December 2011
December Update
So a turbulent 2011 draws to a close. The Arab Spring was still progressing when the August riots broke here and then the Euro crisis spiralled out of control. Austerity is the in word and few can be optimistic for a peaceful 2012 as North Korea’s news breaks on us this week. The Durban conference and the various climate disasters continue their uncertain warnings too. Yet these various movements, economic, climatic, tectonic, social and religious vary hugely in scale and the nature of their impact.
The challenge to all people of faith, and perhaps most poignantly at this time of year for Christians, is to listen and view through spiritual ears and perspectives on an eternal scale, and then respond on the most local and human level of our own lives, devotion and service.
May you know wisdom, insight, hope, and peace of heart and mind now, and throughout the uncertainties of 2012. May that be a stronghold and resource from which you can serve others, effectively and generously too.
First a vacancy: The East Midland Baptist Association is seeking to appoint an ADMINISTRATOR to cover maternity leave: To serve alongside the Regional Ministers as part of the Association Staff Team.
The role is full time and involves overseeing all administrative aspects of the Association.
The position is a one year fixed term contract commencing on Monday 13 February 2012.
The appointed person must be sympathetic to the Christian ethos and in agreement with the EMBA Mission statement ‘Inspiring and Resourcing in Gospel Mission’. Applications must be received by Monday 9 January 2012 at 12 noon, with interviews on Thursday 19 January 2012.
For an application pack please contact Mrs Becky Nicholls (EMBA Administrator) or ring 0115 981 8645
Most of this month’s letter derives from Government announcements related to the Autumn public expenditure round and the localism bill which are closely linked. There are a number of challenges for voluntary and faith sector to get their heads around as the government pushes towards commissioned services and social investment solutions. The aim is to use commercial approaches to investment, resources of business and “prove first pay later” approaches to resourcing social improvements. Some Faith organisations are getting geared up for this but they are not easy. We would welcome recipients of this letter to share ideas and comments.
Plain English Guide to the Localism Bill describes main measures of the Act under four headings: new freedoms and flexibilities for local government; new rights and powers for communities and individuals; reform to make the planning system more democratic and more effective; reform to ensure that decisions about housing are taken locally. Urban Forum has produced a briefing on the final Act
Parliament’s Public Administration Select Committee has published a Big Society inquiry report
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government speaking at the launch of Near Neighbours on 14 November 2011 talked about the role faith-based groups can play in improving local communities. The government's Near Neighbours fund will help such groups to run community projects in their area.
Community Matters has developed a tool online to help your organisation demonstrate your social value contribution . The tool aims to help you understand terms associated with social value, make the connection between social value and key public policies, and gather and store the necessary information about your activities to demonstrate this.
Business in the Community has launched a new scheme for communities to benefit from business secondments. The Business Connectors programme is designed to:
- Support business to work in partnership with local community organisations
- Support enterprise activity in the local area
- Increase the capacity of the VCS through facilitating business support
- Improve the quality of life for local communities in need.
The programme offers leadership and personal development opportunity for employees in supporting companies, including Sainsbury’s, BT, Lloyds, Dairy Crest, Everything Everywhere, Greggs and Royal Mail. Over a five year period, the programme aims to have over 1,500 Business Connectors, working in 450 local communities, creating more than 20,000 new local partnerships and mobilising resources and support into the VCS worth more than £130 million. Email alice.sheffield@bitc.org.uk.
Next Steps: Supporting Social Investment Initiative: The Big Lottery Fund £6million initiative, aims to develop the social investment market and explore its potential to help tackle issues facing communities and individuals. Awards between £40,000 and £1million for social investment proposals already in development will release extra funding to realise their plans. The funding is available to organisations acting in the role of commissioner or intermediary, as well as frontline organisations who will deliver the interventions to tackle social need. It can be used to facilitate a wide range of activities to develop social investment proposals, from creating systems to collect data, covering the legal and technical costs of finalising social investment proposals, or funding the delivery of interventions to show how in practice they can produce cashable savings for other services. The first round closed on 14 December but similar programmes seem likely in future.
The Big Lottery Fund continues its government sponsored takeover of government contracts and is now commissioning the Economic Recession Survey of local support providers, taking over from Capacitybuilders which closed earlier this year.
The 28th British Social Attitudes survey report was published on 7 December 2011 by NatCen Social Research.
£50million Growing Places Fund announced: The Department for Communities & Local Government has announced a £500million Growing Places Fund to help boost economic growth by getting required building under way to enable the creation of new jobs and homes and get stalled projects moving again. The fund will enable local businesses and organisations in the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), including five in the East Midlands, to apply for funding and then take decisions about what to prioritise locally. Councils will support these plans, leaving LEPs free of red tape and better able to focus their attentions on ensuring the funds go to where they will be used most effectively.
