Established in 1998, the Compact is an agreement between government agencies and the voluntary and community sector in England that aims to improve their relationship for mutual advantage and community gain. It recognises shared values, principles and commitments and sets out guidelines for how both parties should work together.
It is widely recognised that in the first ten years of the Compact, the government paid little more than lip-service to the agreement. But in 2008 it established the Commission for the Compact, a non-departmental public body responsible for overseeing the Compact and ensuring its codes of good practice are adhered to.
A revised Compact is due to be published in November 2009.
Implementing and embedding the new refreshed Compact is the next step for a new decade of government and voluntary sector partnership, according toSimon Blake, chair of Compact Voice.
Conservative MP Oliver Letwin has said the Tories will ask the voluntary sector to go beyond its current capacity if it wins the next election.
Conservative MP Oliver Letwin has expressed his “regret” that charities focus so much effort on campaigning, just hours after NCVO chief Stuart Etherington and former Shelter head Adam Sampson lauded civil society's campaigning activities.
The National Coalition for Independent Action today released an open letter to the chief executives of the five national bodies which have endorsed the revised National Compact, launched on 16 December 2009. The full text of the letter reads:
The National Coalition for Independent Action has written an open letter to the chief executives of the sector’s major umbrella bodies who have all endorsed the revised Compact, complaining that the new document is wholly inadequate.
The refreshed Compact, outlining commitments for a working partnership between government and the voluntary sector, has launched today following a storm of controversy on the government’s recent breach of Compact guidelines.
Compact Voice has questioned whether the refreshed Compact should be launched this month in light of the government’s controversial decision to cut funding to the Campaign Research Programme – in breach of the Compact.
Will the government turn into one of those parents who get caught transgressing by their hawk-eyed kids and uses the defence of “Do as I say, not as I Do?”
Acevo and the Directory of Social Change have voiced serious doubts about the proposed updates to the Compact in response to the Refreshing the Compact consultation.
The Compact Voice board has asked the chair of Local Compact Voice, Carl Allen, to stand down after passing a vote of no confidence in him. In response, Allen has asked the Office of the Third Sector to investigate the board's behaviour and competence.
Carl Allen, chair of Local Compact Voice and Compact Users Group, has threatened to make a formal complaint about Compact Voice to the Office of the Third Sector. Allen (pictured), who has been chair of Local Compact Voice for the past year, sent an email to all Compact Voice board members yesterday attaching a complaint about the behaviour of the chair of Compact Voice, Simon Blake and the head of the Compact Team, Oliver Reichardt.
It’s consultation fever in the voluntary sector this summer, with at least six already under way and another expected to launch soon. The consultation on charity leaders’ expenses, sparked by the debate on Charity Finance blogs about whether they should disclose their expenses publicly, launched on 27 July and closes on 30 October.
The prospect of the Commission for the Compact being granted statutory powers is to get a profile boost in May with the tabling of a 10-minute rule bill to that effect. Labour MP Tom Levitt (pictured) is planning to present the bill on 19 May. It will propose giving the Commission certain new powers and dutries, including powers to investigate alleged breaches of Compact agreements, access to relevant information and the ability to impose a duty on others to co-operate with its investigators.
Recent debates in the House of Lords suggest the government might finally be taking its Compact responsibilities seriously, says Tania Mason. Let's face it, the Compact is never going to set pulses racing. The document that sets out how the public sector and the voluntary sector should work together is one that few charity employees have even heard off, and fewer still have read. Nobody doubts its importance, but the very mention of the Compact can act as a powerful sedative.
The Commission for the Compact has released guidance on commissioning the third sector for public services. The Commissioning Guidance is the first in a series of Compact implementation guidance which aims to facilitate better working relationships between commissioners and third sector organisations.
The Commission for the Compact inched closer to getting statutory powers last month when Lord Best suggested in a House of Lords debate that it be included in the bill on local democracy currently winding its way through parliament. During the second reading of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill, Lord Best said: "In terms of possible additions to the Bill...this Bill could be the moment to put on statutory basis the role of the Compact Commissioner, who handles relationships between statutory bodies and the voluntary sector.
Commissioner for the Compact Sir Bert Massie will be answering questions on the future of the Compact in a live web debate next Thursday. The discussion will take place on the Third Sector Indicators Community of Practice forum which provides practical support for local authorities and their partners on participation in volunteering and creating an environment for a thriving third sector.
Minister for the third sector Kevin Brennan has voiced his support for a statutory Commission for the Compact.
Ian Allsop casts his eye over 2008. As it is the last Charity Finance of the year, I thought it would be appropriate to have a look back over the last 12 months. It's a common device in Sunday newspapers towards the end of the year, as an easy way of filling pages. Throw in a quiz and book choices from a few famous people and you can cover acres of white space pretty easily. Of course this works better if it has been a busy year rather than one where very little has happened but we'll give it a go.
The Compact should be bolstered by existing laws instead of getting statutory status, Sir Bert Massie, Commissioner for the Compact said this week at a debate on the future of the Compact.
The government must reconstitute the Commission for the Compact as a statutory corporation to give it powers of investigation and impose a duty on others to co-operate with it, Compact Commissioner Sir Bert Massie said last week.
The Commission for the Compact is undertaking research into how central government departments are observing their commitments to respect the right of third sector organisations to campaign and exercise their independence.
The Commission for the Compact has announced that interim chief executive Richard Corden will stay on in the role permanently. His appointment will complete the Commission for the Compact team, which has had to rebuild itself after two key departures last year.
The new commissioner for the Compact wants to create a living document breathing life into both the statutory and voluntary sectors
The new Commissioner for the Compact has said he is not afraid of waging war to win statutory powers for the Compact, but is still not convinced that winning them would be best for the voluntary sector.
How John Stoker aims to give the Commission for Compact a little more impact
Former chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, Sir Bert Massie, has been appointed as the new Commissioner for the Compact.
The director general of the Office of the Third Sector indicated last week that the government would not seek to make the Compact a legally binding commitment.
Charities minister Phil Hope has held a meeting with sector umbrella groups and the Commission for the Compact to clarify what the role of the Commission should be in the future. Representatives from Compact Voice, a network of umbrella groups with interest in the Compact, including people from acevo, NCVO, NAVCA and Community Matters, attended the meeting, along with interim chief executive of the Commission for the Compact, Richard Corden, and new interim commissioner Helen Baker.
NCVO HAS LAUNCHED its General Election manifesto with which it will campaign to influence the policies of parliamentary candidates and the next government.
