Save the Date - Conference on the Impact of the Cuts - Weds 9 February

Looking at the impact of the cuts and how we can best measure the impact of the cuts on Hackney’s communities, the CEN are holding a Conference with Team Hackney on Wednesday 9 February 2011. The Conferenece sets out to protect those who will be most affected. Save the date, more info on this in the new year.

Safer Young Hackney meet with Baroness Newlove

The Safer Young Hackney Network gained an audience with Baroness Newlove last week. The Baroness visited Hackney CVS in Dalston as part of a nationwide tour, meeting with and talking to young people and Voluntary and Community projects up and down the country about what works and how.

The Baroness heard powerful testimony from young people whose lives had been changed by the intervention from Hackney providers. She saw how young people have developed emotional resilience and ways forward, which saw them walk away from risky behaviour and often dangerous activity into productive and rewarding lifestyles. Safer Young Hackney have also launched a newsletter, to recieve your copy or more info on the Network email: Gary@hcvs.org.uk

Hackney Councillors campaigning against the cuts

Some Councillors in Hackney have launched a campaign against the government’s cuts to public services and funding. They would like people to visit their Facebook paga and also welcome people's comments.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Their-Cuts-Not-Ours/178128612200341

Transparency in outcomes - an audience with the Department of Health in Hackney 11 January

City & Hackney Health and Social Care Forum, in conjunction with London Borough of Hackney invite you to a consultation on transparency in outcomes - A framework for Adult social care  on the 11th January 2pm - 5pm.  The Department of Health will be coming down to explain the framework and to hear local views .
 Please book by emailing hscf@hcvs.org.uk  - Booking is essential.

The consultation closes on the  9th February for written ressponses and the full documents are here:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_121509

Have your say - Local surveys to improve support for local people and community organisations

Tell us what you think should be in Hackney's voluntary and community sector strategy and win a BlackBerry 9300!

At HCVS, our focus is supporting local voluntary and community organisations to do the best for local people.  Ensuring Hackney Council has a strong plan in place for Hackney’s voluntary and community sector (VCS) is one of the ways HCVS is working to do this, by leading the development of this first strategy for the VCS in Hackney. 

Please give us your views on this important document by:

-         Completing our online survey here – it should take 10 – 15 minutes: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SCQ663N

-         Responding to the questions in the consultation paper here:  http://www.hcvs.org.uk/en/pages/3rdsectorstrategy.aspx

-         Attend one of our consultation events on Monday, 17 January: http://www.hcvs.org.uk/EN/store/hcvs/2010_VCS_Strategy_bkg.doc

You have until the 25 February 2011 to let us have your views – many thanks for your support.

What are the effects of cuts and changes to benefits for your service users and your organisation

City & Hackney Health & Social Care Forum in conjunction with the Community Empowerment Network and HCVS are launching a survey to collect evidence on the impact of Government policy on Hackney residents.

Please fill in the short survey here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5J9CQ26 - looking at your experiences since May, we will be resending the survey monthly to track changes over time.  The survey is eight questions long and should be possible to complete in less than 10 minutes.  

Please email Jackie Brett on hscf@hcvs.org.uk if you have any comments on the survey or questions about it.

A message from Hackney Community Law Centre - fightingthe cuts to Legal Aid budget

Dear Colleagues

Some of you will have noticed the Government Green Paper which has just been published, and which proposes some £350 million in cuts to the civil legal aid budget (about 33%).

The issue is tremendously important. Over 500,000 people will lose a service, 1/3 of civil legal aid funding would be cut, and funding from (among others) most debt, all welfare benefits, all employment and about 40% of housing and 60% of immigration cases. Most ancillary relief cases would also cease receiving funding.

Recent surveys by the Law Centres Federation estimated that for every £1 spent on funding Law Centre work, up to £10 is made back in wider social benefits. These include savings such as increased payments or rent, managed debts and increased benefit uptake. By cutting this funding, the government will be increasing poverty and social exclusion by several orders of magnitude.

Last week the LCF, Unite and many others launched Justice 4 All, a campaign to stop the cuts. Please help by signing up as a supported to their website. They also have a facebook site which currently has more than 500 members.

I urge you to log onto the website and register. There is also a facebook site which currently has about 500 affiliates.  If you are on facebook please register there too. Please ask your friends and family to sign up too.

