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Dear Colleague,

Welcome to our first bulletin of 2016....and what a busy period it's already turning out to be.

Despite, or maybe because of the recent Comprehensive Spending Review, there remain further challenges for our sector.  I'm delighted to share with you a range of LVSC events this quarter which will address some of those challenges.

We kick off with our conference today "A Space to Think, Tomorrow's London". I hope to see you there, but if not you can follow us on Twitter via the hash tag  #spacetothink.

In addition, our joint work with London Funders and Greater London Volunteering has picked up a pace. The first report - 'Emerging Findings' report is available via the London Funders website .

This month also sees LVSC and United Way UK announce a new model of working together, which we've detailed below. LVSC will continue to work with our corporate partners to help deliver against their CSR strategies and will be contacting partners to help us with this important work.

And finally this month, in preparation for LVSC's mayoral hustings event in February, we launch today a manifesto for London. We have 6 Big Asks for the newly elected Mayor to support VCSE service delivery for London. This is your opportunity to add your voice to the manifesto by sending in your "big ask", which we will share with candidates in advance of the meeting. So, please email your asks to Matt Scott our Policy and Project Manager for Sector Support (matt@lvsc.org.uk) and book your place at the hustings to hear what the candidates will prioritise in their first year.

Warm regards

Eithne

Eithne Rynne
CEO

LVSC Statement

London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) and United Way UK are changing the model of their partnership from January 15th 2016.

The new arrangement will see LVSC return to its own branding, and United Way UK as the only licensed United Way in the city. This will allow both organisations to focus on their own primary visions, while still providing a bridge between the businesses and communities of the city.

LVSC became a United Way in 2013; since then, the charitable sector, the city and both organisations have changed in terms of needs and capacity. The new approach was decided mutually, and is driven by the desire of LVSC and United Way to benefit the communities of London in the most efficient and direct way possible.

There will be continued collaboration and a sharing of knowledge. This will be facilitated by the chair of LVSC, Paul Butler, maintaining his seat on the board of United Way UK to inform the national United Way strategy, while providing insight into the city and, specifically, the work of LVSC. LVSC will also (continue to) be eligible to apply for funding from United Way (where community led projects are a priority) to carry out community led projects.

Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS) will remain a member of the United Way network, and there is no intention for this partnership to change its form.

Join us for LVSC's 2016 Mayoral Hustings, and find out more about the candidates' policies affecting London's voluntary sector.

LVSC Mayoral Hustings 2016

With the 2016 London Mayoral election campaign hotting up, LVSC is hosting a Hustings to find out more about the candidates' policies on the issues that matter to the capital's voluntary sector. Chaired by Professor Danny Dorling, the Hustings will be an opportunity for the voluntary and community sector to find out how the candidates propose to improve the lives of the people that the sector supports.

For more information on LVSC's position, check out our 2016 Mayoral Manifesto, The Big Ask, containing our six asks for the next Mayor of London.

Timetable

• 2.45 - 3.00pm: Registration
• 3.00 - 4.30pm: Hustings and Q&A
• 4.30 - 6.00pm: Drinks reception

What support for London's Voluntary and Community Sector is a priority for you and the work you do? Address you question directly to the candidates by coming to the event.

Start now by adding your question to our question bank on Survey Monkey

Policy Viewpoint - January 2016

Lisa Greensill LVSC Head of Policy and Sector Support's shares her pick of VCS news this month.

Growing pressures on our Sector and the challenges for Civil Society Support

On 17 December over 70 VCSE, public and private organisations gathered to hear the interim findings of the work being carried out by London Funders on the future of civil society support in London.  The keynote speaker at the beginning of the day was Simon Parker, Director of the New Local Government Network, looking at the post-CSR implications for local authorities.

