News

Labour agrees to look at independent examination of v

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 14 Oct 2008

The Cabinet Office will consider a call for a "rigorous independent assessment of v’s effectiveness".

Shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, Sir Francis Maude, voiced his concerns about youth volunteering charity v to newly-appointed Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne (pictured) in a House of Commons debate on the voluntary sector last week.

"Does he [Byrne] share my concern about the fact that v is currently commissioning an evaluation of its effectiveness?" said Maude. "As the government’s last volunteering initiative, the Experience Corps, had to be scaled back after an independent assessment of its effectiveness, does he agree that a rigorous independent assessment of v’s effectiveness is needed?"

Byrne agreed to consider his points and explore the possibility of an independent examination of v.

v has appointed consultancy WM Enterprise to evaluate its work over the two years from March 2006 to March 2008. Its report will be published in January.

A second evaluator will be appointed next month to track and assess v's work from April 2008 until March 2011, including the vinvolved programme and the Match Fund.

Match funding pledges 'not increased'

v also faced criticism in the debate from Conservative MP David Jones who questioned whether the charity could meet its target of finding £45m in match funding from the private sector.

"On 7 May, former minister for the third sector Phil Hope told the House that v had secured pledges of £32m in match funding from the private sector. A check on the charity’s website this morning revealed that the pledges had not increased; the sum was still £32m.

"Is the House to infer from that that the charity is having difficulty securing match funding from the private sector, and what assurances can he give the House that it will meet its target of £45m?"

New minister for the third sector Kevin Brennan said that v was due to report on its latest figures shortly.

Match reshaped to attract new ideas

In a response to Charity News Alert, v said the Match Fund was reshaped in June this year to attract new project ideas from the third sector and private funders. Two deadlines were set for applications - 29 August 2008 for projects begionning in January, and 31 October for projects starting next April.

A v spokeswoman said both tranches had had a positive response.

"The current economic climate is presenting fundraising challenges across the sector," she said. "We hope that the Match Fund's ability to double the private sector investment in youth volunteering will continue to make it an appealing proposition."

Tweet

Directory: Volunteering England
Who's Who: Vibeka Mair