The PCG is keen to receive views from local people and community groups on its style, priorities and development. If you have any comments, please write to Mike Knapton, Chair of Cambridge PCG at Hillview, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB1 5EF or come along to the next Voluntary Sector Health Forum when we will be discussing this.
The Forum has also decided to hold a one day event looking at Inequalities in Health and more information on this will be sent out with the next newsletter.
If you would like to be added to the Health Forum mailing list, please contact Judith Hartley in the CVS office.
Meetings for 2000:
We have set meeting dates for the whole year. These will take place from
2-4 pm on the third Monday, every other month from January. All meetings
will be held at the Centre at St Pauls, Hills Road.
Meeting Dates:
17 January
20 March
22 May
17 July
18 September
20 November
The draft Code on how government should consult with the voluntary sector, and how the sector should respond, is out for consultation. The five key points in the proposed code for improving the effectiveness of consultation are:
The draft Code contains undertakings for both government and voluntary sector and sets out guidelines for an effective consultation process, dealing with: consultation methods, timescales, consultation documents, analysis of the response to consultation, policy appraisal of the impact of proposals, feedback, implementation, compliance and review.
If you would like to see and comment on the draft please send an A4 SAE to the CVS office and we will send a copy to you along with the feedback questionnaire. The deadline for responses is 7 January 2000.
The Plan sets out the partnerships vision and priorities for creating a lifelong learning culture in the county and includes targets for increasing participation and achievement.
Consultation on the Plan will run until mid February, and it will be discussed in detail at the next Voluntary Sector Training Forum on 24th January. This meeting is open to any voluntary organisation interested in training or lifelong learning issues. Lunch will be provided for the consultation meeting and will be available from 1.30pm. Please phone the CVS office to let us know if you will be attending.
The Plan will be automatically be sent to all members of the Voluntary Sector Training Forum. We will send a copy to any other voluntary group on receipt of an A4 stamped addressed envelope marked 'Lifelong Learning Plan'.
HImP Version 2 The second HImP has been sent out for formal consultation.
If you would like a copy then telephone Terry Whyman, HImP Co-ordinator, at Cambridgeshire Health Authority on 01223 475018.
The document is also available on the web:
Please send a copy of any response your organisation submits to Lorna Davies at Cambridge CVS.
A conference is being held on 5th November to present the document to different stakeholders and to discuss priorities but it has been accepted that there is still a lot of work to do before the document is owned by many agencies and the wider public.
To be eligible organisations MUST be paid up members of Cambridge CVS, or have submitted a recent application to join. Organisations should also be registered charities, although applications from non-registered groups will be considered, subject to approval by CCVS and Cambridge Students Rag, if their aims are deemed to be charitable.
The grants are decided by a Sub-Committee, consisting of an equal number of members of the CCVS Committee and the Students Rag Committee. Groups who have been successful in the main Cambridge Rag ballot will not be considered for a grant from the Sub-Committee as well.
The closing date for applications will be in early March 2000. If you would like to apply for a grant please send an A4 stamped addressed envelope (marked Cambridge Students Rag Application Form) to the CCVS Office and we will send you an application form when they are ready.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE A PAID UP MEMBER OF CCVS TO APPLY !
The Cambridgeshire Lifelong Learning Partnership has produced its first draft Lifelong Learning Plan.
This will be an important document for all organisations involved in providing learning and training opportunities and we hope to encourage detailed discussion on the document across the voluntary sector.
The draft will be distributed to members of the Voluntary Sector Training Forum and discussed at the next Forum meeting on the afternoon of Monday 24th January.
If you are not on the Forum mailing list and would like information about this meeting, please contact the CVS office.
You will have an opportunity to find out about the Foundations new priorities at the CCVS Annual General Meeting on 11 November when the Foundations Co-ordinator for the Eastern Region, Mark Ereira, will be speaking about the new guidelines and the areas of special interest that the Trustees have set for the next three years.
See Meetings and Workshops for details of the AGM - please let the CVS office know if you plan to join us at the meeting.