He pointed out that as our populations live longer, we will need a substantial growth in social, economic and community capacity; we are being pushed into moving from a smaller state to a bigger community; and the key to doing this is a more vibrant civil society with a community focused, needs led approach. The focus needs to be on doing things for people that they want rather then what local government thinks they want.   As local authorities come under more and more financial pressure they will only be able to provide emergency services - the voluntary sector will be dragged into the gap that is left.   Given this scenario it is even more vital that the sector gets the support it needs and deserves not only to deliver those services but also to ensure the voice of communities are heard at national, regional and local level.  March will see the publication of recommendations for the future of this support, recommendations for funders from all sectors and all aspects of civil society - then the difficult conversations really will start.

Devolution for People and Communities

NAVCA and Locality have published a report that sets out key principles that should underpin any devolution process.  As proposals for devolution gather steam, across London as well as the rest of the country, there is a concern that much of the development is top, down, driven by economic growth that has too narrow a definition and that neglects the importance of building strong communities, prioritising social inclusion and creating an economy that works for the people in it.  Devolution should provide an opportunity for innovating public services to ensure they are truly locally focused services but the recent Spending Review signals extremely tough times ahead for local councils, which could lead to the closure of some local services as local authorities turn to scale and standardisation in the mistaken belief that it will save them money.

The report calls for five guiding principles to be adhered to when developing plans for devolution:

1. Creating a social economy.
2. Securing meaningful representation of the voluntary and community sector within new leadership structures.
3. Ensuring accountability through effective community engagement.
4. Taking decisions at the most appropriate local level.
5. Working with local organisations to support local commissioning and local delivery of public services.

NCVO Report into the Impact of Welfare Reforms on the Sector

Research carried out by NCVO has found that many charities are experiencing increased demand for their services as a result of the Government's reforms to the welfare system.  This rise in demand has coincided with cuts to government funding for the sector of £1.7bn from 2010-11 to 2012-13.  Whilst some organisations have been able to adapt their services others have to turn clients away or are spending the majority of their time helping claimants to appeal against sanctions or accompanying them to appointments, which reduced the time they were able to spend on other areas of work.  Organisations are also reporting that reforms are creating additional barriers for some of their clients, including having to apply for a certain number of jobs, however unsuitable.

However, the report also highlights innovation and cross sector-working.  A core recommendation of the report is that voluntary organisations should be involved in the design of future reforms and invited to share their data and expertise.

Fundraising Programme for Small Charities launched

The Office for Civil Society has launched a fundraising programme for small charities (those with an annual income of less than £1 million). The programme, worth over £100,000, will provide expert training to small charities from February to June 2016. Support will be provided by the Foundation for Social Improvement, the Small Charities and GlobalGiving UK.  Training opportunities will include face-to-face training, intensive one-to-one advice sessions, skilled volunteering matches and webinars covering developing a fundraising strategy, fundraising from trusts and foundations, developing corporate relationships and crowdfunding.

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Download LVSC's Manifesto for London	Join LVSC's  London Mayoral Hustings	LVSC has 6 asks for the new Mayor

LVSC News and Updates

VSC Assist - Employment and Skills News

Update on the European Social Fund in London

Employment and skills survey now open!

LVSC is conducting a research project into the issues facing voluntary sector organisations providing employment and skills support in London. We want to know about your experiences providing employment and skills support in London, and have your thoughts on what the challenges and opportunities ahead are. The survey is open until 12 February and can take as little as five minutes to complete - if you are able to help, we would really appreciate your time.

European Social Fund - Skills Funding Agency has launched in London

The SFA has launched the first tranche of its projects in London. The project tenders cover a number of strands under the ESF Youth Programme, including young BAME, several NEETs stands and careers guidance. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 5 February 2016. Useful additional documents are available on the London Enterprise Panel website, including a document outlining the linkages of youth programme strands, SFA NEET procurement guidance and SFA hints and tips.

European Social Fund - looking for partners to bid with?

