Voluntary sector
Putting prevention first
Abigail Langley puts the high level of strategic priority placed on prevention in South Norfolk and Broadland under the spotlight, but she says investment does not match collective ambitions and localities’ needs.
A springboard to better wellbeing
Social prescribing is about more than health and represents a chance to transform relationships towards real co-production of community wellbeing, says Dr Koen Bartels.
A community route to net zero transition
Councils can tackle social inequality and the climate emergency and promote a just transition to net zero by harnessing the power of community business, says Tim Davies-Pugh.
Getting ahead of the curve on children’s mental health
Rather than waiting for CAMHS capacity to become available, innovative local areas need to intervene early on children’s mental health to meet needs, says Seb Rees.
The stark outlook for cost of living pressures
Bassetlaw DC and its partners were hoping that the cost of living crisis would start to ease, but it is becoming clear this may not be the case, says David Armiger.
Staffordshire’s new chapter
Staffordshire CC has moved to a community managed model in 27 of its 43 libraries. Cllr Victoria Wilson sets out why the approach has been a success.
Lessons from the Building Better Opportunities programme
Learning the lessons from the Building Better Opportunities programme will be crucial if we’re going to get anywhere near the original aspirations for the UKSPF, says Graham Duxbury.
Budget 2023: The promises made now call for action to benefit communities
The chancellor promised to give communities more control over their economic destiny, and this now needs to be backed up by action, says Graham Duxbury.
The value of place
David Armiger looks at the key strands to partnership work in Bassetlaw, and he considers how the local approach has helped with the response to the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Charities can’t do everything
Responding to the scale of the crisis hitting Britain raises difficult issues for charities – and even when the sector is solvent, there is a limit to what they can do, says Dan Corry.
Supporting partners through the cost of living crisis
Hertfordshire CC wanted to help volunteers and professionals working with communities facing the cost of living crisis – but they were blown away by how many people joined their webinar, says Kristy Thakur.
Homes for Ukraine – the Wealden response
Wealden DC is committed to providing the highest level of support it can to refugees from Ukraine, despite the housing crisis, says Gemma Forshaw.
Prescribing health
Dan Corry says if social prescribing is to take off and help transform the way we think about and ‘do’ health, local councils, the wider public sector and the charity sector will need to face up to the challenges.
Building better relationships with the voluntary sector
After the pandemic, Oxfordshire CC was determined to build on its relationship with the voluntary and community sector, says Cllr Mark Lygo
Hope for young adults in custody
Jessie Ben-Ami outlines how the West Midlands’ Always Hope project pilot is working with councils and other partners to increase the chances of rehabilitation for young care-experienced men aged 18-25 leaving prison.
Drawing from the past to help today’s refugees
Brad Collier draws from his experience resettling Vietnamese people in the 1980s to set out what support needs to be provided to Ukrainian refugees – and he believes councils must be empowered to manage resettlement.
The voluntary sector is not a surrogate for the state
Councils can and must show leadership to tackle the deep challenges of the years ahead – but a healthy and dynamic relationship with the local VCS also has a critical role to play, explains John Tizard.
When crises hit
We want to move fast in a crisis, but there are many dangers in dispensing with order and setting up something from scratch, warns Dan Corry.
Helping highly vulnerable families to recover, rebuild their lives here, and thrive
Implementing and delivering the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme will require more than just goodwill, says Graeme McDonald.
Social value must not be a tick box exercise
Mo Baines says councils should not simply apply the principles of the Social Value Act to outsourced contracts, but ‘engage in the spirit and intention of the Act, which is to get the very best outcomes from public money’.
