The Big Society and the voluntary and community Sector

As the Coalition Governent gets down to business, we round up some of the initiatives and priorities affecting the voluntary and community sector.

The Office of the Third Sector has been replaced by the Office of Civil Society, which is part of the Cabinet Office. The name of this sector has changed - we are no longer part of the Third Sector but are now referred to as the Voluntary and Community Sector (or Civil Society). The Minister responsible is Nick Hurd MP.

The Coalition Government’s aim is to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together and solve the problems they face to build the Britain they want. It aims to make people aware of the issues in their local community and how to solve them.

It is striving to develop a cultural shift where the social norm is for everyone in the community to have a social responsibility - aka ‘The Big Society’;

All departments will have a Minister with responsibilities for the Big Society (these appointments are being made and we will let you know who the Ministers are for DfE and DCMS once they are announced), this is co-ordinated by Nick Hurd and led by the Office of Civil Society.

To support the development of the Big Society, the Government is aiming to:

• Make it easier to set up and run voluntary and community organisations by cutting red tape and making Gift Aid more straightforward
• Put more resources into sector
• Make it easier for the sector to work with the state and commissioning longer term contracts.

There are a number of programmes on offer to support the vision of a Big Society. These include:

• Community First Fund
  This will replace the grassroots grants scheme which provided start-up funding for community groups. Communities First will foster the creation of new community groups in deprived areas. Further details will be announced in December. Funding for Capacity builders (advice and support to the charity, voluntary and social enterprises) and the volunteering charity is under review.
• Community organisers 
  5,000 community organisers will be trained and supported to create neighbourhood groups across the UK, especially in the most deprived areas. These individuals will not be paid; they will be independent and responsible for generating their own income.
• National Citizen Service
  This will be introduced, possibly with a different name. The initial flagship project will give 16 year olds a chance to develop the skills they need to be active and responsible citizens, mixing with people from different backgrounds, and becoming involved in their communities.
  
  The proposed programme will be eight weeks: two weeks residential and six  weeks running a community action programme in their local area. A large pilot is planned for 2011. Participation will be voluntary.
  
• Big Society Day
  A range of measures to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action, including launching a national Big Society Day and making regular community involvement a key element of civil service staff appraisals.
  
  The day will celebrate social action and be driven and delivered by the voluntary and community sector. It is inspired by the ‘Big Lunch’ which is a get to know your neighbours/street party.
  
• Big Society Bank
  Funds from dormant bank accounts will be used to establish a Big Society Bank, which will provide new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, social enterprises and other non-governmental bodies and is due to be launched in spring 2011.

The Big Society will begin in four pioneer areas:

• Sutton and Cheam
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Eden Valley
• Liverpool

Each area will receive help from dedicated civil servants, to aid in removing legal and bureaucratic barriers.

Officers will identify community organisers and will be invited to submit applications to the Big Society Bank. The four areas have made specific requests for help to set up a variety of different schemes