11 June 2010
ACRE 2009 Annual Review now
available
The ACRE 2009 Annual Review is now available to view on
the ACRE website. The Review focuses on ACRE's work on national
advocacy, partnerships and programme management. Setting out the clear
'added value' of the network that connects ACRE to RCAN members, it
covers the wide range of initiatives and work programmes across
England. This insight demonstrates the effectiveness of collaborative
working within ACRE and RCAN with the resulting positive impact at the
grass root community level.
To view this document, please go to the ACRE website
RuralCAN – RCAN National Fieldworkers’
Conference 2010
ACRE hosted its annual National Fieldworkers’ Conference on
8th and 9th June at the Park Inn Hotel in York. Over 90 delegates and
speakers attended the 23 workshops and plenaries over the two days. As
an additional benefit to RCAN members attending the conference, ACRE in
collaboration with the Community Sector Coalition (CSC), was able to
provide a free half day training event focusing on leadership skills,
delivered by CRC on the 7th June.
The RuralCAN Conference programme developed in consultation with fieldworkers covered topics people wanted to learn about and aimed to help people working on rural projects such as community development and housing, develop their skills and knowledge. Initial comments have been very positive but we will be using a more detailed feedback survey of delegates to reflect on this event and to develop ACRE’s future events.
We will also publish the RuralCAN 2010 Conference report on our website that will include presentations and photos from the event with an overview of the learning outcomes from the conference.
RCAN News
Capacitybuilders launches report
on Defra's investment in RCAN
Capacitybuilders has released its evaluation report,
confirming that the £10.35 million Defra investment in the
Rural Community Action network, delivered by ACRE, is meeting its
objective to improve the way in which the needs of rural communities
are addressed by national, regional and local government.
The initiative has enabled RCAN members to influence government policy-makers and delivery bodies in order to bring rural needs more fully into mainstream policy making. These successes included:
- Improving service delivery plans: so that they better suit the needs of rural communities.
- Securing funding: tapping into external sources, so that rural communities can access funding streams for activities such as improvements to community buildings.
- Improvements to policy processes: notably where rural proofing or community led planning approaches have been adopted by local authorities and partnerships.
ACRE's Chief Executive, Sylvia Brown said, "The Rural Community Action Network has also been able, through this contract, to generate stronger joint working relationships between members. The investment has created a step change in the ability to access grass roots intelligence and helped to provide a comprehensive picture of the state of rural community advocacy across the country. We are pleased that the independent evaluation has reinforced the value of the work of the network on behalf of rural communities".
Please follow the link to access the Capacitybuilders press release or click on the following links to view the executive summary and full evaluation report from Capacitybuilders.
Developing Collaborative
Partnerships, 18th June and 2nd July, or 28th June and 5th July
The Community Council of Berkshire is offering two further
opportunities to attend this very popular two-day course, designed for
community development workers faced with the challenges of developing
collaborative partnerships within communities, neighbourhoods and
parishes.
Delegates from previous courses have come from a wide range of organisations such as Planning Aid, Business Link, rural community councils, local churches, local authorities and housing associations.
Please click on the links for further information and to book a place at the West Berkshire event on 18th June and 2nd July.
Alternatively, if you wish to attend the Maidenhead event on the 28th June and 5th July, please click here and for information booking details.
News
Superfast broadband for rural areas
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport, has announced a package of measures designed
to prevent a new digital divide between urban and rural communities.
Mr Hunt confirmed plans for three market testing projects to bring superfast broadband to rural areas. "We have to make sure that the benefits of superfast broadband are available to everyone," he said.
He also confirmed that the Government will open up existing infrastructure to reduce the costs of laying new fibre, saying that they would legislate if necessary.
The full announcement can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website.
New era of transparency will bring
about a revolution in town hall openness and accountability
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Local Government
Association Chair Baroness Eaton joined forces today to urge all
councils to publish details of all spending over £500, in full and
online, as part of wider action to bring about a revolution in town
hall openness and accountability.
The call for greater disclosure on spending is just one of a series of sweeping measures detailed in a letter being sent to councils by the Secretary of State. He makes clear that transparency and openness should be the default setting for the way councils do business, and calls on local government to move at speed to adopt this new approach.
The full announcement and supporting information can be found on the CLG website
Prime Minister gives speech on
tackling the country’s deficit
Prime Minister David Cameron has delivered a speech today
on the need to cut the deficit and deal with Britain’s growing debt.
Mr. Cameron warned that the plans to cut the deficit will have “enormous implications” for the country but that he is determined to carry out the measures in a way that is “open, responsible and fair”.
To read the speech in full, or to view a video of the speech, please go to the official website of the Prime Minister
Review on Poverty and Life Chances
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that Frank Field
MP will lead an independent review on poverty in the UK and what the
Government can do to improve the lives of the least advantaged people
in our society.
Mr. Field will chair the Review on Poverty and Life
Chances, which will report to the Prime Minister by the end of the
year.
The full announcement can be found on the official website
for the Prime Minister
Time for recycling rewards, not bin
taxes
The new Government will scrap the last Government's plans
for the imposition of bin taxes on family homes, Cabinet Ministers Eric
Pickles and Caroline Spelman have announced.
The announcement was made on a visit to the country's first ever council-wide recycling reward scheme in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead on the 7th June.
Ministers praised the scheme, which started off as a pilot and is now being rolled out across the council, as the right way to encourage households to recycle waste. This is in stark contrast to bin taxes that would hit people in the pocket and egg on many to find ways to avoid paying through fly-tipping or bonfires in people's back gardens.
