The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has published a report calling on community groups and statutory bodies to work together to prevent a repeat of last summer’s riots.

After the riots follows on from a conference NCVO held in September to discuss the causes of the riots and includes case studies from voluntary organisations involved.

It makes a series of recommendations to the public sector, voluntary organisations and the media to make sure that in the future there is an ‘early warning system’.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO said: “While the actions of the rioters were deplorable, we must address the sense of despair and disconnection felt by many who felt they had nothing to lose by taking part.”

It highlights concerns raised by community organisations that funding cuts to young people’s services were a factor in the riots and asks the government to assess the impact of spending cuts.

The report makes four key recommendations for community groups and voluntary organisations:

• Think about ways to provide mentoring and mediation services
• Collaborate more, both within the sector and with others
• Speak out and challenge decisions
• Build links with the police