Our news  05 Oct 2011

Support for Learning & Skills needed if Voluntary Sector is to play greater role in Open Public Services

Skills - Third Sector have submitted a formal response to the Government's White Paper on public service reform (http://files.openpublicservices.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/OpenPublicServices-WhitePaper.pdf)

In our response we focus on the need for Government to fulfill the following three objectives:

• Creation of fair and equitable opportunities for voluntary organisations to bid to deliver services.
• Sufficient allowance for organisations to maintain the independence to campaign and lobby on behalf of their beneficiaries without jeopardising funding.
• Availability of satisfactory resources for learning and staff development to build upon the skills of the sector’s workforce.

We argue that if the Government is to fulfill the promise of ‘giving the sector a bigger role in delivering more innovative, diverse and responsive public services' then it must ensure the necessary support for voluntary organisations to compete with large private providers with stronger balance sheets and greater ability to attract financial investment. Without the correct support in place, the voluntary sector will be unable to fully contribute to the creation and delivery of Open Public Services.

To view the Skills - Third Sector response in full, click here