The website can be found at http://www.justice-for-all.org.uk/

Yours sincerely

Nathaniel Mathews

Hackney Community Law Centre

Children & Young People’s Providers Forum (CYPPF) meeting Thursday, 9 December

Would you like to find out more about tools you can use to measure the impact your organisation is having?

As cuts to funding increase, so will the pressure on voluntary and community organisations to prove their worth and demonstrate how effective they are at delivering their service to funders and commissioners.

Find out about practical tools you can use to do measure this with a briefing with Anastasia Mihailidou from Charities Evaluation Service.

Join us for the next

Children & Young People’s Providers Forum or CYPPF

Thursday, 9 December

With lunch from 1 - 3pm

Venue: HCVS, 84 Springfield House,

5 Tyssen Street London E8 2LY

To book: Complete the attached form or visit http://tinyurl.com/24yrh7p  or call 020 7923 1962 or email info@hcvs.org.uk

This event is organised by Hackney’s Children & Young People’s Providers Forum but the briefing with Anastasia Mihailidou is open to people from all voluntary and community sector organisations.

Welcome from the CEN Chair

Like many in Hackney, we are very concerned about the impact on the borough's most vulnerable residents of the recent cuts announced by the Government. The Government's own changes to Housing Benefit, Job Seekers Allowance, and other benefits are all likely to affect most those in need. In addition, the effects of cuts in Government funding to Hackney Council, the NHS, and the Police among others are likely to result in the loss of local services provided or funded by these statutory sector organisations, which is also likely to affect most those in need. As a voice of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Hackney we are also very aware of threats to the funding of many organisations working closely with Hackney's many different communities, which will affect their ability to deliver services. Advice services, employment support, older and disabled people's services, youth clubs, after-school-clubs, language and literacy training, refugee and migrant programs - all this - and much more of what we have come to know as part of Hackney - has been supported by programmes and grants now under review.

What can we do?

We want to bring together everyone who shares these concerns - voluntary and community sector organisations, residents, the council and other statutory service providers - anyone who plays a part in service delivery in Hackney, to see how we can best protect those who are most vulnerable. We have invited the mayor, and are looking at a date early in the new year. If you'd like to play a part in this, please get in touch...

EVENT: THIS WEDNESDAY 1ST DECEMBER - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NETWORK CONSULTATION

If your organisation helps people into work, or you are involved with basic skills and ESOL training, helping to set up businesses in Hackney, or you work in the Green Economy, this event could be for you.

Is this event for me?

·         Do you want to learn more about the Single Work Program – this is the new funding path for worklessness, skills training and enterprise support. 

·         How can your organisation work with the very large organisations who will be running these programs across East London?

·         Find out about Hackney’s new Economic Development Strategy – the council want to hear from you.  How can the strategy help you to help Hackney residents out of poverty? 

Chair: David Blagbrough (Inspire and chair of EDN)
Speakers: Juniper Hope Strong (Head of Partnerships and Investment, Hackney Council), Derek Harvey (Job Centre Plus), Ian Ashman (Principal of Hackney Community College and co-chair of EDP)
Panel: Bisi Ojuri (Volunteer Centre Hackney, and CEN rep to Team Hackney), Cllr Guy Nicholson (Cabinet lead for Regeneration, Hackney Council and co-chair of EDP), Derek Harvey (Job Centre Plus) + specialist from Prime (TBA)
Workshops: Working with NEET young people, Skills and Worklessness (small groups), Skills and Worklessness (medium/large groups), Enterprise and Green Economy

Date: Wednesday Dec 1st
Time: 10am-1pm, followed by a networking lunch
Venue: St Mungo’s, 146 Mare Street, E8 3SG (020 8525 7700)

To book a place please call 020 7923 1962 or email judy@hcvs.org.uk. We look forward to seeing you there!

Stop Press….London Councils Funding cuts– campaigners secure a partial victory

The BME Advice Network have been coordinating opposition to the cuts to London Councils Grants. Last Thursday they held a lobby outside London Councils offices. News reaches us that London Councils have decided on a managed approach to transition. Regionally and locally the funding of services will be looked at individually by relevance and all will have funding continued until June 2011.

*Click here*  for report from London Voluntary Sector Forum.