming days. We will also be seeking meetings with Iain Duncan Smith MP and Greg Clark MP, the Conservatives' spokesman on the sector, to discuss how these proposals will be taken forward. We would of course welcome your views on the report. Please do contact Pete Moorey, NCVO's Parliamentary and Media Manager, at pete.moorey@ncvo-vol.org.uk, if you have any comments.

Communities and Local Government Strategy for Engaging the Third Sector South West Regional Consultation Event
Thursday 6 September 2007 at The Albermarle Centre, Taunton. You are invited to a regional consultation event which is being organised by Wessex Community Action on behalf of the Government Office for the South West and the Department for Communities and Local Government. We encourage you to attend and hear more about the Communities and Local Government’s broad vision of prosperous and cohesive communities.This event will provide you with an opportunity to comment on the Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) discussion paper for engaging with the Third Sector. The event will also be an opportunity for you to not only to find out about the plans but also enable you to contribute to the final strategy. The discussion document is available at: www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1510989 The aim is to publish the final strategy in the Autumn. Registration will begin at 10.00am for a 10.30am start and we expect the event to finish by 2.00pm. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. The event will be chaired by Dave Duggan, Assistant Director at GOSW and myself. Speakers will include Tim Pope the Head of CLG’s Third Sector Team and Steve Woollett, Chief Executive of the South West Forum. We do hope that you can join us for what promises to be an informative and interesting event. Please confirm your attendance by completing the attached form or email jane@wessexcommunityaction.org.uk. A detailed agenda and further information will be sent out to all those attending.

Voscur 2007 Training and Learning Programme

The Voscur Training Programme is a box full of handy tools to help your organisation get the job done! Whether you need fine tune the overall vision and outputs of your organisation; or you need the nitty-gritty know-how; or you want to nurture your valuable human resources - we can provide cost-effective training to help you run your organisation with more confidence. Click here to view the programme.

Run for the Future 2007
Prostate Cancer - Ethnic minorities particularly vulnerable. Rotarians in Bristol are organising another Run for the Future later this year to help fight prostate cancer. Last year’s run raised an amazing £63,000 for the Bristol Urological Institute's Prostate Cancer Appeal. Run for the Future 2007 will take place on Sunday, 16 September at 2 pm. Funds raised will go towards research into the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. More than 30,000 men in the UK suffer from prostate cancer every year, leading to more than 10,000 deaths - that's more than the number of women dying from breast cancer! It is believed that men from African Caribbean or African American backgrounds are 50% more likely to suffer from prostate cancer compared to white men. Last year several teams of black sportsmen took part in this event to highlight the importance of raising awareness about the disease amongst black and ethnic minority men. The event is a sponsored 5km run, jog or walk for all the family to take part in together on Bristol's Durdham Downs. Visit the website www.runforthefuture.org for more information and to register on-line as an individual, a family or a team. If you would prefer to register by post then phone 0117 9596328 for a registration form.

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