The fund, which will all be allocated by the end of January 2012, can be used to establish revolving funds to take forward a range of projects that can help facilitate economic growth, jobs and housebuilding in the local area, providing returns which can be re-invested locally. Through this, LEPs will be able to offer secure funding to developers in their area, making it quicker for projects to get off the ground and securing a return on that investment for the local area.
Types of projects that can be funded include:
- Early development of strategic link roads and access works to unlock major mixed-use developments, enabling the delivery of homes and commercial space
- Provision of flood storage capacity to enable development of homes, employment space and retail space
- Works to improve local connectivity and reduce congestion through interventions such as extending dual carriageways, enabling developments to be taken forward sustainably.
The department has also published indicative allocations of the fund to each of the LEPs, including nearly £50million in the East Midlands, broken down into the following:
- Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire - £17,466,313
- Leicester and Leicestershire - £8,896,731 Lincolnshire - £6,493,608
- Northamptonshire - £3,925,692 South East Midlands - £13,100,217
Communities Living Sustainably programme The Big Lottery Fund is investing £10million of good cause funding to inspire people to adapt the way they live, work and engage with each other to reap financial, environmental and health gains. more
Home Secretary, Theresa May, has launched a consultation on whether forced marriage should become a specific criminal offence. The government has signalled it intends to strengthen protection for victims and ensure perpetrators are punished by criminalising the breach of Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPO). The consultation will also seek views on how this can be most effectively achieved.
Many of the key behaviours typically associated with a forced marriage are covered by existing criminal offences, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, harassment and assault. However, there is no specific offence of ‘Forced Marriage’. This new consultation seeks views on whether a specific criminal offence would help to combat forced marriage and better protect victims.
Buy Better Together Challenge: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has launched the Buy Better Together Challenge, an initiative which aims to inspire new models of community buying, stimulate enterprise and promote shared learning. In addition to producing a guide giving practical information and advice on how to set up and run a community buying group, the initiative is also looking for organisations who have devised new ways of buying collectively to help save money, or people with ideas about communities working together. £60,000 of funding is available to put towards training, mentoring and seed funding for stand out projects, including £15,000 for the overall winner.
InterFaith Week Faith groups and Eric Pickles discussed 'living well together' on Monday 21 November. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles joined the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and representatives from nine faith communities for informal discussions on the theme of 'living well together in Britain today'.
Among the 400 community-led celebrations, lectures, exhibitions and school visits held across the country were a short season of films with themes of religion or belief, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Leicester Council of Faiths. Eric Pickles said: "Inter Faith Week strengthens relations, increases awareness of our different faith communities and is a great opportunity to celebrate the remarkable practical contribution that faith groups make, inspiring great numbers of people to public service. We would be poorer by far without their contribution. "Inter faith activity is thriving as the range of fantastic events taking place up and down the country clearly proves and I'd encourage everyone to get involved this week and in the weeks and months that follow." The special inter faith conversation on 'living well together' in Britain today was organised by The Inter Faith Network for the UK.
A debate on ‘Faith in the Economy’ was held at St Peter’s church in Nottingham on Thursday 24th November.
A full report can be found on our web-site.
Congratulations to Michael King, North Eastern Regional Faith to Engage Partner for an excellent day conference on Community Chaplaincy and Offender Resettlement Issues. This is a key area for Ministry of Justice pilot schemes using Social Investment approaches and definitely one to watch.
EVENTS
Action for Children and partners invite VCS organisations working with or supporting Children, Young People and Families to a series of free promote and discover events Growing our Strengths about proving outcomes and demonstrating best practice. 10 January 2012: Leicester 13th January Nottingham Playhouse
Clinks Event: the role of the VCS in desistance 26 January 2012: Birmingham 'Playing to our strengths' is a national conference exploring the approaches that promote desistance (reduce re-offending). The event will also consider the particular role that VCS organisations can play to support desistance in the new commissioning environment.
Livability: Visit Community Mission events calendar for information about our events
21 to 22 March - International Conference on Multi-Faith Spaces at the University of Manchester, M13 9PL, will bring together key outputs from the three year research project Multi-Faith Spaces: Symptoms & Agents of Religious and Social Change, funded by the AHRC/ESRC, under the Religion and Society Programme. The project considers how individuals from different religious and cultural backgrounds might be brought together within new types of ‘faith space’ that are often simultaneously religious, spiritual and secular. The conference will coincide with the launch of a touring photographic exhibition. Further details can be found at: www.manchester.ac.uk/mfs
So enjoy your reading over the festive period and start 2012 with a new set of hopes dreams and ambitions for engagement by the faith groups you work with.
Yours faithfully
Derek Markie
East Midlands Partner: Derek Markie, 19 Market Rasen Road Dunholme Lincoln LN2 3QS
0777 877 2176 fte-em@emcf.org.uk www.emcf.org.uk
