Lively debate at Compact Annual Meeting

29 Jan 2010

Discussions about how to implement and embed the recently refreshed national Compact are top of the agenda at the tenth annual meeting between Compact partners, which takes place between 11.00am and 1.00pm on Monday 1 February 2010 at the Prince Albert Suite at London Zoo.

Dawn Butler MP, Cabinet Office Minister, Simon Blake, Chair of Compact Voice, and Sir Bert Massie CBE, Commissioner for the Compact, will be joined at the event by representatives from the third sector and central and local government. Other speakers include Mark Davies, Director of Health Inequalities and Partnership at the Department of Health, and Sir Jeremy Beecham, Vice Chair of the Local Government Association.

During the meeting, delegates will hear about the interim findings from a new national survey, initiated by the Commission for the Compact, which measures the levels of awareness, knowledge, use and understanding of the Compact at government and non-departmental public body level.

In addition, Compact Voice will be introducing their first ‘Impact Report’, which provides information about their engagement with and on behalf of the third sector, and proposing new mechanisms to strengthen their role representing the sector on Compact issues.

Dawn Butler MP, Cabinet Office Minister, said:

“The Compact is enormously important as it forms the foundation upon which a successful and productive partnership between government and the third sector can be built. The Annual Compact Review is a great opportunity to celebrate its successes and further promote the Compact. This Government is 100 per cent committed to the scheme and encourages third sector organisations, central and local government to bring it alive.”

Simon Blake, Chair of Compact Voice, said:

“It’s time to make sure the new Compact is actively implemented by everyone, everywhere. When the Compact is not used and its principles not upheld, communities can suffer. We in the third sector must deliver on our commitments and hold government to account when they don’t.

“Now more than ever effective cross sector partnerships are vital to ensure limited money is spent well. In the year ahead, Compact Voice will continue providing advice, resources and training to help the sector make the Compact work for us and for those we serve.”

Sir Bert Massie, Commissioner for the Compact, said:

“The refreshed Compact is an excellent document - shorter, clearer and more precise than its predecessor. It provides a sound basis for further improvement in partnerships between government and the third sector and in the work they do together to provide high quality services, facilities and opportunities for people. But the Compact will not implement itself. I am looking in 2010 for a renewed and meaningful commitment from both government and third sector organisations to put the Compact into practical action.”

The tenth annual meeting report will be published later this year.

For more information about the Compact please visit:

http://www.thecompact.org.uk/
http://www.compactvoice.org.uk/
www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/thirdsector

Notes for Editors

• The Compact was established in England in November 1998 and was inspired by the Deakin Commission report on the Future of the Voluntary Sector. It is an agreement that provides an overall framework for promoting effective partnership working between the Government and the third sector.
• A refreshed version of the Compact was published in December 2009. This retains all the key points of the original but takes into account recent developments in law, policy and practice. It is divided into three key areas covering involvement in policy development, allocating resources and advancing equality. It consists of 95 commitments: 62 for government and 33 for the third sector.
• Interim findings from the new national survey initiated by the Commission for the Compact include the following:
• There was a lower level of response to the survey than anticipated but it shows that where the Compact is taken seriously, there are good examples of good practice of working with the third sector.
• There are high levels of Compact awareness but they occur only in a few isolated parts of government.
• There are lower levels of awareness and understanding of Compact commitments generally but this is higher where commitments relate to specific job functions or roles.
• There are lower levels of implementation that expected and there is a mixed level of embedding commitments and the Compact; a third of respondents mention the Compact in their documentation but half of respondents do not.

Ends

Useful Links

www.thecompact.org.uk/annualmeeting

Useful Downloads

Press Release: Annual Meeting

For media enquiries, please contact:

Catherine Byerley, Communications Officer
Commission for the Compact
Tel: 0121 237 5905
Email: catherine.byerley@thecompact.org.uk