LVSC has set up an ESF lead partner list on its dedicated employment and skills portal. The list is intended to help smaller organisations quickly find out who is bidding as a lead partner - if your organisation is not on the list and would like to be, please email Nehal@lvsc.org.uk. We also have a Partnership Directory, which allows you to search organisations, post your own details, and update your profile whenever you want.

Tackling low pay in London

LVSC is a proud member of the Family Friendly London coalition, which is campaigning ahead of the London Mayoral election to encourage candidates to adopt family friendly policies. With the majority of people in poverty in London living in working households, we are asking the Mayor to commit to halving the number of people earning below the London Living Wage by 2020. Click here for more information on the issues around low pay in London and what we want the Mayor to do about it.

Health News

LVSC's Map of Social Prescribers in London

To help meet the outcomes of LVSC's Regional Voices' contract with NHS England to develop the NHS Five Year Forward View,  LVSC aims to collate examples that demonstrate the new models of care in practice, including social prescribing in London. As part of this work, LVSC developed a survey and liaised with a number of social prescribers in London. We wanted to gauge different prescribing models, how they operate, work in partnership and monitor & evaluate the impact of their initiatives. The map  is the first stage of this new project. It will be updated as social prescribers develop, we find out about others and new ones emerge. Please share with your networks

For more information contact Sandra van der Feen, Health Policy Officer, LVSC:  sandra@lvsc.org.uk (Mon-Wed)

National charities and voluntary organisations survey 2015

Please take part in the biggest annual survey of charities and voluntary organisations. The survey, launched by a coalition of charities, is gathering evidence about how charities are able to get their voice heard and the support they need.

By taking part you will be helping make sure that funders and decision makers know more about your needs. By being the biggest survey of charities and voluntary organisations this survey is a powerful way of getting your voice heard.

The survey can be completed in 15 minutes.

Please also forward this on to anyone else you think may be interested in being part of this year's biggest charity survey.

Safer Future Communities - update

January round up

• Looking forward to welcoming Safer Future Communities members to our Space to Think conference on Wednesday - thinking about what 2016 holds for the CJS VCSE.
• We are working on a report for the end of the month, based on members' responses to our State of the Sector questionnaire at the end of last year.
• Sara has attended the London Reducing Reoffending Board this week, will be attending the Clinks' Shared Evidence Project steering group next week and at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies Parliamentary launch of Joint Enterprise and racism report towards the end of January.
• We are keeping a close eye on parliamentary developments, particularly following the urgent questions raised in light of last Monday night's Panorama programme on G4S run Medway Secure Training Centre and await the Taylor Review with interest.
• Work continues apace on all core areas of work: Victim's Service Alliance, Gangs and Serious Youth Violence Network, VAWG VCS Expert reference group, Reducing Reoffending and Health.

If you want to be part of the Safer Future Communities network, please get in touch with  sara@lvsc.org.uk

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Pathways to professionalism - how PEACe HR service helped Learn English at Home develop HR Expertise.	PEACe Services. Does your organisation's Staff Handbook need updating? Find out more about this PEACe service.	Pathways to modernisation - the impact a London for All training course had on a  Lewisham homeless charity.

London For All

London for All is a London Councils' funded project designed to build the capacity of London's voluntary and community sector. As a partnership project, led by LVSC, it offers: insight and learning from a collective 200 years' experience: and the practical applications of that knowledge.  London for All can strengthen your organisation's knowledge and skills, work more effectively and efficiently, deliver more accessible services to support service users better.

In the run up to the Mayoral election LVSC has developed a manifesto with six 'asks' for the new Mayor, to enable a thriving sector:

• Ensure all VCSE groups are recognised and included in GLA policy and strategy
• Co-produce a London VCSE strategy
• Collaborate on equalities practice
• Innovate GLA commissioning
• Facilitate private sector donations to VCSE groups
• Embed the benefits of digital technology

London Councils Grants Programme Consultation

Last month London Councils Leaders Committee agreed in principle to cut funding for capacity building (Priority 4 from their grants programme) beyond 2017, which funding currently funds the London for All programme.  This programme consistently exceeds its targets and receives excellent feedback from participants.