Lorna Davies has been invited to join the Communications Sub-Group of the PCG and will be doing a presentation to PCG members at the beginning of November to outline the nature and scope of the local voluntary sector and its contribution to improving the health of local people.
As part of this work I have also offered to pull together detailed information on local organisations and this is an important opportunity for groups to ensure that the PCG is aware of their contribution and activities. A questionnaire has been sent to members of the Health Forum but if you are not on Cambridge CVS's Health Forum mailing list and would like to be included in our information booklet then please contact the CVS office and ask for a copy of the questionnaire.
Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service is holding its annual Charity Fair on Saturday 16 October from 11 am to 3.30 pm at the Arbury Community Centre in Campkin Road. There will be over twenty stalls selling crafts, toys, bric-a-brac, books and much more. There will also be lots of information on local charities and community groups and refreshments. A chance to start your Christmas shopping and support local voluntary groups!
PQASSO stands for Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations and has been developed by the Charities Evaluation Service to meet the needs of voluntary and community groups.
It is based on self evaluation and groups can work towards achieving different levels that demonstrate the quality of their service and are appropriate to the size and nature of the organisation. The City Council will loan a copy to any grant aided group, and the CVS is happy to show it to other interested groups.
Although it is based on self-evaluation, a number of groups have
asked for support in working through the system and the CVS is setting
up a PQASSO Support Group to encourage and support local organisations
who want to use it.
SEE MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS FOR DETAILS OF THE FIRST MEETING
OF THE GROUP
The Trust is based in Llandaff Chambers and is looking for volunteers who would like to get involved in a wide range of fundraising and promotional activities. Trust volunteers will have the opportunity to develop a wide range of fundraising skills and to receive professional training.
Please contact the CVS office if you would like to get involved in this exciting new venture.
On 1st July the CVS held a meeting with grant aided groups to discuss the Best Value process and how we could make sure it tackled issues of concern . We also hope the Best Value review process will fit in with our plans to negotiate a local Compact setting out the relationship between the Council and the voluntary sector in Cambridge.
Organisations at the meeting considered all aspects of the grant aid process and how the Best Value review would work. The main issues are summarised in the October edition of our newsletter and these points were passed on to the City Council to consider as part of the review process.
The CVS agreed to organise a follow up meeting and we will be writing separately to groups about this in the near future.
The focus of the next Health Forum will be on the work of Cambridge City Primary Care Group. Mike Knapton, the PCG Chair, and Ian Walker, the PCG Chief Executive, will both be attending the meeting. This will be held at 2pm on Monday 27th September at the Centre at St Paul's, Hills Road.
The Home Office and NLCB have recently agreed grant programmes to support regional voluntary sector generalist infrastructure and COVER hopes to receive funding shortly to establish its own office and employ a co-ordinator and support staff.
Membership of COVER is now available for �10 per year and it is worth joining if you want to support the voluntary sector to have an effective regional voice and to keep up to date on regional issues. COVER will also be holding its first AGM in Cambridge at 12.30pm on Wednesday 29th September at the Centre at St Paul's on Hills Road. Details will be sent to members on joining - if you would like an application form to join COVER then please contact the CVS office.
The draft Strategy and accompanying background papers can be accessed on the Internet at www.eeda.org.uk - or you can obtain a copy direct from EEDA. Contact: Michelle Robinson on 01223 713900. Comments have been requested by 15th September although they will try to incorporate feedback received after this date. The final version has to be submitted to the DETR by the end of October.
COVER, the Community & Voluntary Forum for the Eastern Region, has a checklist available to help organisations to analyse and respond to the REDS from a voluntary sector perspective. Please contact the CVS office if you would like a copy of the checklist.
A reference copy and several loan copies of the HimP are available in our resource room in Llandaff Chambers.
The best five entrants will receive a copy of 'Voluntary But Not Amateur' and there will be a prize of �150 if we use your design as the project logo. Please send your ideas to Lorna Davies at Cambridge CVS. The closing date is 30th September 1999.
Click here for previous archive.
For information on how to become a member of CVS please see our homepage.