Charity and Voluntary Sector

BIG: The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), as part of its commitment to help charity Go ON UK eliminate the digital divide, is announcing an investment of up to £15m to build the skills that people & organisations across the UK will need in order to take full advantage of support & services available online. 

There are 16m people in the UK who currently lack the basic online skills to confidently make full use of digital tools available to them and 7.4m people who have never been online
 
BIG’s programme, which is still under development, will be open for applications in the autumn and BIG expects to fund a very small number of UK-wide projects focussing on communities most in need.  BIG is announcing the programme now to give potential applicants the time to consider the sort of partnerships that they will need to be put in place to meet the challenge of raising digital skills across the UK.
Press release & links
 
10DS: Foster carer Maria Catterick, who's cared for 26 children over 9 years in Stockton, is the latest PM’s Big Society Award winner. Maria Catterick has been recognised for her dedicated and selfless support to young people, and for the individual attention and love that she shows to each child in her care.
 
Gaining first-hand insight into the impacts of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) through fostering, Maria has worked to raise awareness of the condition by creating FASD Network, a support group made up of a cooperative of families affected by this disability all are advocating for awareness and change.
Press release & links
 
BIG: Vital frontline advice services across England are sharing in a £m support package as the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) announces 226 awards made under the Advice Services Transition Fund.  The Cabinet Office is supporting BIG’s programme by contributing half of the funding.
 
The awards build on BIG’s historic role in funding the advice sector and comes as a direct & timely response to the challenging circumstances advice providers and those dependent on their services are facing.  The funding aims to help address that immediate need, but will also help strengthen organisations for the demands that lay ahead.
Press release & links
 
BIG: Up to £8m of Lottery money is to be spent on supporting people affected by domestic abuse across Scotland through the Big Lottery Fund Scotland’s Becoming a Survivor scheme

Opening to applications last week, BAS will make grants from £10k to £1m to help support people affected by domestic abuse & survivors of domestic abuse to be in a home of their choice and help them to move on with their lives both practically & emotionally.
Press release & links
 
CAB: Latest estimates from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are that £1.6bn is lost through claimant errors and £0.7bn through official errors in the benefits system. Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of national charity Citizens Advice has responded to these figures, saying ……. “Government needs to focus on ensuring tailored face to face & online support is available so people get their claims right first time round and aren’t caught in a blizzard of benefit changes”. ……..
Press release & links
 
CAB: Research from Citizens Advice has found that 65% of people who take out a payday loan do not get asked questions to establish if they can afford to pay back the loan, as the Consumer Finance Association admits affordability checks are critical.
Press release & links
 
AUK: New polling by Age UK has revealed that 93% of older people who own a concessionary bus pass say losing it would adversely affect their life.   The survey also found that 83% of older people on lower incomes had a concessionary pass.
 
The poll findings mark the launch of a  new Age UK report ('Missed Opportunities, The Impact On Older People Of Cuts To Rural Bus Services') which shows that older people in rural parts of England risk being  stranded & isolated at home because of bus service cuts.
Press release & links
 
CO: The Centre for Social Impact Bonds in the Cabinet Office has launched 2 new tools to support the development social impact bonds:
* the Social Impact Bond Knowledge Box
* a template SIB service agreement contract
Press release & links
 
WAG: A review into services that provide people with free advice on issues such as debt, housing, employment and welfare benefits has been published by the Welsh Government

Ministers commissioned the review of not-for-profit advice services, such as those provided by the likes of Citizens Advice Bureau, in light of the unprecedented pressures faced by such organisations given the reduction in their funding, alongside the rising demand for advice in the current economic climate.
Press release & links
 
UniteCharities should stop exploiting unpaid interns and pay them the national minimum wage, otherwise working for voluntary organisations will become the preserve of a wealthy elite’.  

This call came last week in a new report called: Interns in the voluntary sector – time to end exploitation from Unite, the union, and Intern Aware, an organisation campaigning for fair, paid internships and against exploitation – See ‘In the News’ section for more information.
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