They are now consulting on the grants programme beyond 2017, proposing it focus on the following 3 priorities only:

Priority 1. Combatting homelessness

Priority 2. Tackling Sexual and Domestic Violence

Priority 3. Tackling Poverty through Employment (European Social Fund match funded)

You can find more information and a link to a Consultation Response Briefing Paper with some of the key points we think London Councils need to take into account before making their decision in March here:

Consultation closes at 5pm Friday, 22 January 2016  - final decision is in March.

New Social Care Web Tool developed by LASA

With support from The Access to Justice Foundation and The Law Society Charity, LASA have produced a new social care web tool.

Socialcareinfo.net covers the whole of the UK providing members of the public with access to quality assured information and support in relation to their social care needs. Using just your postcode, Socialcareinfo provides details of your local authority's social care offering; access to quality-assured national information resources; and details of local advice services offering further support.

The site also provides a useful widget enabling you to display socialcareinfo.net's search results directly into your own website/blog. Find out more about the widget

Webinar: Power to the People - Get To Grips with User Generated Content

Date: 28 January 2016, 1-2pm
​Venue: Online

In a digitally mobile and social world, where content is everything, supporters want to feel engaged, entertained and get to the heart of issues quickly. User-generated content is a powerful and low cost way for your charity to tell its story and show the difference it makes.

Join LASA's webinar hosted by Jude Habib, founder of digital storytelling company Sounddelivery, to learn how you can maximise the opportunities and the challenges user generated content offers you.

This webinar is supported by London for All, London Councils' funded project to capacity build London's voluntary and community sector. Read more

London for All - more opportunities

• Latest news
• Latest resources

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Matt Scott - London for All Policy and Project Manager for sector support -  Matt@lvsc.org.uk	"LVSC is a standing item on our network agenda, which is a reflection of the real structural value they offer." Read more	"LVSC project events have been life changing for our organisation and the LGBGT community we work with." More

LVSC Events & Training

A Space to think: Tomorrow's London

Date: 20th January 2016, 9.30am - 4pm
Venue: St Luke's Community Centre London EC1V 8AJ

This event will give VCSE organisations a space to think about what the next few years hold for their organisations and the people their work with. Exploring the political, economic, social and technological challenges and opportunities facing our sector, we will ask how we can adapt to ensure the best outcomes for Londoners.

No Recourse to Public Funds Training for Voluntary Sector

Date: 25 January  2016, 9.30am - 1pm
Venue: LVSC, 200a Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, N1 9JP

FREE half day training workshop for voluntary and community sector organisations who work with children and families who have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).

Managing Difficult Conversations at Work

Date: 27th January, 9.45am - 1pm
Venue: 200a Pentonville Road, Kings Ctoss, London N1 9JP

Most of us dislike confrontation; we sometimes avoid it which can lead to even more difficulty, misunderstandings and possible conflict. This practical, participative workshop will allow you to discuss those issues in a confidential and safe environment where you will have the opportunity to try out different approaches and techniques with your colleagues to get the best outcome.

Date: 3rd February, 2.45 - 6pm
Venue: Ort House, 126 Albert Street London NW1 7NE

With the 2016 London Mayoral election campaign hotting up, LVSC is hosting a Hustings to find out more about the candidates' policies on the issues that matter to the capital's voluntary sector. Chaired by Professor Danny Dorling, the Hustings will be an opportunity for the voluntary and community sector to find out how the candidates propose to improve the lives of the people that the sector supports.

What support for London's Voluntary and Community Sector is a priority for you and the work you do? Address your question directly to the candidates by coming to the event.

