Service users of a charity affected by planned funding cuts of London Councils took out judicial review proceedings against the cuts and on Friday 28 January 2011, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith gave judgment for the claimants. 

 

The challenge relates to London Councils' plans to cut £10m from the £26.4m in funding provided by London Councils to voluntary sector organisations in London. The cuts would have affected over 200 voluntary and community sector organisations in London, and tens of thousands of Londoners. 

 

The Judge held that London Councils' consultation process was flawed and that they had failed to meet their statutory equality duties. He quashed all the funding cut decisions for the 200 plus projects and said that London Councils must re-run the process, this time with full equality impact assessments.

 

The claimants solicitor, Louise Whitfield, a specialist in claims raising equality issues and cuts to the voluntary sector, said:

 

"This case establishes that even in the current economic climate, it remains of paramount importance that public sector funding cut decisions are properly assessed for their gender, disability and race equality impacts.  If they are not, public sector funding cut decisions will be unlawful.

 

London Councils simply did not consider the full effect of their £10 million cuts on the hundreds of voluntary sector groups and tens of thousands of members of the public who would be affected. They will now be required to do so." 

 

The case shows that it is possible to successfully challenge funding cut decisions on a wide range of issues aside from the actual amount of the cuts.

 

Following on from the success of last year's Your Sector, Your Say event we are pleased to let you know that Your Sector, Your Say 2011 will take place on Wednesday 23 March.  The theme of this year's event is 'Planning for Success in Uncertain Times'.

  

Your Sector, Your Say 2011 will be held at the YMCA, 770 London Road in Derby starting at 10:00 am with coffee/tea and registration and finishing around 3:30 pm. There will be a series of workshops during the day and a chance to network in the afternoon.

  

We hope you can join us for this FREE event which includes refreshments and a buffet lunch.  If you would like to book a place please email Abbi Steanson or call 01332 227710.

  

We look forward to seeing you there!  

Please Note:  We are holding focus groups in early March to discuss issues facing the sector.  Issues raised at the focus groups will feed directly in to the Your Sector, Your Say 2011 event.  The focus groups will be held on 2 March at 2:00 pm and 3 March at 10:00 am at Community Action, 4 Charnwood Street in Derby.  Please contact Abbi Steanson on the above email/number to book a place. 

We'd just like to remind you that you have access to your own section of our website.  You can update your details and also add your news and events to our listings.  It's a great way to let the world know what you are doing!  So if you have any upcoming events or news that you would like to share with Derby - and the world - visit the Community Action website, log in with your details and get started!

If you would like to be part of Community Action Derby please email Angie Baines or call 01332 227731.  You will have FREE access to funding information, help and support for your group and the opportunity to take part in workshops and forums throughout the year.  We look forward to hearing from you!

National youth volunteering charity V has just launched a major consultation with 16 to 25 year-olds to find out what role young people want to play in their society, what issues matter to them, and to connect them and their MPs with local community action projects taking place across England. V will take the issues raised by the consultation and present them at a parliamentary event in April 2011. 

 

For more information visit the Big Society's Big Mouth website.

In a speech, Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark explained why neighbourhood planning has been 'perfectly conceived' to encourage participation from a wide range of people and how elected representatives can play a big part in making it happen.  To read the speech in full visit the communities website. 

The Forum of Faiths for Derby are holding four Food 4 Thought events around the city during February and March.  Each event will focus on a different faith giving you the opportunity to learn and understand about life and faith in other communities -through cooking and sharing food! 

  

The events take place as follows:

  

Islamic faith - 15 February at Derby Cathedral.     

Christian faith - 19 February at Ikhlas Education Centre.

Buddist faith - 23 March at Lady of Lourdes church.

Baha'i faith - 26 March at the Hindu temple.

  

For more information and to book a place email Forum of Faiths or call 01332 604067.

In an open letter to all council leaders, and as part of 'transparent government', Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark has requested that local authorities publish all of their spending on the VCS and social enterprise sector - including grants, payments, and copies of contracts and tenders. 

 

To read the letter in full visit the communities website. 

This course will look at all apects of disability including an overview of relevant legislation and disability is issues affecting disabled people.  For anybody interacting with members of the public this course will make you look at disability from a whole new perspective. 

 

By the end of this session, learners will be able to:

 

• Understand what disability is;
• Recognise the difference between disability equality and disability diversity;
• Have an awareness of the legislation relating to disabled people;
• Understand what is and what isn't appropriate conduct/terminology around disabled people; and 
• Understand how to improve access for disabled people and why.

The course takes place on Thursday 17 March from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm  - registration from 9:15 am - at Community Action, 4 Charnwood Street in Derby.  Places are FREE for voluntary and community groups and £50 for statutory organisations.

 

For more information or to book your place email Liz Gumbley or call 01332 227738 by Friday 11 March.      

          

 

Links CVS, together with DCAN, are holding two one-day workshops on Measuring the Difference - Social Return on Investment (SROI).

  

The workshops are for people working with adults and/or children and young people with disabilities to understand the difference your service makes and to prove your value to funders, commissioners and stakeholders.

  

The workshops take place on:

  

23 February, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at Fairplay, Alexandra Road West, Chesterfield, S40 1NP or

2 March, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at YMCA, London Road, Derby, DE24 8UT

  

The workshops are FREE and lunch is included.  To book your place email Links.

The training is supported by Derbyshire CAN, Aiming High and Community Action.

  

Workshops will be held every Friday from 25 February to 3 June.
Sessions are 1:30 pm to 3.00 pm or 4.00 to 5.30 pm.

One East Midlands are holding a consultation event  for the voluntary and community sector to discuss the implications and impact of the changes proposed in Healthy Lives, Healthy People - the Public Health White Paper.

 

The event takes place on 18 February from 10:00 am to 3:45 pm at the Riverside Centre in Derby.  Derek Ward, Interim Director NHS Derby City and David Walker, Regional Director Public Health are both speaking on the day and it should be a valuable opportunity for VCS colleagues to put forward questions, concerns and suggestions.

 

For more information and to book a place email Hannah Luck, call 0115 934 9535 or visit the One East Midlands website.

 

Founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1996, In Kind Directredistributes surplus goods from manufacturers and retailers to UK charities and has redistributed £100 million in goods so far from over 850 companies to over 8,000 charities.

In Kind Direct provides a single contact point for companies with goods to donate, they also address brand protection by vetting all organisations within their network and monitoring distribution carefully to ensure products are used for good.

For further information, including how to register, email In Kind , visit the In Kind website or call 020 7398 5510.

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The Multi-Faith Centre are holding a religious diversity workshop for voluntary and non-profit groups on Thursday 10 March from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at the Multi-Faith Centre, University of Derby, Kedleston Road in Derby.

 

The workshop is open to people of all faiths and beliefs and everyone who attends will receive a certificate and a copy of the Religions in the UK Directory - worth £25.00!

   

 



Jayne Williams
Community Action Derby