Today over 30 voluntary sector leaders met to produce a sector statement outlining the principles that will put people at the heart of devolution in England.
The Summit, organised by Charity Finance Group, Children England, Locality and NAVCA, comes as the new government begins to set out their plans for the future of devolution.
The summit decided upon principles for devolution, including:
- resources for local and specialist voluntary organisations to engage people and communities in local decision making.
- ongoing and equitable rebalancing and redistribution of public money.
The summit emphasised the essential role of the voluntary sector in:
- advocating for the most vulnerable
- calling out and helping to reduce regional inequality
- improving the design and delivery of public services
Reflecting on the summit and its outcomes, Caron Bradshaw, Chief Executive of Charity Finance Group said:
“I am delighted that we were able to come together to develop a vision for devolution. The next step is to reset the devolution agenda based on the full involvement of the voluntary sector as an active partner to support communities.”
Kathy Evans, Chief Executive of Children England said:
“People who are too young, too frail or simply too far away to get heard in centralised decision making will simply live closer to institutions that don’t represent them if charities don’t take a strong advocacy role in devolution. Today’s event enabled national voluntary sector bodies to listen to the needs of local charities that are already wrangling with devolution issues. It will be an ongoing conversation that must result in the most vulnerable in society having their voices heard.”
Tony Armstrong, CEO of Locality added:
“There is a clear opportunity for devolution to harness the capacity and ideas of local people and organisations to transform their communities. But there is a risk that the devolution agenda is missing this potential. The Devolution Summit has been an important moment for us to come together as a sector, and think about what good devolution looks like and the principles that are essential for making this happen.”
If you would like a contact from NAVCA please contact Barney Mynott – 0114 289 3985, barney.mynott@navca.org.uk
For more information please contact: andrew.o'brien@cfg.org.uk, 0788912997
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