Start now by adding your question to our question bank on Smart Survey

HR Essentials

Date: 18 February, 10am - 1pm
Venue: 200a Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, London N1 9JP

The aim of the course is to raise the awareness of potential and new employers about employment legislation and good practice in the workplace. At the end of the course, the learners will know the difference between volunteers, the self-employed, employees and casual workers; understand why it is important to get employment status right; know what a contract of employment should include; know what employment policies and procedures should be in place; understand the basics of performance management; be aware of the legal requirements for discipline and grievance issues and know where to go for further information and support.

LVSC Happy Training

• Introduction to Project Management - 2 days  - 26 & 27 Jan from £225
• Effective Minute Taking 1 day 17 Feb  from £95
• Training The Non-Trainer - 2 days 16 & 17 Feb from £180
• Grammar And Punctuation - Getting It Right I day 23 Feb from £95

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LVSC was recently reaccredited by UKIED and retains silver status as a UK Investor in Equality and Diversity	For information and advice about Charity Insurance contact Keegan & Pennykid	"The Victims and Witness Alliance meeting structured specifically around race and faith hate crime was a turning point. " Read more

Notices & Events

Vacancies

Standing Together - Office Manager

This role requires experience and skills relating to administration, minute taking, excellent IT skills (knowledge of MS Office and Outlook is essential), and good interpersonal skills. Salary: starting salary £21,840 (includes ILW) Full Time (35 hours per week). Interview date:  Monday, 8th February 2016. Closing date Friday 29th January. Download application from www.standingtogether.org.uk, email admin@standingtogether.org.uk or call on 020 8748 5717.

Grants Fundraiser - UserVoice

User Voice is looking for a dynamic person, committed to our values.  We are seeking to recruit a Grants Fundraiser to lead on income generation  - you will need to have a track record of income generation from trusts, foundations and statutory bodies and a strong commitment to the values of User Voice. We particularly welcome applications from ex-offenders and from all sections of the community regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability. Closing date Friday 29 January 2015.

Director (12 months maternity cover) LEAH

Kate Brown, LEAH's Director, will be going on maternity leave in April 2016. As a result, Learn English at Home is looking for a Director to lead the team on a part time basis for a period of twelve months. The ideal candidate will have a strong track record in fundraising, and excellent numeracy, communication and reporting skills.  (LEAH was one of LVSC's featured case studies in September 2015)

Hillside Clubhouse - mental health charity looking for 2 posts

• Mental Health Employment Support Worker - 35 hours £26342
• Mental Health Employment Support Team Manager 14 hours £12532

Hillside Clubhouse is a dynamic mental health charity in North London.  Its new pilot project will deliver employment and wellbeing support to people with common mental health problems to the IPS Model of employment support and the team will be embedded in existing clinical and JCP teams. For an application pack please email gsell@hillsideclubhouse.org.uk or telephone 020 7700 6408.
Closing date: Monday 25 January at 5 pm more information www.hillsideclubhouse.org.uk

Events

FaithAction - flagship national road show event featuring Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State for Community and Social Care

Date: Wednesday 24th February 2016, 10:00am - 4:30pm
Venue: SOAS, University of London, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

The focus of this event is to help faith-based and community organisations, along with public health agencies to work together to improve public health. Book now to save 25% off your ticket and have the chance to join us for a special Breakfast Briefing. Secure your place for just £15.00

SORP 2015 Training For CEO's, Trustees & Finance Staff

Date: Thursday, 28 January 2016, 9:30 to 1.30pm
Venue: Kingston Quaker Centre, Fairfield East, Kingston KT1 2PT

Charity Commission published key changes to the Charities SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice) in 2014 affecting the way charities report on their activities. Transition to a new framework will inevitably present some challenges as accounting policies are reviewed, new ones applied and necessary adjustments made to the opening balance from the transition date. Understanding these challenges, and the issues is vital for a 'pain-free' transition to the new framework. This training is presented by Goodman Jones and will provide you with practical advice on implementation and next steps to take when preparing accounts.

For charities with 31 March year-end, 31 March 2016 approaches rapidly.

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