How do current government polices impact on equalities issues?

Research commissioned by the North West Infrastructure Partnership, and carried out by the Centre of Local Economic Studies (CLES), has just been launched: it looks at the impact of current government policy on equalities and the specialist organisations that deliver to some of our most marginalised communities. The research concentrated on 15 issue-specific focus groups and involved over 250 VCS groups: the executive summary can be found here. The full report entitled "Open for All" will be available shortly from Voluntary Sector North West.

Government report published on the inquiry into regeneration

The government has published its report from the inquiry into regeneration calling for the Department for Communities and Local Government to produce a national strategy for regeneration, targeting the most deprived areas. Urban Forum submitted evidence to the Inquiry jointly with Voice4Change England.

A Plain English guide to the Localism Bill

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1923416.pdf

Personalisation briefing: Implications of the Equality Act 2010

This at a glance briefing examines the implications of the Equality Act 2010 for personalised adult social care. The Equality Act 2010 provides a legal framework which can support personalisation in adult social care. They are both about ensuring individuals receive services that are respectful, effective and accessible. It is essential that care providers from all sectors understand the implications for them. http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/ataglance/ataglance41.asp

A beginner's guide to commissioning

• Do you support organisations in your community?
• Are you new to this thing called 'commissioning'?
• Do you want ideas for more effectively working with the public sector?

The commissioning of local public services and the impact on communities and organisations is as important as ever. Huge numbers of people play some role in supporting voluntary and community organisations to navigate this often complex world of local commissioning, but where do you start?
NAVCA have provided, for the first time, a guide for development workers starting out on this journey of supporting organisations to engage with the commissioning landscape.
The guide covers:

• what commissioning is
• why it is important for development workers
• ways of supporting organisations
• ideas for working with the public sector

There are also useful checklists on developing effective local networks, gathering relevant evidence for tendering and working out what you need to know. Download the guide here