Charity and Voluntary Sector

ScotGov: Scotland's third sector has been given a 'massive boost' with the launch of 2 new programmes to help enterprising organisations grow & operate more efficiently. The £3m Just Enterprise programme will deliver a wide range of business support to social entrepreneurs and third sector organisations across Scotland.  It will lead to the creation of an online hub where organisations can go for support and assistance.
 
A further £4m will be provided through the Enterprise Growth Fund, which will see grants of between £25,000 & £200,000 awarded to enterprising third sector organisations with the most sustainable & ambitious business plans.
Press release
 
BHF: BHF-funded scientists at the University of Edinburgh have shown that tiny particles in diesel exhaust can increase the chances of a clot forming in blood vessels. When a clot forms in one of the blood vessels supplying our heart with oxygen, it can cause a heart attack.
 
The study also showed that the tiny ‘nanoparticles’ in diesel fumes – which are less than a millionth of a metre wide – stopped blood vessels from relaxing & contracting properly, a key part of keeping them free from disease.
Press release & links
 
AUK: New research from Age UK and the Pensions Policy Institute maps out the fastest way to reduce pensioner poverty by projecting the effect different government policies will have on older people. One in six pensioners (1.8m) still live in poverty and although numbers have been falling over the last 3 decades in the UK, figures show that since 2005 levels have remained steady.
 
The PPI research shows that if the current policies remain in place including the 'triple lock' guarantee then the percentage of pensioners living in poverty will fall to 14% in 2017 and 11% by 2025.  Government proposals for a single tier state pension for future pensioners would cut pensioner poverty rate to 10% by 2025.
Press release & links
 
CO: A new £30m Big Society fund to help modernise organisations that supply critical support to front-line charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises has recently opened for applications. Interested organisations should register online by 5 August 2011. Further information is available on the Big Lottery Fund website.  The Transforming Local Infrastructure Programme is managed by Big Fund, the non-lottery arm of the Big Lottery Fund, which has pledged a further £20m for infrastructure development in the future.
 
There are over 2,000 infrastructure organisations which provide services from advice to volunteer recruitment to charities in England.  This support is critical particularly for small local charities & voluntary groups and the funding will help them join up services to avoid duplication & develop more effective online resources  
Press release & links
 
BHF: The Government’s aim to ‘nudge’ people in to being healthier needs to be coupled with regulation, according to a new report. The Behaviour Change report, by the Lords’ Science and Technology Sub-Committee, concludes that nudging needs to be part of a package of measures, which include regulation, to help bring about healthy changes in behaviour.
Press release & links ~ Work Foundation comment
 
HOTwo new funds totalling £14m are being made available to the voluntary sector to empower communities to take action against crime and antisocial behaviour. The funds are:
* A £5m 'Community Action Against Crime: Innovation Fund'
* A £4 million 'Choices Fund'
Press release and links
 
HMTCoastal communities across the UK will receive a multi-million pound boost each year from a new Coastal Communities Fund, the Chancellor and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced last week.  This new fund will be financed by the Government through the allocation of funding equivalent to 50% of the revenues from the Crown Estate’s marine activities.
 
For each country of the UK, the funds available will be directly linked to the revenues raised by the Crown Estate’s marine activities from that area, with separate funding for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Highlands & Islands and the rest of Scotland.  The fund will be available on a bid basis and the Government is in discussion with the Big Fund, part of the Big Lottery Fund, about the detailed terms on which they could deliver the funds to communities.
Press release & links ~ ScotGov response
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