The full announcement is available from the CLG website
First for rural social housing
The UK’s first rural social housing development to be built
to the ‘super-insulated’ Passivhaus specification is under way in
Wimbish, Essex.
The £1.6m development for Hastoe Housing
Association uses a method of building new homes popular in Germany that
has some of the lowest ‘air tightness’ levels ever seen.
Traditional new-build housing is allowed an air tightness
of around ten, while Passivhaus buildings have an air tightness level
of less than one and require very little energy for heating and
lighting.
For more information on this project and the announcement, please go to theHastoe Housing Associationwebsite.
Commission warns of bogus calls
The Charity Commission has been made aware of a scam
involving people being telephoned by individuals claiming to represent
the Charity Commission. In the phone calls these individuals claim to
be from the "debt collection department" of the Commission and they
demand payments for various services and advertisements.
Some of the bogus calls have demanded payments of thousands of pounds for various services and advertisements. The Commission has been contacted by a number of people who have received calls of this nature and has already reported this matter to the police.
More information can be found on the Charity Commission website
Funding
Funding for Community Wildlife
projects opens
The Big Lottery has teamed up with the BBC’s Wildlife Go
Wild campaign to offer communities the opportunity to bid for funding
for community wildlife projects.
Community Wildlife will fund projects that bring local people together to discover, enjoy or protect the wildlife in their local area. The programme will fund between £300 and £10,000 for projects that:
- Improve rural or urban environments for people to enjoy, for example by:
- protecting wildlife habitats
- creating a nature trail, woodland walk or wildlife garden for people to enjoy
- Improving natural community spaces, such as rivers, ponds and woodlands.
- get people more active and healthier, for example by:
- exploring parks, rivers and the countryside to look for rare or endangered species
- encouraging people to take up gardening or go on nature walks
- Providing opportunities for children to learn about nature through play.
For more information on how to access the funding, please go to the Big Lottery website.
Publications
Targeting Fuel Poverty – a new CRC
publication
In partnership with Durham County Council the Commission
for Rural Communities (CRC) is showing how local authorities can
effectively tackle rural fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions
through the development and use of a local housing energy management
database.
Use of the cost effective database in East Durham has helped to target energy efficiency resources leading to an improvement of 86% in average housing energy performance ratings, reduced carbon emissions by 162,183 tonnes and improved the take up of energy efficiency measures by householders by 40% between 1997 and 2009. The CRC and Durham have developed a practical guide for local authorities to show how they too could develop and use such a database.
To view the publication, please go to the CRC website
New NALC guidelines – Your guide to
creating a local council in your area
The National Association for Local Councils (NALC) has
recently published a pack for communities wishing to create a new local
council – called ‘Power to the People’. This pack was funded by
Communities and Local Government.
The resource explains what exactly local
councils are, what they can bring a community, provides ideas on how to
promote local councils to residents, and suggests how to generate local
support. It makes clear the steps which need to be taken to trigger a
community governance review (a review from a principal local authority
which can allow the creation of a new local council), and what steps a
new local council can take once it has been established.
To download a copy of the Power to the People pack, please
go to the NALC website
IDeA release new ‘how to’ guide for
local councils
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) have produced
a new guide for local councils entitled ‘How to help people into
employment in rural areas’.
This guide explains the challenges facing local government and its partners when tackling unemployment in rural areas. It gives examples of good practice and suggests how local government can support employment in rural areas, within the national policy and delivery framework.
Please go to the IDeA website to view the document.
Training
Hundreds of paid heritage training
places created
More than 800 new paid training opportunities are being
created as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund's (HLF) 'Skills for the
Future' programme. If you are interested in a career in heritage, find
out more about work-based training in roles like digitising archives
and conserving historic gardens.
The HLF's 'Skills for the Future' programme is creating 808 paid training opportunities for people across the UK seeking a career in heritage.As well as traditional conservation training, the programme aims to help people develop a variety of modern skills, such as managing volunteers and using social media to get people involved in heritage.
More information can be found on the Direct.gov website
Vacancies
Community Involvement Officer,
Community Council for Somerset. 28 hours per week, £24,646 pro rata
An exciting opportunity has arisen to
develop new and existing work with rural communities across Somerset.
The post holder will work across rural Somerset to provide advice and
support to community groups and organisations, work to preserve and
enhance vital services, assist communities in identifying local need
and support Community and Social Enterprises with funding
applications.
Candidates will have experience of working with a range of community groups, knowledge of Social Enterprise work and Community Development work. They will also have excellent communication and presentation skills, be highly motivated, able to work independently or as part of a team and have a friendly, approachable and enthusiastic manner.
The closing date for applications is 17th June. More details and an application pack can be downloaded from the Community Council for Somerset website.
Community Development Worker,
Oxfordshire, £23,708 pa plus travel allowance
(Fixed contract for maternity cover: September
2010 to April 2011)
Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) is a county
based charity working with local people to improve and sustain the
quality of village life. We are seeking someone with relevant skills
and experience to pick up and progress work tasks whilst one of our
Community Development Workers is on maternity leave from September 2010
to
April 2011.
ORCC need a motivated team player able to encourage and support community-led planning (‘Parish Plans’) in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire Districts and to lead on our work to promote rural social inclusion throughout the county.
For further details go to www.oxonrcc.org.uk or email orcc@oxonrcc.org.uk for an application pack. Closing date for applications is 25th June 2010.